Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
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List of Abbreviations

# magganatthavgiko settho saccanaj caturo pada

# virago settho dhammanaj dvipadanaj ca cakkhuma

# (DhP 273)

Sentence Translation:

The Eightfold Path is the best of Paths. The best of truths are the Four Truths.
The best of mental states is absence of passion. The best of people are the ones with insight.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

magganaj attha+avgiko settho saccanaj caturo pada
| | | | | | |
N.m. Num. Adj.m. Adj.m. N.n. Num.m. N.n.
Gen.Pl. | Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Gen.Pl. Nom.Pl. Nom.Pl.
| |_____| | | |________|
|_____________|__________| |____________|
|_______|

List of Abbreviations

virago settho dhammanaj dvi+padanaj ca cakkhuma
| | | | | | |
N.m. Adj.m. N.m. Num. N.m. conj. Adj.m.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Gen.Pl. | Gen.Pl. | Nom.Sg.
| |________| |______| | |
|______________| |________|______|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

magganaj: magga-, N.m.: road, path. Gen.Pl. = magganaj.

atthavgiko: atthavgika-, Adj.: eight-fold, having eight parts. It is a compound of:
attha-, Num. eight.
avgika-, Adj.: having a part, having a constituent. It is derived from the word avga-, N.n.: limb, part, constituent.
Euphonic combination: attha- + avgika- = atthavgika-.
Nom.Sg.m. = atthavgiko.
Euphonic combination: magganaj + atthavgiko = magganatthavgiko.

settho: settha-, Adj.: best. Nom.Sg.m. = settho.

saccanaj: sacca-, N.n.: truth. Gen.Pl. = saccanaj.

caturo: catur-, Num.: four. Nom.Pl.m. = caturo.

pada: pada-, N.n.: saying, word, verse. Nom.Pl. = pada (instead of the correct form padani).

List of Abbreviations

virago: viraga-, N.m.: absence of desire, absence of passion. It is the word raga-, N.m.: desire, passion, with the prefix vi- (away from, without). Nom.Sg. = virago.

settho: see above.

dhammanaj: dhamma-, N.m.: here does not mean Buddha's teaching, but should be interpreted rather as "state of mind", "mental phenomena". Gen.Pl. = dhammanaj.

dvipadanaj: dvipada-, N.m.: human being, biped. It is a compound of:
dvi-, Num.: two.
pada-, N.m.: foot, leg.
Gen.Pl. = dvipadanaj.

ca, conj.: and.

cakkhuma: cakkhumant-, Adj.: seeing, having insight, having knowledge. It is the word cakkhu-, N.n.: eye, with the possessive suffix -mant. Nom.Sg.m. = cakkhuma.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of four syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) magganatthavgiko settho (the Eightfold [Path] is the best of Path). The subject is the adjective atthavgiko (eightfold, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". It has an attribute, the noun magganaj (of paths, genitive plural). The object is the adjective settho (best, nominative singular).
2) saccanaj caturo pada (the best of truths are the Four Sentences). The subject is the noun pada (clauses, sentences; nominative plural). It has an attribute, the numeral caturo (four, nominative plural). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". It has an attribute, the noun saccanaj (of truths, genitive plural).
3) virago settho dhammanaj (the best of mental states is absence of passion). The subject is the noun virago (absence of passion, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". It has an attribute, the noun dhammanaj (of mental states, genitive plural). The object is the adjective settho (best, nominative singular).
4) dvipadanaj ca cakkhuma (the best of people are the ones with insight). The subject is the adjective cakkhuma (seeing, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". It has an attribute, the noun dvipadanaj (of bipeds, genitive plural). The conjunction ca (and) serves mainly for metrical purposes, but it also connects this sentence to the previous ones.

Commentary:

Once the Buddha with a group of monks returned to the Jetavana monastery after a teaching trip. In the evening, some monks talked about the trip, about the condition of the path, about the nature of the land, whether it was hilly or flat etc.
The Buddha entered the hall where they were talking and told them this verse (and the following ones, DhP 274, DhP 275 and DhP 276), saying that such talks were ultimately meaningless.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

magganaj
atthavgiko
attha
avgiko
settho
saccanaj
caturo
pada
virago
dhammanaj
dvipadanaj
dvi
padanaj
ca
cakkhuma