Pada (foot)

In Sanskrit, Hindi, and other related Indo-Aryan languages, pada (पद) generally translates to "foot." It also carries related meanings such as "step," "pace," "place," "footprint," "position," "rank," and "quarter" (as in one-fourth of something).

Beyond the literal anatomical meaning, pada is frequently used figuratively and metaphorically. For example, in spiritual contexts, it can refer to the lotus feet of a deity or guru, a symbol of reverence and devotion. In metrical contexts, pada can denote a quarter or line of a verse.

The term is also present in numerous compound words in these languages, adding the concept of "foot" or its related meanings to the compound's overall meaning. For instance, padmasana (पद्मासन) is a yoga posture meaning "lotus position," where the feet are positioned in a lotus-like manner.

The word pada is cognate with words in other Indo-European languages, sharing a common origin tracing back to Proto-Indo-European.