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

List of Abbreviations

# yaj kibci sithilaj kammaj savkilitthaj ca yaj vataj

# savkassaraj brahmacariyaj na taj hoti mahapphalaj

# (DhP 312)

Sentence Translation:

A lax action, an impure vow,
a doubtful monk's life - all this does not bring much fruit.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

yaj kibci sithilaj kammaj savkilitthaj ca yaj vataj
| | | | | | | |
Rel.Pron.n. Pron.n. Adj.n. N.n. Adj.n. conj. Rel.Pron.n. N.n.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|____________| |________| |______|______|_________|
|__________________| |____|
|_____________________________________|
|__________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

savkassaraj brahma+cariyaj na taj hoti maha+phalaj
| | | | | | | |
Adj.n. Adj. N.n. neg. Pron.n. V.act.in. Adj. Adj.n.
Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. | Nom.Sg.
| |_______| |_____|________| |______|
|_________________| | |_____________|
_________| | |
|___________________________| |
|__________________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

yaj: yat-, Rel.Pron.: that, which. Nom.Sg.n.: yaj.

kibci: kibci-, Pron.: whatever. Nom.Sg.n. = kibci.

sithilaj: sithila-, Adj.: loose, lax. Nom.Sg.n. = sithilaj.

kammaj: kamma-, N.n.: deed, action. Derived from the verb kar- (to do).
Nom.Sg. = kammaj.

savkilitthaj: savkilittha-, Adj.: bad, impure, unclean. It is a p.p. of the verb kilis- (to go bad, to get stained, to be impure) with the prefix sav- (altogether). Nom.Sg.n. = savkilitthaj.

ca, conj.: and.

yaj: yat-, Rel.Pron.: that, which. Nom.Sg.n.: yaj.

vataj: vata-, N.n.: vow, religious observance. Nom.Sg.n. = vataj.

List of Abbreviations

savkassaraj: savkassara-, Adj.: doubtful, wicked. Nom.Sg.n. = savkassaraj.

brahmacariyaj: brahmacariya-, N.n.: holy, pious or pure life. It is a compound of:
brahma-, Adj.: holy, "Brahmanic", pious.
cariya-, Adj.: living, acting. It is derived from the verb car- (to walk, to act).
Nom.Sg. = brahmacariyaj.

na, neg.: not.

taj: tad-, Pron.: that. Nom.Sg.n.: taj.

hoti, V. is. The verb root is bhu- (to be). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = bhavati or hoti.

mahapphalaj: mahapphala-, Adj.: bearing much fruit. It is a compound of:
mahant-, Adj.: big, great, much. The compound form used here: maha-.
phala-, N.n.: fruit.
Euphonic combination: maha- + phala- = mahapphala-.
Nom.Sg.n. = mahapphalaj.

List of Abbreviations

The subject of this sentence is the pronoun taj (that, nominative singular). It has three attributes:
1) the noun kammaj (action, nominative singular), with two attributes: the adjective sithilaj (lax, nominative singular) and the phrase yaj kibci (whatever). It consists of the relative pronoun yaj (what, nominative singular) and the pronoun kibci (whatever, nominative singular).
2) the noun vataj (vow, nominative singular), with two attributes: the past participle savkilitthaj (impure, nominative singular) and the relative pronoun yaj (whatever, nominative singular). The conjunction ca (and) connects this subject to the previous one.
3) the compound brahmacariyaj (holy life, monk's life; nominative singular) with its attribute, the adjective savkassaraj (doubtful, nominative singular).
The verb is hoti (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the adjective compound mahapphalaj (having much fruit, nominative singular).

Commentary:

The story for this verse is identical with the one for the previous verse (DhP 311) and the following one (DhP 313).
Again, we are reminded, that the life of a monk is not easy. We should not think it to be very undemanding. This life is very difficult and full of hardships. A monk must endure them all, without trying to bend the rules of monastic conduct. Only then will the monastic life bear the ultimate fruit - the attainment of Arahantship.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

yaj
kibci
sithilaj
kammaj
savkilitthaj
ca
vataj
savkassaraj
brahmacariyaj
brahma
cariyaj
na
taj
hoti
mahapphalaj
maha
phalaj