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What is the literal meaning of Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. Everywhere I read it says "The Perfection of Wisdom in 8000 Lines", but that is not a literal translation as far as I can tell. What is the literal translation or etymology?

For example, Sutra means "thread", but that is no where in that perfection of wisdom phrase. I read elsewhere, too, that:

The word Prajñāpāramitā combines the Sanskrit words prajñā "wisdom" with pāramitā "perfection".

So we have the "wisdom perfecting thread" sort of thing. But what is the other word?

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  • 8000 is the literal translation -- not knowing that sutra though, I don't know whether it's intended literally or metaphorically, perhaps for example as a metaphor for "many", "long", "detailed".
    – ChrisW ♦
    Commented Oct 26, 2019 at 12:30

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Aṣṭasāhasrikā translates to "eight thousand":

  • aṣṭá -- eight
  • sahasra -- thousand

Sanskrit Numbers

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Aṣṭasāhasrikā: asta (8) sahasara (1000)
Prajñāpāramitā: prajna(wisdom) paramita(perfection)
Sutra: thread/verse

PDF: THE PERFECTION OF WISDOM IN EIGHT THOUSAND LINES & ITS VERSE SUMMARY
- The Huntington Archive

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