Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
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List of Abbreviations

# pandupalaso va danisi yamapurisa pi ca te upatthita

# uyyogamukhe ca titthasi patheyyam pi ca te na vijjati

# (DhP 235)

Sentence Translation:

You are like a withered leaf. Yama's men are ready for you.
You are standing in the mouth of death. And you have nothing to take with you.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

pandu+palaso va dani asi yama+purisa pi ca te upatthita
| | | | | | | | | | |
Adj. N.m. part. Adv. V.act.in. N.m. N.m. conj. conj. Pron.m. Adj.m.
| Nom.Sg. | | 2.Sg.pres. | Nom.Pl. |____| Gen.Sg. Nom.Pl.
|________| | |_____| |_____| | | |
|________| | |__________|_______|______|
|___________| |___|

List of Abbreviations

uyyoga+mukhe ca titthasi patheyyam pi ca te na vijjati
| | | | | | | | | |
N.m. N.n. conj. V.act.in. N.n. conj. conj. Pron.m. neg. V.pas.in.
| Loc.Sg. | 2.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg. |_____| Gen.Sg. | 3.Sg.pres.
|_________| | | | | | |______|
|_________|______| |_________|_________|__________|
|____|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

pandupalaso: pandupalasa-, N.m.: withered leaf. It is a compound of:
pandu-, Adj.: yellow, pale, gray, withered.
palasa-, N.m.: leaf.
Nom.Sg. = pandupalaso.

va, part.: as, like.

dani, Adv.: now. It is a shortened form of idani, Adv.: now.

asi, V.: [you] are. The verb root is as- (to be). 2.Sg.act.in.pres. = asi.
Euphonic combination: dani + asi = danisi.

yamapurisa: yamapurisa-, N.m.: Yama's men, helpers of the king of death. It is a compound of:
yama-, N.m.: Yama, the ruler of the underworld, the king of death.
purisa-, N.m.: person.
Nom.Pl. = yamapurisa.

List of Abbreviations

pi, conj.: also.

ca, conj.: and.

te: tvaj, Pron.: you. Gen.Sg. = te.

upatthita: upatthita-, Adj.: arrived, come, keeping ready. It is a p.p. of the verb root tha- (to stand) with the prefix upa- (to, by). Nom.Pl.m. = upatthita.

uyyogamukhe: uyyogamukha-, N.n.: mouth of death. It is a compound of:
uyyoga-, N.m.: departure, death. It is derived from the verb root yuj- (to connect) with the prefix ud- (out, away).
mukha-, N.n.: mouth, entrance.
Loc.Sg. = uyyogamukhe.

ca: see above.

List of Abbreviations

titthasi, V.: [you] stand. The verb root is tha-. 2.Sg.act.in.pres. = titthasi.

patheyyam: patheyya-, N.n.: provisions for a journey. It is derived from the word patha-, N.m.: way, journey. Nom.Sg. = patheyyam.

pi: see above.

ca: see above.

te: see above.

na, neg.: not.

vijjati, V.: exists, is found. The verb root is vid- (to find). 3.Sg.pas.in.pres. = vijjati.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of four syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) pandupalaso va danisi (you are like a withered leaf). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the second person singular pronoun. The verb is asi ([you] are, 2nd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the adverb dani (now). The object is the compound pandupalaso (withered leaf, nominative singular). It is modified by the particle va (as, like).
2) yamapurisa pi ca te upatthita (Yama's men are ready for you). The subject is the compound yamapurisa (Yama's men, nominative plural). The verb is in past participle, upatthita (standing ready, nominative plural). The object is the pronoun te (for you, genitive singular). Two conjunctions pi (also) and ca (and) serve mainly for metrical purposes.
3) uyyogamukhe ca titthasi (you are standing in the mouth of death). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the second person singular pronoun. The verb is titthasi ([you] stand, 2nd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the compound uyyogamukhe (in the mouth of death). The conjunction ca (and) connects the sentence to the other ones.
4) patheyyam pi ca te na vijjati (and you have nothing to take with you). The subject is noun patheyyam (provisions for the journey, nominative singular). The verb is vijjati (exists, 3rd person, singular, passive, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the pronoun te (for you, genitive singular). Two conjunctions pi (also) and ca (and) serve mainly for metrical purposes.

Commentary:

In Savatthi there lived an old butcher. He was used to eating beef curry every day. Once he put aside some meat to be cooked that day and went for a bath. In the meantime, his wife saw the meat and sold it. Therefore, when the butcher returned home, he realized that there would be no meat that day. He was so angry that he went and cut off the tongue of an ox. He has his wife to prepare it and began to eat.
When he tried to take bite of the tongue, he bit off his own tongue. The butcher died in great pain and agony and was reborn in a painful state.
The butcher's son was afraid that this evil would befall him as well so he left the city and went to Taxila. He became a goldsmith, got married and had children. When he got old, he and his family moved back to Savatthi. His children were followers of the Buddha but he was not. The children were concerned for their father and so one day they invited the Buddha and monks for a meal. After the meal they told the Buddha that this offering was on behalf of their father. They asked the Buddha to give a discourse to the old man to help him to see the Dharma.
The Buddha told the old goldsmith this verse (and the following ones, DhP 236, DhP 237 and DhP 238). At the end for the discourse, the old goldsmith attained the first stage of Awakenment.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

pandupalaso
pandu
palaso
va
dani
asi
yamapurisa
yama
purisa
pi
ca
te
upatthita
uyyogamukhe
uyyoga
mukhe
titthasi
patheyyam
na
vijjati