A chain or shackle for the feet; a chain by which an animal is confined by the foot, either made fast or disabled from free and rapid motion; a bond; a shackle.
In Buddhism, a mental fetter or "chain" or "bond" (PÄli: samyojana, saÅ‹yojana, saññojana) shackles a person to samsara, the cycle of endless suffering. By completely cutting through all fetters, one attains Nibbana (Skt.: Nirvana).