Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Pali word asava describes mental defilements that corrode or corrupt the mind from within. Translators often use terms like influx or canker to capture its meaning of underlying biases that fabricate emotions and sensations.
Some Pali canons mention three asavas that sustain karmic flow including propensities for sensual pleasures, existence, and ignorance. Other texts add a fourth category called diññhāsava which means karmic propensities for a viewpoint or perspective.
Rhys Davids and Stede published their dictionary between 1921 and 1925. Their work remains a standard reference for Pali terminology and defines freedom from the Asavas as Arahantship.
Buddhism rejects the karma and asava theories of Jainism because it presents a different version of spiritual liberation focused on eradicating specific mental defilements rather than managing karmic flow. This divergence marks a key difference between the two ancient Indian traditions.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan notes that the word asava appears in verses 93, 226, 253, 272, 292, and 293 of the Dhammapada. Acharya Buddharakkhita translated verse 226 from chapter 17 verse 6 to help modern readers understand how early texts used the term.