Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
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List of Abbreviations

# yatha pi mule anupaddave dalhe

# chinno pi rukkho punar eva ruhati

# evam pi tanhanusaye anuhate

# nibbattati dukkham idaj punappunaj

# (DhP 338)

Sentence Translation:

Just like the tree will grow again if it is cut down,
but its roots are strong and uninjured,
so this suffering will come back again and again
if the dormant craving is not destroyed.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

yatha pi mule anupaddave dalhe
| | | | |
Rel.Adv. part. N.n. Adj.n. Adj.n.
|_________| Loc.Sg. Loc.Sg. Loc.Sg.
| | |________|
| |___________|
| |_______________________________I.
|______________________________|
|________________________________II.

List of Abbreviations

chinno pi rukkho punar eva ruhati
| | | | | |
Adj.m. part. N.m. Adv. part. V.act.in.
Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. |____| 3.Sg.pres.
|_________| | |________|
|__________| |
|_________________|
I._________________|
II.___________________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

evam pi tanha+anusaye anuhate
| | | | |
Adv. part. N.f. N.m. Adj.m.
|______| | Loc.Sg. Loc.Sg.
| |______| |
| |__________|
| |________________________________
|_________________________________|
___________________|

List of Abbreviations

nibbattati dukkham idaj punappunaj
| | | |
V.act.in. N.n. Pron.n. Adv.
3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. |
| |_______| |
|_______________|___________|
|________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

yatha, Rel.Adv.: just as.

pi, part./conj.: also, too, even, although.

mule: mula-, N.n.: root, ground, foundation. Loc.Sg. = mule.

anupaddave: anupaddava-, Adj.: uninjured, free from danger, safe. It is the word upaddava-, N.m.: accident, misfortune, negated by the negative prefix an-. Loc.Sg.n. = anupaddave.

dalhe: dalha-, Adj.: strong, resolute, firm. Loc.Sg. = dalhe.

chinno: chinna-, Adj.: cut off, destroyed. It is a p.p. of the verb root chid- (to cut off, to remove). Nom.Sg.m. = chinno.

pi: see above.

rukkho: rukkha-, N.m.: tree. Nom.Sg. = rukkho.

List of Abbreviations

punar, Adv.: again. It is the word puna (see below), the final r is only the result of the euphonic combination (puna + eva = punar eva).

eva, part.: just, only.

ruhati, V.: grows. The verb root is ruh-. 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = ruhati.

evam, Adv.: thus, in this way.

pi: see above.

tanhanusaye: tanhanusaya-, N.m.: dormant thirst, dormant craving. It is a compound of:
tanha-, N.f.: thirst, craving.
anusaya-, N.m.: dormant disposition. It is derived from the verb root si- (to lay) with the prefix anu- (along, at).
Euphonic combination: tanha- + anusaya- = tanhanusaya-.
Loc.Sg. = tanhanusaye.

List of Abbreviations

anuhate: anuhata-, Adj.: not removed, not destroyed, not rooted out. It is the word uhata-, Adj.: cut off, destroyed [it is a p.p. of the verb root han- (to kill) with the prefix ud- (up)] negated by the negative prefix an-. Loc.Sg.m. = anuhate.

nibbattati, V.: is reborn, exists, comes into being. The verb root is vat- (to exist) with the prefix ni- (back). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = nibbattati. The form nibbattati is used in poetry.

dukkham: dukkha-, N.n.: suffering. Nom.Sg. = dukkham.

idaj: idaj-, Pron.: this. Nom.Sg.n. = idaj.

punappunaj, Adv.: again and again. It is the word puna, Ind.: again, doubled in intensifying sense. The double -p- is a result of the euphonic combination.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two syntactically connected sentences. They are:
1) yatha pi mule anupaddave dalhe chinno pi rukkho punar eva ruhati (just like the tree will grow again if it is cut down, but its roots are strong and uninjured). This can be further analysed into the main sentence and the absolute locative clause:
a) yatha pi chinno pi rukkho punar eva ruhati (just like the tree will grow again if it is cut down). The subject is the noun rukkho (tree, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the past participle chinno (cut down, nominative singular). The attribute is modified by the particle pi (even). The verb is ruhati (grows, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the adverb punar (again) which is modified by the particle eva (just). The relative adverb yatha (like) is modified by the particle pi (also). It connects this sentence to the following one.
b) mule anupaddave dalhe (but its roots are strong and uninjured). The subject is the noun mule (in the root, locative singular). It has two attributes, the adjectives anupaddave (uninjured, locative singular) and dalhe (strong, locative singular). This clause is in so called absolute locative. The literal translation would be "in the root strong and uninjured". The meaning is "if the root is strong and uninjured".
2) evam pi tanhanusaye anuhate nibbattati dukkham idaj punappunaj (so this suffering will come back again and again if the dormant craving is not destroyed). This can be further analysed into the main sentence and the absolute locative clause:
a) evam pi nibbattati dukkham idaj punappunaj (so this suffering will come back again and again). The subject is the noun dukkham (suffering, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the pronoun idaj (this, nominative singular). The verb is nibbattati (comes back, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the adverb punappunaj (again and again). The adverb evam (thus) is modified by the particle pi (also). It connects this sentence to the previous one.
b) tanhanusaye anuhate (if the dormant craving is not destroyed). The subject is the compound tanhanusaye (in the dormant craving, locative singular). It has an attribute, the adjective anuhate (not destroyed, locative singular). This clause is also in the absolute locative.

Commentary:

Once the Buddha saw a female pig and he smiled. Venerable Ananda asked him about the reason for his smile. The Buddha told him that this pig used to be a hen during the times pf the previous Buddha. The hen lived close to a monastery and as a result listened to the discourses. Later she was reborn as a princess. Once she noticed some worms in the toilet and started to meditate on the repulsiveness of the body. Later she was reborn as a Brahma type of deity. And now again, because of some demerit, she was born as a pig. The Buddha commented in this verse (and the five following ones, DhP 339 - DhP 343) how there was simply no end of the round of existences on account of good and bad karma.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

yatha
pi
mule
anupaddave
dalhe
chinno
rukkho
punar
eva
ruhati
evam
tanhanusaye
tanha
anusaye
anuhate
nibbattati
dukkham
idaj
punappunaj
puna