| Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
| Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
That fetter is not really strong, say the wise,
that is made of iron, wood or grass.
Strong infatuation with gems and ornaments,
whatever longing there is for sons and wives,
[continued in DhP 346]
na taj
dalhaj bandhanam
ahu
dhira
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neg. Pron.n. Adj.n.
N.n. V.act.
Adj.m.
| Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
3.Pl.perf. Nom.Pl.
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List of Abbreviations
yad
ayasaj darujaj
babbajaj ca
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Pron.n. Adj.n.
Adj.n. Adj.n. conj.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. |
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List of Abbreviations
saratta+ratta
mani+kundalesu
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Adj. N.f. N.m.
N.m.
| Nom.Sg.
| Loc.Pl.
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List of Abbreviations
puttesu daresu
ca ya
apekkha
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N.m. N.m. conj. Rel.Pron.f.
N.f.
Loc.Pl. Loc.Pl. |
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
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|___________________________________[continued in DhP 346]
na, neg.: not.
taj: tad-, Pron.: that. Nom.Sg.n. = taj.
dalhaj: dalha-, Adj.: strong, resolute, firm. Nom.Sg.n. = dalhaj.
bandhanam: bandhana-, N.n.: bond, fetter. Derived from the verb bandh- (to bind, to fasten). Nom.Sg. = bandhanam.
ahu, V.: said, proclaimed. The verb root is ah- (to speak). 3.Pl.act.perf. = ahu.
dhira: dhira-, Adj.: wise, clever. Nom.Pl.m. = dhira.
yad: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which. Nom.Sg.n. = yad.
List of Abbreviations
ayasaj: ayasa-, Adj.: made of iron. It is derived from the word ayo-, N.n.: iron. Nom.Sg.n. = ayasaj.
darujaj: made of wood, wooden. It is derived from the word daru-, N.n.: wood with the suffix -ja. This suffix is derived from the verb root jan- (to give birth, to produce). Nom.Sg.n. = darujaj.
babbajaj: babbaja-, Adj.: made of the babbaja grass. It is derived from the word babbaja- N.m.: a sort of coarse grass or reed. Nom.Sg.n. = babbajaj.
ca, conj.: and.
sarattaratta:
sarattaratta-,
N.f.: strong infatuation with, attachment to. It is a compound of:
saratta-,
Adj.: devoted, attached. It is a p.p. of the verb root raj- (to
color) with the prefix saj- (together).
ratta-, Adj.: excited, infatuated.
It is a p.p. of the verb root raj- (to color).
Nom.Sg. = sarattaratta.
List of Abbreviations
manikundalesu:
manikundala-,
N.m.: gems and ornaments. It is a compound of:
mani-,
N.m.: gem, crystal.
kundala-,
N.m.: earring, ornament.
Loc.Pl. = manikundalesu.
puttesu: putta-, N.m.: son. Loc.Pl. = puttesu.
daresu: dara-, N.m.: wife. Loc.Pl. = daresu.
ca: see above.
ya: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which. Nom.Sg.f. = ya.
apekkha: apekkha-, N.f.: affection, desire, longing for. It is derived from the verb root ikh- (to look) with the prefix apa- (down, on). Nom.Sg. = apekkha.
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of two separate
sentences. They are:
1) na taj
dalhaj bandhanam
ahu dhira
yad ayasaj darujaj
babbajaj ca (that fetter is not really
strong, say the wise, that is made of iron, wood or grass). This can be
analysed into two segments:
a) ahu
dhira (say
the wise). The subject is the adjective dhira
(wise ones, nominative plural). The verb is ahu
(said, 3rd person, plural, active, perfect tense).
b) na taj
dalhaj bandhanam
yad ayasaj darujaj
babbajaj ca (that fetter is not really
strong, that is made of iron, wood or grass). This can be further analysed
into two sentences:
I) na taj
dalhaj bandhanam
(that fetter is not really strong). The subject is the noun bandhanam
(fetter, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the pronoun taj
(that, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to
be". It is negated by the negated by the negative particle na (not).
The object is the adjective dalhaj
(strong, nominative singular).
II) yad ayasaj
darujaj babbajaj
ca (that is made of iron, wood or grass). There are three subjects,
the adjectives ayasaj
(made of iron, nominative singular), darujaj
(wooden, nominative singular) and babbajaj
(made of babbaja grass, nomaitnvie singular). They are connected by the
conjunction ca (and). The relative adverb yad (that which,
nominative singular) connects this sentence to the previous one.
2) sarattaratta
manikundalesu
puttesu daresu ca ya
apekkha (strong infatuation with gems
and ornaments, whatever longing there is for sons and wives). There are
two subjects in this sentence: a) the compound sarattaratta
(strong infatuation, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the compound
manikundalesu
(with gems and ornaments, locative plural). b) the noun apekkha
(longing, nominative singular). This word has two attributes, the nouns
puttesu (for sons, locative plural) and daresu
(to wives, locative plural). They are connected by the conjunction ca
(and). The relative pronoun ya (that
which, nominative singular) connects the sentence to the following one
(DhP 346).
A group of monks once went to the city
of Savatthi for almsfood. On their way they
observed some prisoners being led with their hands and legs chained in
bonds. When they returned to the monastery they related the matter to the
Buddha.
The Buddha spoke this verse (and the
following one, DhP 346) and explained that passion and craving were much
stronger fetters than all the chains and handcuffs.
Word pronunciation:
na
taj
dalhaj
bandhanam
ahu
dhira
yad
ayasaj
darujaj
babbajaj
ca
sarattaratta
saratta
ratta
manikundalesu
mani
kundalesu
puttesu
daresu
ya
apekkha