Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
Arise! Don't be negligent! Practice the good teaching!
One living in truth dwells happily, both in this world
and in the next one.
uttitthe na ppamajjeyya
dhammaj sucaritaj
care
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V.act. neg. V.act.
N.m. Adj.m. V.act.
3.Sg.opt. | 3.Sg.opt.
Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.opt.
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List of Abbreviations
dhamma+cari
sukhaj seti
asmij loke paramhi
ca
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N.m. Adj.m. Adv. V.act.in.
Pron.m. N.m. Adj.m. conj.
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Nom.Sg. | 3.Sg.pres. Loc.Sg.
Loc.Sg. Loc.Sg. |
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uttitthe,
V.: be active, get up, arise. The verb root tha-
(to stand), with the prefix ud- (up).
3.Sg.act.opt. = uttitthe.
na, neg.: not.
pamajjeyya, V.: to be careless, to neglect. The
verb root is mad- (to be intoxicated) with the strengthening prefix
pa-. 3.Sg.act.opt. = pamajjeyya.
Euphonic combination: na + pamajjeyya =
na ppamajjeyya.
dhammaj: dhamma-, N.m.: Dharma, The Law, the teaching of the Buddha. Acc.Sg. = dhammaj.
sucaritaj: sucarita-, Adj.: well-conducted, right, good. It is the word carita-, Adj.: behaving, acting (the p.p. of the verb car-, to walk, to act), with the prefix su- (good, well). Acc.Sg.m. = sucaritaj.
care, V.: should practice. The verb root is car- (to walk). 3.Sg.act.opt. = care.
List of Abbreviations
dhammacari:
dhammacarin-, N.m.: living in truth.
It is a compound of:
dhamma-, N.m.: Buddha's Teaching,
The Law, truth.
carin-,
Adj.: living, acting. Derived by the suffix -in from the verb car-
(to walk, to act).
Nom.Sg. = dhammacari.
sukhaj, Adv.: happily. It is the word sukha-, N.n.: happiness. Acc.Sg. = sukhaj. Here as an adverb.
seti, V.: lays, dwells. The verb root is si- (to lay). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = seti.
asmij: idaj-, Pron.: this. Loc.Sg.m. = asmij.
loke: loka-, N.m.: world. Loc.Sg. = loke.
paramhi: para-, Adj.: different, other. Loc.Sg.m. = paramhi.
ca, conj.: and.
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of four syntactically
separate sentences. They are:
1) uttitthe
(on should arise). The subject is omitted, implying the third person singular
pronoun. The verb is uttitthe (one
should arise, 3rd person, singular, active, optative).
2) na ppamajjeyya (one should
not be negligent). The subject is omitted, implying the third person singular
pronoun. The verb is pamajjeyya (one should be negligent, 3rd
person, singular, active, optative). It is negated by the negative particle
na (not).
3) dhammaj
sucaritaj care (one should practice the
good teaching). The subject is omitted, implying the third person singular
pronoun. The verb is care (one should practice, 3rd person,
singular, active, optative). The object is the noun dhammaj
(teaching, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the adjective sucaritaj
(good, well-conducted; accusative singular).
4) dhammacari
sukhaj seti asmij
loke paramhi ca (one living in truth dwells happily, both in this world
and in the next one). The subject is the compound dhammacari
(one living in truth, nominative singular). The verb is seti (dwells,
3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It
has two attributes. One is the adverb sukhaj
(happily), one is the noun loke (in the world, locative singular).
This last word has two attributes, the pronoun asmij
(in this, locative singular) and the adjective paramhi (in the other,
locative singular). They are connected by the conjunction ca (and).
When the Buddha attained Awakenment,
one of his first big journeys took him to the city of Kapilavatthu, where
most of his family lived. He stayed at the outskirts of the city, in the
Nigrodharama
monastery. His father, king Suddhodana, assumed, that his son would come
to his palace for food and made a lot of almsfood prepared. However, he
did not invite the Buddha, as was necessary.
So the Buddha went on almsround around
the city, as was his custom. He asked himself, if this was the proper course
of action and realized that all the Buddhas of the past also went on almsround
around the city they were born.
Suddhodana heard about it and went
to the Buddha, saying, "Why should my son ask for alms in the very city,
where he used to travel in a golden palanquin? I am so ashamed!"
The Buddha explained to him that he
was only following the old custom of all the Buddhas and did not wish to
put Suddhodana to shame. He also uttered this verse and the following one
(DhP 169). The king finally accepted it and was no longer offended.
Word pronunciation:
uttitthe
na
pamajjeyya
dhammaj
sucaritaj
care
dhammacari
dhamma
cari
sukhaj
seti
asmij
loke
paramhi
ca