Verified
Grammatical Analysis
Adhipatipaccaya: [m.] Predominance condition. Formed by adhipati (overlord, sovereign, supreme ruler) + paccaya (condition).
Orthodox Definition
Adhipati-paccaya is the third of the 24 Conditions. It occurs when a single mental phenomenon dominates and completely controls the other phenomena arising alongside it, compelling them to follow its lead.
This condition manifests in two distinct ways:
- Object Predominance (Ārammaṇādhipati): When the mind takes an object that is so exceptionally desirable or powerful that the mind becomes utterly captivated and dominated by it.
- Conascent Predominance (Sahajātādhipati): This relates to the four Bases of Spiritual Power (Iddhipādas): Desire (chanda), Energy (viriya), Consciousness (citta), and Investigation (vīmaṃsā). Only one of these four can act as the sovereign lord during a specific cognitive process, forcing all other mental factors to align with its powerful forward momentum toward a goal.
Quote
abhibhavitvā pavattanaṭṭhena maggo adhipati etesanti maggādhipatino.
Those Dhammas for which the path is a dominant factor (adhipati) in the sense of prevailing over them are called maggādhipatino.— Dhammasaṅgaṇī-aṭṭhakathā
Quote
abhibhavitvā pavattanaṭṭhenāti sahajātādhipatipi pubbābhisaṅkhāravasena jeṭṭhakabhāve pavattamāno sahajāte attano vase anuvattayamāno te abhibhavitvā pavattati, ārammaṇādhipatipi tadārammaṇe dhamme tatheva attānaṃ anuvattayamāno te dhamme abhibhavitvā ārammaṇabhāvena pavattati, na paccuppannabhāvena, tasmā adhipatidvayampi saṅgahitanti veditabbaṃ.
“By way of prevailing through overcoming” means that a concomitant dominator, when existing as the chief by way of prior preparations, causes its concomitants to follow its sway and prevails over them by overcoming them. A predominance-object also, when causing those dhammas which have that as their object to follow its sway in the same way, prevails over those dhammas by overcoming them as an object, not as a presently existing thing. Therefore, it should be understood that both types of dominators are included.— Dhammasaṅgaṇī-mūlaṭīkā
Textual References
- Abhidhamma: Paṭṭhāna – Mapping the exact conditions under which desire, energy, mind, or investigation take the role of predominance.
- Commentary: Dhammasaṅgaṇī-aṭṭhakathā & Dhammasaṅgaṇī-mūlaṭīkā – Explaining the nature of predominance as the quality of prevailing over all associated states through absolute overcoming (abhibhavitvā).