Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
Those who have very firm and constant mindfulness as to
the body,
those do not practice what should not be done, they are
persevering in what should be done.
The taints of those, who are mindful and thoughtful,
become extinct.
yesaj
ca susamaraddha
niccaj kaya+gata
sati
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Rel.Pron.m. conj. Adj.f.
Adv. N.m. Adj.f. N.f.
Gen.Pl.
| Nom.Sg.
| | Nom.Sg.
Nom.Sg.
|
|
|
| |_____|
|
|
|
|
|________|
|
|
|
|_____________|
|
|
|
|____________________|
|____________|_______________________|
|______________________________________________
List of Abbreviations
akiccaj
te na sevanti
kicce satacca+karino
|
| |
| |
| |
Adj.m. Pron.m. neg. V.act.in. Adj.m.
N.n. Adj.m.
Acc.Sg. Nom.Pl. | 3.Pl.pres.
Acc.Pl. | Nom.Pl.
|
| |______|
| |_____|
|_________|________|
|________|
|____|
|
|__________________________|
___________________|
List of Abbreviations
satanaj
sampajananaj
atthaj gacchanti asava
|
|
| |
|
Adj.m. Adj.m.
N.n. V.act.in. N.m.
Gen.Pl. Gen.Pl.
Acc.Sg. 3.Pl.pres. Nom.Pl.
|_____________|
|_______|
|
|___________________|___________|
|__________|
yesaj: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that, which. Gen.Pl.m. = yesaj.
ca, conj.: and.
susamaraddha: susamaraddha-, Adj.: very firm, well resolved, thoroughly undertaken . It is a p.p. of the verb rabh- (to take hold of, to grasp) with the prefixes su- (well, good), sam- (altogether, thoroughly) and a- (here as an intensifying prefix). Nom.Sg.f. = susamaraddha.
niccaj, Adv.: perpetually, constantly.
kayagata:
kayagata-, Adj.: bodily, as to the
body. Lit. "gone to the body". It is a compound of:
kaya-,
N.m.: body.
gata-, Adj.: gone. It is a
p.p. of the verb root gam- (to go).
Nom.Sg.f. = kayagata.
sati: sati-, N.f.: mindfulness, wakefulness, alertness. Nom.Sg. = sati.
List of Abbreviations
akiccaj: akicca-, Adj.: what should not be done. It is the word kicca-, N.n. (duty, what ought to be done; it is a grd. of the verb kar-, to do), negated by the negative prefix a-. Acc.Sg.m. = akiccaj.
te: tad-, Pron.: that. Masculine form sa. Nom.Pl. = te.
na, neg.: not.
sevanti, V.: associate with, practice, embrace. The verb root is sev-. 3.Pl.act.in.pres. = sevanti.
kicce: kicca-, Adj.: must be done, ought
to be done. It is a grd. of the verb kar- (to do).
Acc.Pl.m. = kicce.
sataccakarino:
sataccakarin-,
Adj.: persevering. Lit. doing perseverance. It is a compound of:
satacca-,
N.n.: perseverance.
karin-,
Adj.m.: acting, doing. Derived from the verb kar- (to do).
Nom.Pl.m. = sataccakarino.
List of Abbreviations
satanaj: sata-, Adj.: mindful, wakeful, alert. It is a p.p. of the verb root sar- (to remember). The word sati- (see above) is also derived from this verb root. Gen.Pl.m. = satanaj.
sampajananaj: sampajana-, Adj.: thoughtful, knowing, understanding. It is derived from the verb ba- (to know) with the prefixes sam- (altogether) and pa- (strengthening). Gen.Pl.m. = sampajananaj.
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. Traditionally, these four taints (asava) are mentioned in the texts: sense desire (kama), desiring eternal existence (bhava), wrong views (ditthi) and ignorance (avijja).
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of two syntactically
separate sentences. They are:
1) yesaj
ca susamaraddha
niccaj kayagata
sati akiccaj te na sevanti kicce sataccakarino
(those who have very firm mindfulness as to the body, those do not practice
what should not be done, they are persevering in what should be done).
This can be further analysed into two dependent sentences:
a) yesaj
ca susamaraddha
niccaj kayagata
sati (those who have very firm and constant mindfulness as to the body).
The subject is the noun sati (mindfulness, nominative singular).
The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". There are two objects,
the adjectives susamaraddha
(very firm, nominative singular) and kayagata
(bodily, nominative singular). The last of them has its own attribute,
the adverb niccaj (constantly). The
conjunction ca (and) serves mainly for metrical purposes. The relative
pronoun yesaj (whose, genitive plural)
introduces the sentence and connects it to the following one.
b) akiccaj
te na sevanti kicce sataccakarino
(those do not practice what should not be done, they are persevering in
what should be done). This can be analysed into two segments:
I) akiccaj
te na sevanti (those do not practice what should not be done). The
subject is the pronoun te (they, nominative plural). The verb is
sevanti (practice, 3rd person, plural, active, indicative,
present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not).
The object is the adjective akiccaj
(what should not be done, accusative singular).
II) kicce sataccakarino
(they are persevering in what should be done). The subject is omitted,
implying the pronoun te from the previous segment. It has an attribute,
the adjective compound sataccakarino
(persevering, nominative plural). The verb is omitted, implying the verb
"to be". The object is the adjective kicce (what should be done,
accusative plural).
2) satanaj
sampajananaj
atthaj gacchanti asava
(the taints of those, who are mindful and thoughtful, become extinct).
The subject is the noun asava
(taints, nominative plural). It has two attributes, the adjectives satanaj
(of the mindful ones, genitive plural) and sampajananaj
(of the thoughtful ones, genitive plural). The verb is gacchanti
(go, 3rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense).
The object is the noun atthaj (to rest,
accusative plural).
The story for this verse is identical
with the one for the previous verse (DhP 292).
These two verses are reminding us
that we should not loose the vision of the final goal. If we spend most
of our time trying to make "more and more beautiful slippers", then we
have no time to practice in order to reach the goal. Only by diligently
putting all of our effort into the practice, by staying mindful all of
the time, can we hope to erase our taints and reach the Awakenment.
Word pronunciation:
yesaj
ca
susamaraddha
niccaj
kayagata
kaya
gata
sati
akiccaj
te
na
sevanti
kicce
sataccakarino
satacca
karino
satanaj
sampajananaj
atthaj
gacchanti
asava