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

List of Abbreviations

# vanijo va bhayaj maggaj appasattho mahaddhano

# visaj jivitukamo va papani parivajjaye

# (DhP 123)

Sentence Translation:

Like a merchant with a small caravan and a lot of money would avoid a dreadful path,
like someone who wants to live would avoid a poison, so should one avoid evil.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

vanijo va bhayaj maggaj appa+sattho maha+ddhano
| | | | | | | |
N.m. part. Adj.m. N.m. Adj. N.m. Adj. N.m.
Nom.Sg. | Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. | Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg.
| | |______| |____| |_____|
|________|________|_____________|___________|
| |______|
|___________|
|____________________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

visaj jivitu+kamo va papani parivajjaye
| | | | | |
N.n. V.inf. N.m. part. N.n. V.act.
Acc.Sg. | Nom.Sg. | Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.opt.
| |____| | | |
|___________| | | |
|______________| | |
____________|_____________|_______|
|_______|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

vanijo: vanija-, N.m.: merchant, trader. Nom.Sg. = vanijo.

va, part.: as, like.

bhayaj: bhaya-, N.n.: fear, dread. As an Adj.: dreadful, frightful. Acc.Sg.m. = bhayaj.

maggaj: magga-, N.m.: road, path. Acc.Sg. = maggaj.

appasattho: appasattha-, Adj.: having a small caravan. It is a compound of:
appa-, Adj.: few, little.
sattha-, N.m.: caravan.
Nom.Sg.m. = appasattho.

mahaddhano: mahaddhana-, Adj.: having much money. It is a compound of:
mahant-, Adj.: big, great, much. The compound form used here: maha-.
dhana-, N.n.: wealth, money.
Euphonic combination: maha- + dhana- = mahaddhana-.
Nom.Sg.m. = mahaddhano.

List of Abbreviations

visaj: visa-, N.n.: poison. Acc.Sg. = visaj.

jivitukamo: jivitukama-, Adj.: one who wishes to live. It is a compound of:
jivituj, V.inf.: to live. It is an infinitive of the verb root jiv- (to live). The compound form: jivitu-.
kama-, N.m.: wish, desire.
Nom.Sg.m. = jivitukamo.

va, part.: as, like.

papani: papa-, Adj.: evil, wrong. As an N.n.: evil, wrong doing. Nom.Pl. = papani.

parivajjaye, V.: should avoid, should keep away from. The verb root is vajj- (to avoid) with the prefix pari- (all around). 3.Sg.act.opt. = parivajjaye.

List of Abbreviations

The main sentence in this verse is papani parivajjaye (one should avoid evil). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is parivajjaye (one should avoid, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). The object is papani (evils, accusative plural). There are two clauses to this sentence:
1) vanijo va bhayaj maggaj appasattho mahaddhano (like a merchant with a small caravan and a lot of money would avoid a dreadful path). The subject of this sentence is the noun vanijo (merchant, nominative singular). It has two attributes, the compounds appasattho (with a small caravan, nominative singular) and mahaddhano (with a lot of money, nominative singular). The verb is omitted; parivajjaye from the main sentence is implied. The object is the noun maggaj (path, accusative singular) with its attribute, the noun/adjective bhayaj (dreadful, accusative singular). The particle va (like) connects the clause to the main sentence.
2) visaj jivitukamo va (like someone who wants to live would avoid a poison). The subject is the compound jivitukamo (one who wishes to live, nominative singular). The verb is again omitted; as before, the verb parivajjaye from the main sentence is implied. The object is the noun visaj (poison, accusative singular). The particle va (like) connects the clause to the main sentence.

Commentary:

In Savatthi there lived a rich merchant named Maha Dhana. A group of robbers wanted to rob him. Maha Dhana decided to make a journey with a lot of valuable merchandise. He invited some monks who wanted to go on the same journey to go with him. The robbers hid themselves in a forest and waited for Maha Dhana's caravan. But Maha Dhana found out about their plan and decided to stop just in front of the forest and wait for the robbers to leave. When they did not do so, Maha Dhana decided to go back home. The robbers found out and planned to attack him on the return journey. Some people told Maha Dhana about this and so he stopped in the village and stayed there for some time.
The monks returned back to Savatthi and told the Buddha what happened. Buddha told them this verse, saying, that a merchant is wise to keep away from the journey full of robbers. Also one who wants to live better keep away from poison. And those, who want to attain Awakenment, should avoid evil.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

vanijo
va
bhayaj
maggaj
appasattho
appa
sattho
mahaddhano
maha
dhano
visaj
jivitukamo
jivitu
kamo
papani
parivajjaye