Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
Those, who are always watchful, studying all day and night,
intent upon reaching the Nirvana - their taints disappear.
sada jagaramananaj
aho+ratta+anusikkhinaj
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Adv. Adj.m.
N.n. N.n. Adj.m.
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Gen.Pl.
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List of Abbreviations
nibbanaj
adhimuttanaj
atthaj gacchanti asava
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N.n.
Adj.m. N.n.
V.act.in. N.m.
Acc.Sg. Gen.Pl.
Acc.Sg. 3.Pl.pres. Nom.Pl.
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sada, Adv.: always.
jagaramananaj: jagaramana-, Adj.: awake, watchful. It is a med.pr.p. of the verb jagarati (to be awake). Gen.Pl.m. = jagaramananaj.
ahorattanusikkhinaj:
ahorattanusikkhin-, Adj.: studying
all day and night. It is a compound of:
aho-, N.n.: day.
ratta-, N.n.: night.
anusikkhin-, Adj.: studying,
learning. It is derived from the verb root sikkh- (to learn) with
the prefix anu- (along, at).
Euphonic combination: ahoratta- + anusikhin-
= ahorattanusikkhin-.
Gen.Pl.m. = ahorattanusikkhinaj.
List of Abbreviations
nibbanaj: nibbana-, N.n.: Nirvana, the goal of Buddhism. Nom.Sg. = nibbanaj.
adhimuttanaj: adhimutta-, Adj.: intent upon, given to. It is a p.p. of the verb adhimuccati (to be drawn to, to be inclined towards). Gen.Pl.m. = adhimuttanaj.
atthaj: attha-, N.n.: home, place of rest. Acc.Sg. = atthaj.
gacchanti, V.: goes. The verb root is gam-. 3.Pl.in.act.pres. = gacchanti. With the noun atthaj ("home" as here): disappear, vanish, become extinct.
asava: asava- N.m.: taint, corruption. Nom.Pl. = asava.
List of Abbreviations
The subject of this sentence is the
noun asava
(taints, nominative plural). It has three attributes: 1) the past participle
adhimuttanaj
(of those who are intent upon, genitive plural), with the noun nibbanaj
(the Nirvana, accusative singular) as its attribute; 2) the compound ahorattanusikkhinaj
(of those who are studying all day and night, genitive plural); 3) the
medium present participle jagaramananaj
(of the watchful ones, genitive plural) with its attribute, the adverb
sada (always). The verb is gacchanti
(go, 3rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense).
The object is the noun atthaj ("home",
accusative singular). The whole phrase atthaj
gacchanti (lit. "go home" means "disappear", "vanish").
There was a young slave girl, named
Punna. One night she was doing some work for
her master, when she saw some monks going to their rooms after listening
to the Dharma. She pondered that she was up so late because she was poor
and had to work hard. But she could not think about any reason for the
monks to be up so late as well.
The next day she made for herself
a simple rice cake and went to the riverside to rest and eat. But on the
way she met the Buddha and offered the cake to him. The Buddha accepted
and ate the cake.
After eating, the Buddha told her
why the monks were up so late: they were always vigilant and learning something,
no matter what time it was. He also tolf her this verse, saying that by
being always watchful and mindful, one can eradicate one's taints. Punna
immediately realized the Dharma.
Traditionally, these four taints (asava)
are mentioned in the texts: sense desire (kama),
desiring eternal existence (bhava), wrong views (ditthi)
and ignorance (avijja).
Word pronunciation:
sada
jagaramananaj
ahorattanusikkhinaj
aho
ratta
anusikkhinaj
nibbanaj
adhimuttanaj
atthaj
gacchanti
asava