Who would live for hundred years, indolent and of poor effort,
better is the life for one day of somebody who has undertaken a firm effort.

yo             ca vassa+sataj       jive      kusito  hina+viriyo
|                  |       |         |             |            |          |         |
Rel.Pron.  conj. N.n. Num.n.   V.act.    Adj.m.  Adj.   N.m.
Nom.Sg.      |       |    Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.opt. Nom.Sg.   |   Nom.Sg.
|                  |       |         |             |            |          |_____|
|__________|       |_____|             |            |________|
         |____________|__________|___________|
                    |           |__________|
                    |___________|
                              |_______________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

eka+ahaj      jivitaj    seyyo   viriyam arabhato dalhaj
|           |             |             |            |            |            |
Num. N.n.       N.n.      Adj.n.     N.n      Adj.m.  Adj.n.
|     Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. Gen.Sg. Acc.Sg.
|______|              |             |            |_______|_______|
     |                    |             |                    |___|
     |___________|             |                       |
               |_____________|_____________|
                            |______|
___________________|

yo: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which. Nom.Sg.m. = yo.

ca, conj.: and.

vassasataj: vassasata-, N.n.: hundred years, century. It is a compound of:
    vassa-, N.n.: year.
    sata-, Num.n.: hundred.
Acc.Sg. = vassasataj.

jive, V.: should live. The verb root is jiv-. 3.Sg.act.opt. = jive.

kusito: kusita-, Adj.: indolent, inactive. Nom.Sg.m.: kusito.

hinaviriyo: hinaviriya-, Adj.: having poor strength. A compound of
    hina-, Adj.: poor, inferior. It is p.p. of the verb ha- (to reject).
    viriya-, N.n.: energy, vigor, effort. The form viriya- is used because of metrical requirements.
Nom.Sg.m. = hinaviriyo.

List of Abbreviations

ekahaj: ekaha-, N.n.: one day. It is a compound of:
    eka-, Num.: one.
    aha-, N.n.: day.
Euphonic combination: eka- + aha- = ekaha-.
Nom.Sg. = ekahaj.

jivitaj: jivita-, N.n.: life. Originally it is a p.p. of the verb jiv- (to live). Nom.Sg. = jivitaj.

seyyo: seyya-, Adj.: better. Nom.Sg.n. = seyyo.

viriyam: viriya-, N.n.: energy, vigor, effort. Acc.Sg. = viriyam.

arabhato: arabhant-, Adj.: undertaking, beginning with. It is an a.pr.p. of the verb rabh- (to begin with, to undertake) with the prefix a- (here as an intensifying prefix). Gen.Sg.m. = arabhato.

dalhaj: dalha-, Adj.: strong, resolute, firm. Acc.Sg.n. = dalhaj.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of two related sentences. They both form the first and the second lines of this verse respectively.
    In the first sentence, the subject is the relative pronoun yo (who, nominative singular). It has two attributes, the adjectives kusito (indolent, nominative singular) and hinaviriyo (having a poor effort, nominative singular). The verb is jive (should live, 3^rd person, singular, active, optative). It has an attribute, the compound vassasataj (hundred years, accusative singular). The conjunction ca (and) serves only for metrical purposes.
    In the second line, the subject is the adjective/noun jivitaj (life, nominative singular). It has two attributes. First of them is the compound ekahaj (one day, nominative singular). Second is the adjective arabhato (of somebody who is undertaking, genitive singular). This word has an attribute, the noun viriyam (effort, accusative singular) and it in turn has the adjective dalhaj (firm, accusative singular) as an attribute. The object is the adjective seyyo (nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be".

    There was a certain monk named Sappadasa, who was not happy with his life in the monastery. Although he tried his best, he could not attain Awakenment therefore he felt he was unable to do it and wanted to return to the worldly life. But he thought that would be very humiliating for him to do so. He contemplated his options and at the end he decided to commit suicide. He tried to put his hand into a pot with snakes but the snakes would not bite him. So he took a razor and wanted to cut his throat. He put the razor on his throat, but as he was about to cut himself, he reflected on his life as a monk. He realized that he had led a pure life, full of morality and spirituality. He became full of satisfaction and happiness. Then he detached himself from these feelings and reached Awakenment instantly.
    The other monks asked him what happened to him and he told them his story. They went to ask the Buddha if it was possible for someone to attain Arahantship while attempting suicide. The Buddha replied with this verse, saying that indeed it was possible. He added that in reaching the Awakenment, time and space is not really relevant. It is possible to reach it while walking, before one's foot touches the ground.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

yo
ca
vassasataj
vassa
sataj
jive
kusito
hinaviriyo
hina
viriyo
ekahaj
eka
ahaj
jivitaj
seyyo
viriyam
arabhato
dalhaj