deyadharma

[Arlo Griffiths]

Is anybody aware of any discussion in the primary or secondary literature as to the way the term deyadharma was traditionally analyzed/understood? How does this compound get to have the pragmatic meaning of 'meritorious gift'? How has the tradition itself understood the value of dharma in this compound? I have seen Edgerton's gloss in BHSD, something like 'having the nature of something to be given' (quoted from memory), but I wonder if this corresponds to traditional interpretations, and whether the element deya might not simply have meant 'gift' in this context (rather than 'something to be given').
Thank you,
Arlo Griffiths (EFEO/Jakarta)