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

List of Abbreviations

# etha passath'imaj lokaj cittaj rajarath'upamaj

# yattha bala visidanti n'atthi savgo vijanataj

# (DhP 171)

Sentence Translation:

Come and look at this world, similar to a beautiful king's chariot.
Where the fools sink down, for those, who understand, there is no attachment.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

etha passatha imaj lokaj cittaj raja+ratha+upamaj
| | | | | | | |
V.act. V.act. Pron.m. N.m. Adj.m. N.m. N.m. Adj.m.
2.Pl.imp. 2.Pl.imp. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. |____| Acc.Sg.
|___________| |______| | |_________|
| | |___________|
| |________________|
|________________________|

List of Abbreviations

yattha bala visidanti na atthi savgo vijanataj
| | | | | | |
Rel.Adv. N.m. V.act.in. neg. V.act.in. N.m. Adj.m.
| Nom.Sg. 3.Pl.pres. | 3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg. Gen.Pl.
| |________| |_______| | |
|______________| |__________|_______|
| |_____|
|_____________________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

etha, V.: come. The verb root is i- (to go) with the prefix a- (towards). 3.Pl.act.imp. = etha.

passatha, V.: see, look at. The verb root is dis- (to see). 2.Pl.act.imp. = passatha.

imaj: idaj, Pron.: this. Acc.Sg.m. = imaj.
Euphonic combination: passatha + imaj = passath'imaj.

lokaj: loka-, N.m.; world.

cittaj: citta-, Adj.: bright, beautiful. Acc.Sg.m. = cittaj.

rajarath'upamaj: rajarath'upama-, Adj.: similar to the king's chariot. It is a compound of:
rajaratha-, N.m.: king's chariots. It is a compound of:
rajan-, N.m.: king. The compound form of rajan- is raja-.
ratha-, N.m.: chariot.
upama-, Adj.: similar, -like.
Euphonic combination: rajaratha- + upama- = rajarath'upama-.
Acc.Sg.m. = rajarath'upamaj.

List of Abbreviations

yattha, Rel.Adv.: where.

bala: bala-, Adj.: childish, young. As an N.m.: "like a child", fool, ignorant person. Nom.Pl. = bala.

visidanti, V.: sink down, be sad, be dejected. The verb root is sad- (to sink) with the prefix vi- (intensifying sense). 3.Pl.act.in.pres. = visidanti.

na, neg.: not. 158

atthi, V.: is. The verb root is as- (to be). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = atthi.
Euphonic combination: na + atthi = n'atthi.

savgo: savga-, N.m.: clinging, attachment, bond. Nom.Sg. = savgo.

vijanataj: vijanant-, Adj.: knowing, understanding. It is an a.pr.p. of the verb ba- (to know) with the prefix vi- (intensifying sense). Gen.Pl.m. = vijanataj.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) etha passath'imaj lokaj cittaj rajarath'upamaj (come and look at this world, similar to a beautiful king's chariot). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the second person plural pronoun. There are two verbs, etha (come, 2nd person, plural, active, imperative) and passatha (look at, 2nd person, plural, active, imperative). The object is the noun lokaj (world, accusative singular). It has two attributes, the pronoun imaj (this, accusative singular) and the compound rajarath'upamaj (similar to the king's chariot, accusative singular). This last word has the adjective cittaj (beautiful, accusative singular) as an attribute.
2) yattha bala visidanti n'atthi savgo vijanataj (where the fools sink down, for those, who understand, there is no attachment). This can be further analysed into two segments:
a) yattha bala visidanti (where the fools sink down). The subject is the noun bala (fools, nominative plural). The verb is visidanti (sink down, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The relative adverb yattha (where) connects this segment to the following one.
b) n'atthi savgo vijanataj (for those, who understand, there is no attachment). The subject is the noun savgo (attachment, nominative singular). The verb is atthi (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). It has an attribute, the active present participle vijanataj (for those, who understand, genitive plural).

Commentary:

Prince Abhaya was sent to repress some rebellion at the frontier. He did this job very successfully and so king Bimbisara gave him the honor of a ruler for seven days. He was also given a young dancing girl for entertainment. But on the seventh day the girl died from exhaustion. The prince was very shocked and sad.
He went to see the Buddha, who consoled him with this verse, saying that we should not be attached to worldly things.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

etha
passatha
imaj
lokaj
cittaj
rajarath'upamaj
raja
ratha
upamaj
yattha
bala
visidanti
na
atthi
savgo
vijanataj