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List of Abbreviations

# idha vassaj vasissami idha hemantagimhisu

# iti balo vicinteti antarayaj na bujjhati

# (DhP 286)

Sentence Translation:

"Here shall I spend the rains, here winter and summer",
thinks the fool. He does not understand the dangers.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

idha vassaj vasissami idha hemanta+gimhisu
| | | | | |
Adv. N.m. V.act. Adv. N.m. N.m.
| Acc.Sg. 1.Sg.fut. | | Loc.Pl.
|_______|_______| | |_______|
|___| |__________|
|___________________|______________________________

List of Abbreviations

iti balo vicinteti antarayaj na bujjhati
| | | | | |
part. N.m. V.act.in. N.m. neg. V.act.in.
| Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. Acc.Sg. | 3.Sg.pres.
__| | | | |______|
|_______|________| |________|
|__|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

idha, Adv.: here.

vassaj: vassa-, N.m.: rain, the rainy season. Acc.Sg. = vassaj.

vasissami, V.: [I] will live, will stay. The verb root is vas-. 1.Sg.act.fut. = vasissami.

idha: see above.

hemantagimhisu: hemantagimha-, N.m.: winter and summer. It is a compound of:
hemanta-, N.m.: winter.
gimha-, N.m.: heat, summer.
Loc.Pl. = hemantagimhisu (the word gimha- is changed to the -i stem in this case).

iti, part.: a particle, symbolizing the end of direct speech. In English this is expressed by quotation marks. Sometimes it is written as ti.

List of Abbreviations

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

vicinteti, V.: thinks. The verb root is cint- (to think) with the prefix vi- (intensifying sense). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = vicinteti.

antarayaj: antaraya-, N.m.: obstacle, danger, hindrance. It is derived from the word antara-, Adj. (between) and the verb root i- (to go). Acc.Sg. = antarayaj.

na, neg.: not. 136

bujjhati, V.: realizes, understands. The verb root is budh- (tu understand). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = bujjhati.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) idha vassaj vasissami idha hemantagimhisu iti balo vicinteti ("Here shall I spend the rains, here winter and summer", thinks the fool). This can be further analysed into the direct speech a) and the main sentence b):
a) idha vassaj vasissami idha hemantagimhisu iti ("here shall I spend the rains, here winter and summer"). This consists of two segments:
I) idha vassaj vasissami (here shall I spend the rains). The subject is omitted, the verb implying the first person singular pronoun. The verb is vasissami (I shall live, 1st person, singular, active, future). It has two attributes, the adverb idha (here) and the noun vassaj (rains, accusative singular).
II) idha hemantagimhisu iti ("here winter and summer"). Both the subject and the verb are omitted, implying the ones from the previous segment. The verb has two attributes, the adverb idha (here) and the compound hemantagimhisu (in winter and summer, locative plural). The particle iti (end of the direct speech) connects this part to the main sentence.
b) balo vicinteti (thinks the fool). The subject is the noun balo (fool, nominative singular) and the verb vicinteti (thinks, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense).
2) antarayaj na bujjhati (he does not understand the dangers). The subject is omitted; the noun balo from the previous sentence is implied. The verb is bujjhati (understands, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the noun antarayaj (danger, accusative singular).

Commentary:

Mahadhana was a merchant from Benares. Once he came to Savatthi during a festival, hoping to sell his goods. But on the way he was stopped by a flood and could not cross the river for seven days. Thus the festival ended before he even got there.
Mahadhana decided to stay in Savatthi for some time and sell his goods slowly. Once the Buddha saw him and smiled. Ananda asked him about the reason for his smile. The Buddha replied that Mahadhana is not aware of his impeding death and thinks he can stay in Savatthi comfortably, sell his goods and then return home.
Ananda then advised Mahadhana to listen to the Buddha's sermons and to practice mindfulness. Mahadhana was alarmed when he heard that he was about to die. For seven days he gave alms to the Buddha and monks and listened to the Dharma. After hearing this verse from the Buddha, he attained the first stage of Awakenment. After he died he was reborn in the Tusita heaven.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

idha
vassaj
vasissami
hemantagimhisu
hemanta
gimhisu
iti
balo
vicinteti
antarayaj
na
bujjhati