The āsavas, outflows or cankers, are the most fundamental defilements: the taint of sensual desire, of becoming and of ignorance, with a fourth of views sometimes added. On the night of his awakening, the Buddha’s third knowledge was the destruction of the taints, and an arahant is called one whose taints are destroyed.
Āsava
Taints or outflows: the deep currents of sensual desire, becoming and ignorance that keep beings in saṃsāra.
Also: Asava, asrava, taints