Blowing out saṃsāra in Khotan

Late Khotanese kṣāṃca (2 occurrences in a single passage) is a variant spelling for expected kṣauca, should be transcribed as kṣą̄ca with unetymological anusvāra, and has to be assigned to the feminine stem *kṣaucā‑ ‘blowing out’ as a literal translation of Sanskrit nirvāṇa. The word is easily explained as a ‑kyā‑/‑cā‑ derivative from kṣautta‑, the past participle of ¹kṣäv‑ ‘to blow about (of wind), ‘to blow out, extinguish (fire by wind)’. The article also offers a translation of verses 242–244 of the Book of Vimalakīrti, where kṣāṃca occurs.