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

List of Abbreviations

# tasma hi

# dhiraj ca pabbaj ca bahussutaj ca

# dhorayhasilaj vatavantam ariyaj

# taj tadisaj sappurisaj sumedhaj

# bhajetha nakkhattapathaj va candima

# (DhP 208)

Sentence Translation:

Therefore:
Clever and wise and learned,
virtuous, devout and noble -
associate with such a smart true person,
just like the moon follows the path of the stars.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

tasma hi
| |
Pron.m. part.
Abl.Sg. |
|_________|

List of Abbreviations

dhiraj ca pabbaj ca bahu+ssutaj ca
| | | | | | |
Adj.m. conj. Adj.m. conj. Adj. Adj.m. conj.
Acc.Sg. | Acc.Sg. | | Acc.Sg. |
|_______| |_____| |_____| |
| | |_______|
|___________|______________|___________________________

List of Abbreviations

dhorayha+silaj vatavantam ariyaj
| | | |
N.m. Adj.m. Adj.m. Adj.m.
| Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg.
|__________| | |
____|_____________|________|________________________________

List of Abbreviations

taj tadisaj sappurisaj sumedhaj
| | | |
Pron.m. Adj.m. N.m. Adj.m.
Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg.
|_________| | |
____|______________|_________|
|______| |
|___________|
|______________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

bhajetha nakkhatta+pathaj va candima
| | | | |
V.act. N.n. N.m. part. N.m.
2.Pl.opt. | Acc.Sg. | Nom.Sg.
| |________| | |
| |_________|______|
| |____|
_____| |
|_____________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

tasma: tad-, Pron.: that. Abl.Sg. = tasma (therefore, lit. "from that").

hi, part.: indeed.

dhiraj: dhira-, Adj.: wise, clever. As. an N.m.: wise person. Acc.Sg. = dhiraj.

ca, conj.: and.

pabbaj: pabba-, Adj.: wise, endowed with knowledge. It is derived from the word pabba-, N.f.: wisdom, knowledge. Acc.Sg.m. = pabbaj.

ca: see above.

List of Abbreviations

bahussutaj: bahussuta-, Adj.: learned, one who has heard much. It is a compound of:
bahu-, Adj.: large, much, very.
suta-, N.n.: knowledge, learning. Lit. it is a p.p. of the verb su- (to hear).
Euphonic combination: bahu- + suta- = bahussuta-.
Acc.Sg.m. = bahussutaj.

ca: see above.

dhorayhasilaj: dhorayhasila-, Adj.: virtuous, enduring, patient. Lit.: "carrying a yoke of virtue". It is a compound of:
dhorayha-, N.m.: carrying a yoke, beast of burden.
sila-, N.n.: virtue.
Acc.Sg.m. = dhorayhasilaj.

vatavantam: vatavant-, Adj.: devout, observing religious customs. It is the word vata-, N.m.: religious duty, custom, observance, practice; with the possessive suffix -ant. Acc.Sg.m. = vatavantam.

List of Abbreviations

ariyaj: ariya-, Adj.: noble, distinguished, good. Acc.Sg.m. = ariyaj.

taj: tad-, Pron.: that. Acc.Sg.m. = taj.

tadisaj: tadisa-, Adj.: such. Acc.Sg.m. = tadisaj.

sappurisaj: sappurisa-, N.m.: a true person. It is a compound of:
sat-, Adj.: true, good, real. This is a compound form of the word sant- (see below).
purisa-, N.m.: person.
Euphonic combination: sat- + purisa- = sappurisa-.
Acc.Sg. = sappurisaj.

List of Abbreviations

sumedhaj: sumedha-, Adj.: smart. It is derived from the word medha-, N.f.: wisdom, intelligence, by adding the prefix su- (good, well). Acc.Sg.m. = sumedhaj.

bhajetha, V.: associate with. The verb root is bhaj- (to associate with).
2.Pl.act.opt. = bhajetha.

nakkhattapathaj: nakkhattapatha-, N.m.: the path of stars. It is a compound of:
nakkhatta-, N.n.: nightly heavenly body, star, stellar constellation.
patha-, N.m.: road, path.
Acc.Sg. = nakkhattapathaj.

va, part.: like, as (another form of this word is iva).

candima: candima-, N.m.: moon. Nom.Sg. = candima.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of the introducing phrase, the main sentence and the dependent clause, as follows:
1) tasma hi (therefore, indeed). The pronoun tasma ("from that", therefore; ablative singular) is modified by the particle hi (indeed, verily).
2) dhiraj ca pabbaj ca bahussutaj ca dhorayhasilaj vatavantam ariyaj taj tadisaj sappurisaj sumedhaj bhajetha (Clever and wise and learned, virtuous, devout and noble - associate with such a smart true person). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the second person plural pronoun. The verb is bhajetha (associate, 2nd person, plural, active, optative). The object is the noun sappurisaj (true person, accusative singular). It has nine attributes. The adjectives dhiraj (clever, accusative singular), pabbaj (wise, accusative singular), bahussutaj (learned, accusative singular), dhorayhasilaj (virtuous, accusative singular), vatavantam (devout, accusative singular), ariyaj (noble, accusative singular) and sumedhaj (smart, accusative singular). The second set of attributes is the adjective tadisaj (such, accusative singular) and the pronoun taj (that, accusative singular). Several of the attributes are connected to each other by multiple conjunctions ca (and).
3) nakkhattapathaj va candima (just like the moon [follows] the path of the stars). The subject is the noun candima (moon, nominative singular). The verb is omitted; the main sentence implies the verb bhaj- (to associate; in 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense - bhajati). The object is the compound nakkhattapathaj (the path of the stars, accusative singular). The particle va (as, like) connects the clause to the main sentence.

Commentary:

The story for this verse is identical with the one for the two previous verses (DhP 206 and DhP 207).
As the moon follows and "associates with" the stars on the night sky, so should people who want to reach the highest goal follow and associate with only the best companions, who can teach one a lot on the way to the spiritual progress.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

tasma
hi
dhiraj
ca
pabbaj
bahussutaj
bahu
sutaj
dhorayhasilaj
dhorayha
silaj
vatavantam
ariyaj
taj
tadisaj
sappurisaj
sat
purisaj
sumedhaj
bhajetha
nakkhattapathaj
nakkhatta
pathaj
va
candima