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List of Abbreviations

# sada jagaramananaj ahorattanusikkhinaj

# nibbanaj adhimuttanaj atthaj gacchanti asava

# (DhP 226)

Sentence Translation:

Those, who are always watchful, studying all day and night,
intent upon reaching the Nirvana - their taints disappear.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

sada jagaramananaj aho+ratta+anusikkhinaj
| | | | |
Adv. Adj.m. N.n. N.n. Adj.m.
| Gen.Pl. |____| Gen.Pl.
|_________| |__________|
|______________________|_____________________________

List of Abbreviations

nibbanaj adhimuttanaj atthaj gacchanti asava
| | | | |
N.n. Adj.m. N.n. V.act.in. N.m.
Acc.Sg. Gen.Pl. Acc.Sg. 3.Pl.pres. Nom.Pl.
|_____________| |_______| |
_______| | |
|________________________|___________|
|_____________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

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").

Commentary:

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).

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

sada
jagaramananaj
ahorattanusikkhinaj
aho
ratta
anusikkhinaj
nibbanaj
adhimuttanaj
atthaj
gacchanti
asava