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

List of Abbreviations

# nitthavgato asantasi vitatanho anavgano

# acchindi bhavasallani antimoyaj samussayo

# (DhP 351)

Sentence Translation:

One who has attained perfection, is without fear, free of thirst and pure,
cut off the arrows of existence. For such a one, this is the very last life.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

nitthav+gato asantasi vita+tanho anavgano
| | | | | |
N.f. Adj.m. Adj.m. Adj. Adj.m. Adj.m.
Acc.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|________| | |_____| |
|_____________|_________|_________|
|_____________________________________

List of Abbreviations

acchindi bhava+sallani antimo ayaj samussayo
| | | | | |
V.act. N.m. N.n. Adj.m. Pron.m. N.m.
3.Sg.aor. | Acc.Pl. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
| |______| |________|_______|
|____________| |____|
_______|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

nitthavgato: nitthavgata-, Adj.: has attained perfection. It is a compound of:
nittha, N.f.: conclusion, perfection, summit, aim. The compound form (also the Acc.Sg.): nitthav.
gata-, Adj.: gone. It is a p.p. of the verb gam- (to go).
Nom.Sg.m. = nitthavgato.

asantasi: asantasin-, Adj.: fearless, not afraid. It is the word santasin-, Adj.: frightened, trembling (it is derived from the word santasa-, N.m.: fear, shock and the possessive suffix -in), negated by the negative prefix a-. Nom.Sg.m. = asantasi.

vitatanho: vitatanha-, Adj.: without thirst. Lit. "with the thirst gone". It is a compound of:
vita-, Adj.: gone. It is a p.p. of the verb i- (to go) with the prefix vi- (away).
tanha-, N.f.: thirst, craving.
Nom.Sg.m. = vitatanho.

anavgano: anavgana-, Adj.: pure, clear, without specks. It is the word avgana-, N.m.: speck, freckle, with the negative prefix an-. Nom.Sg.m. = anavgano.

List of Abbreviations

acchindi, V.: has cut off, has destroyed. The verb root is chid-. 3.Sg.act.aor. = acchindi.

bhavasallani: bhavasalla-, N.n.: the arrows of existence. It is a compound of:
bhava-, N.m.: becoming, existence. It is derived from the verb root bhu- (to be).
salla-, N.n.: arrow, dart.
Acc.Pl. = bhavasallani.

antimo: antima-, Adj.: last, final. Nom.Sg.m. = antimo.

ayaj: idaj, Pron.: this. Nom.Sg.m. = ayaj.
Euphonic combination: antimo + ayaj = antimoyaj.

samussayo: samussaya-, N.m.: life, body, accumulation, complex. Nom.Sg. = samussayo.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) nitthavgato asantasi vitatanho anavgano acchindi bhavasallani (one who has attained perfection, is without fear, free of thirst and pure, cut off the arrows of existence). There are four subjects, the adjectives nitthavgato (has attained perfection, nominative singular), asantasi (without fear, nominative singular), vitatanho (free of thirst, nominative singular) and anavgano (pure, nominative singular). The verb is acchindi (cut off, 3rd person, singular, active, aorist). The object is the compound bhavasallani (arrows of existence, accusative plural).
2) antimoyaj samussayo (this is the very last life). The subject is the pronoun ayaj (this, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the noun samussayo (body, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the adjective antimo (last, nominative singular).

Commentary:

A large group of monks came to visit the Jetavana monastery. The Buddha's son, novice Rahula had to sleep outside. Mara then took the form of an elephant and tried to scare Rahula. But Rahula did not show any trace of fear. The Buddha then came out and told Mara this verse (and the following one, DhP 352) telling him that Rahula was an Arahant and could not be scared by anything in the world. Mara realized he lost and disappeared.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

nitthavgato
nitthav
gato
asantasi
vitatanho
vita
tanho
anavgano
acchindi
bhavasallani
bhava
sallani
antimo
ayaj
samussayo