Radical ⾋ (140)

{花} *ɣuaᶜ “flower”

艸 GRASS + ♪化 *HUA. Created as a shortening of 華 (in the Eastern Han the words {華} *qʷʰˤra > *ɣua “flower” and {化} *qʷʰˤrajs > *huaᶜ became similar).

• Baxter W.H. & Sagart L. 2014 - Old Chinese. A New Reconstruction (379)

{草} *[tsʰ]ˤuʔ “grass”

艸 GRASS + ♪早 *TSU.

• 李學勤 (ed.) 2012 - 字源 (60)

E.Han	Nanbei (N.Wei)	Nanbei (E.Wei)	Tang	Jin	Ming	Qing	Qing
孔宙碑 [薛]	南0060X [薛]	南0445A	唐1303A	宋0400X	明0134X	清0015B	內本康熙

{(菩)薩} (bu)sat “bodhisattva”

Assimilated form of 薛 from 薛埵 *siat.tuɑjᴮ “sattva” via adding 土 from 埵 to the bottom right. The appearence of 生 “to live” (> 產) in the bottom right part is probably influenced by Sanskrit sat “existing; living”.

• 岩松浅夫 1991 - 「薩」字の成立とその變遷
• 張涌泉 2010 - 漢語俗字研究 [2nd ed.] (180)