Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation

List of Abbreviations

# ekassa caritaj seyyo natthi bale sahayata

# eko care na ca papani kayira

# appossukko matavgarabbe va nago

# (DhP 330)

Sentence Translation:

It is better to live alone; there is no companionship with a fool.
One should live alone, and commit no evil.
One should be content with little, like an elephant in the elephant-grove.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

ekassa caritaj seyyo na atthi bale sahayata
| | | | | | |
Adj.m. N.n. Adj.n. neg. V.act.in. N.m. N.f.
Gen.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. | 3.Sg.pres. Loc.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|__________| | |______| | |
|_____________| |__________| |
|_____________|

List of Abbreviations

eko care na ca papani kayira
| | | | | |
Adj.m. V.act. neg. conj. N.n. V.act.
Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.opt. | | Acc.Pl. 3.Sg.opt.
|___________| |____|______|______|
|___|

List of Abbreviations

appa+ussukko matavga+arabbe va nago
| | | | | |
Adj. Adj.m. N.m. N.n. part. N.m.
| Nom.Sg. | Loc.Sg. | Nom.Sg.
|_______| |______| | |
| |________|_____|
| |___|
|______________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

ekassa: eka-, Num.: one. As an Adj.: alone. Gen.Sg.m. = ekassa.

caritaj: carita-, Adj.: acting, moving, behaving. It is a p.p. of the verb root car- (to move, to live). As an N.n.: life, living. Nom.Sg. = caritaj.

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

na, neg.: not.

atthi, V.: is. The verb root is as- (to be). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = atthi.
Euphonic combination: na + atthi = natthi.

bale: bala-, Adj.: childish, young. As an N.m.: "like a child", fool, ignorant person. Loc.Sg. = bale.

List of Abbreviations

sahayata: sahayata-, N.f.: companionship. It is an abstract from the noun sahaya-, N.m.: companion, friend. Nom.Sg. = sahayata.

eko: eka-, Num.: one. As an Adj.: alone. Nom.Sg.m. = eko.

care, V.: should live. The verb root is car- (to act, to walk). 3.Sg.act.opt. = care.

na, neg.: not.

ca, conj.: and.

papani: papa-, Adj.: evil, wrong. As an N.n.: evil, wrong doing. Acc.Pl. = papani.

kayira, V.: would do. The verb is root kar- (to do). 3.Sg.act.opt. = kayira.

List of Abbreviations

appossukko: appossukka-, Adj.: wanting little, with a few desires. It is a compound of:
appa-, Adj.: few, little.
ussukka-, Adj.: greedy, longing, desirous.
Euphonic combination: appa- + ussukka- = appossukka-.
Nom.Sg.m. = appossukko.

matavgarabbe: matavgarabba-, N.n.: elephant forest, elephant-grove. It is a compound of:
matavga-, N.m.: elephant.
arabba-, N.n.: forest.
Euphonic combination: matavga- + arabba- = matavgarabba-.
Loc.Sg. = matavgarabbe.

va, part.: as, like.

nago: naga-, N.m.: elephant. Nom.Sg. = nago.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of five syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) ekassa caritaj seyyo (it is better to live alone). The subject is the noun caritaj (life, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the adjective ekassa (of the one, who is alone, genitive singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective seyyo (better, nominative singular).
2) natthi bale sahayata (there is no companionship with a fool). The subject is the noun sahayata (friendship, nominative singular). The verb is atthi (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The verb has an attribute, the noun bale (in the fool, locative singular).
3) eko care (one should live alone). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is care ([one] should live, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). The object is the adjective eko (alone, nominative singular).
4) na ca papani kayira (one should commit no evil). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is kayira ([one] should do, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the noun papani (evil, accusative plural). The conjunction ca (and) serves mainly for metrical purposes. It also connects this sentence to the previous one.
5) appossukko matavgarabbe va nago (one should be content with little, like an elephant in the elephant-grove). This can be further analysed into the main sentence a) and the clause b):
a) appossukko (one should be content with little). The subject is omitted; the previous sentences imply the third person singular pronoun. The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective appossukko (content with little, nominative singular).
b) matavgarabbe va nago (like an elephant in the elephant-grove). The subject is the noun nago (elephant, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the compound matavgarabbe (in the elephant-grove, locative singular). The particle va (as, like) connects the clause to the main sentence.

Commentary:

The story for this verse is identical with the one for the two previous verses (DhP 328 and DhP 329).
Companionship with a fool is very stressful. We cannot change the fool's ways, because a fool is a fool and does not realize hi foolishness. We are even in danger of becoming fools ourselves, if we lose control and start to learn from the fool. Therefore it is far better to be alone and to concentrate solely on our mental development and on reaching the Awakenment.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

ekassa
caritaj
seyyo
natthi
na
atthi
bale
sahayata
eko
care
ca
papani
kayira
appossukko
appa
ussukko
matavgarabbe
matavga
arabbe
va
nago