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

List of Abbreviations

# duravgamaj ekacaraj asariraj guhasayaj

# ye cittaj sajyamissanti mokkhanti marabandhana

# (DhP 37)

Sentence Translation:

Those, who can restrain the mind, which is going far, wandering alone, bodiless
and living in the cave, those will be freed from the bond of Mara.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

durav+gamaj eka+caraj a+sariraj guha+sayaj
| | | | | | | |
Adv. Adj.n. Adj. Adj.n. neg. Adj.n. N.f. Adj.n.
| Acc.Sg. | Acc.Sg. | Acc.Sg. | Acc.Sg.
|________| |_____| |____| |_____|
|____________|_________|___________|_________________________

List of Abbreviations

ye cittaj sajyamissanti mokkhanti mara+bandhana
| | | | | |
Rel.Pron. N.n. V.act. V.pas. N.m. N.n.
Nom.Pl. Acc.Sg. 3.Pl.fut. 3.Pl.fut. | Abl.Sg.
__|_________| | | |______|
|_____|____________| |___________|
|_______| |
|_________________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

duravgamaj: duravgama-, Adj.: going far. A compound of:
duraj, Adv.: far. Derived from dura-, Adj.: far, distant. The change of final -j to -v
is due to the euphonic combination.
-gama-, Adj.suf.: going. Derived from the verb gam- (to go).
Acc.Sg.n. = duravgamaj.

ekacaraj: ekacara-, Adj.: wandering alone. A compound of:
eka-, Num.: one. Here as an adj.: alone, solitary.
-cara-, Adj.suf.: wandering. Derived from the verb car- (to walk, to roam).
Acc.Sg.n. = ekacaraj.

List of Abbreviations

asariraj: asarira-, Adj.: bodiless. The word sarira-, N.n.: body, negated by the negative prefix a-, thus becomes an adjective. Acc.Sg.n. = asariraj.

guhasayaj: guhasaya-, Adj.: living in a cave. A compound of:
guha-, N.f.: cave, cavern. Derived from the verb guh- (to hide).
a saya-, N.m.: abode, living place, shelter. Derived from the verb si- (to lie) with
the prefix a- (to, on).
Acc.Sg.n. = guhasayaj.

ye: yad-, Rel.Pron.: those, who. Nom.Pl.m. = ye.

cittaj: citta-, N.n.: mind. Acc.Sg. = cittaj.

List of Abbreviations

sajyamissanti, V.: will restrain. The verb yam- (to restrain) with the prefix saj- (together). 3.Pl.act.fut. = sajyamissanti.

mokkhanti, V.: will be released. The verb root muc- (to be freed).
3.Pl.pas.fut. = mokkhanti.

marabandhana: marabandhana-, N.n: the bond of Mara. A compound of:
mara-, N.m.: Mara, the Evil One, Death.
bandhana-, N.n,: bond, fetter. Derived from the verb bandh- (to bind, to fasten).
Abl.Sg. = marabandhana.

List of Abbreviations

This verse contains two sentences. First is duravgamaj ekacaraj asariraj guhasayaj ye cittaj sajyamissanti (Those, who can restrain the mind, which is going far, wandering alone, bodiless and living in the cave). Here, the subject is the relative pronoun ye (those, who; nominative plural). The verb is sajyamissanti (will restrain, 3rd person, plural, active, future tense). The object is the word cittaj (mind, accusative singular) with its four attributes. They are: 1) duravgamaj (going far), 2) ekacaraj (wandering alone), 3) asariraj (bodiless), 4) guhasayaj (living in the cave). They all have to agree with the object and are therefore in accusative singular.
The rest of the verse forms the second sentence: mokkhanti marabandhana ([they] will be freed from the bond of Mara). The subject is missing here, we have to supply a personal pronoun te (they, nominative plural), that should form the second part of the paradigm relative pronoun - personal pronoun (ye - te). The verb is mokkhanti (will be freed, 3rd person, plural, passive, future tense). The object is marabandhana (from the bond of Mara, ablative singular).

Commentary:

Savgharakkhita Thera was from the city of Savatthi. His sister gave birth to a son. People called him "The nephew Savgharakkhita". He also became a monk.
Once he was offered two sets of robes. He wanted to give one set to his uncle. So at the end of the retreat he went to see him, but his uncle did not want a robe, saying he had enough. The young man felt bad, thinking the uncle does not want to share with him. So he decided to leave the Order.
His mind began to wander and a train of thoughts appeared. When he became a layman he would sell his robes and buy a goat. The goat would breed quickly and soon he would have enough money to marry. His wife would give birth to a son. He would take his wife and son in a cart to see the uncle. On the way he would say he could carry the child. She would tell him to drive that she could carry the baby. But he will insist and grab the child. The child would fall down and the wheel would pass over him. He would get furious and hit his wife with the goading stick.
At that time he was fanning the Thera and absentmindedly hit him with the fan. His uncle said: "You were unable to beat your wife, why hit an old monk?" The young man was embarrassed and frightened of his uncle, so he fled. The monks chased him and took him to see the Buddha. He told him the verse and said that the mind has ability to think of objects far away and that one should strive for liberation. The young monk attained the first stage of awakenment.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

duravgamaj
durav
gamaj
ekacaraj
eka
caraj
asariraj
guhasayaj
guha
asayaj
ye
cittaj
sajyamissanti
mokkhanti
marabandhana
mara
bandhana