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

List of Abbreviations

# susukhaj vata jivama yesaj no natthi kibcanaj

# pitibhakkha bhavissama deva abhassara yatha

# (DhP 200)

Sentence Translation:

Very happily indeed we live, who have nothing whatsoever.
We will be feeding on joy, just like the Radiant Gods.

Sentence Structure:

susukhaj vata jivama yesaj no na atthi kibcanaj
| | | | | | | |
Adv. part. V.act.in. Rel.Pron.m. Pron.m. neg. V.act.in. Pron.n.
|_________| 1.Pl.pres. Gen.Pl. Gen.Pl. | 3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg.
|___________| |_________| |______| |
| | |__________|
| |___________________|
|_____________________________|

List of Abbreviations

piti+bhakkha bhavissama deva abhassara yatha
| | | | | |
N.f. Adj.m. V.act. N.m. Adj.m. Rel.Adv.
| Nom.Pl. 1.Pl.fut. Nom.Pl. Nom.Pl. |
|_______| | |_______| |
|____________| |__________|
|_______________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

susukhaj, Adv.: very happily. It is derived from the word sukha-, Adj.: happy, with the prefix su- (well, good).

vata, part.: indeed, certainly.

jivama, V.: (we) live. The verb root is jiv-. 1.Pl.act.in.pres. = jivama.

yesaj: yat-, Rel.Pron.: that, which. Gen.Pl.m. = yesaj.

no: aham, Pron.: I. Gen.Pl. = no.

na, neg.: not.

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

List of Abbreviations

kibcanaj: kibcana-, Pron.n.: something, anything. Nom.Sg. = kibcanaj.

pitibhakkha: pitibhakkha-, Adj.: feeding on joy. It is a compound of:
piti-, N.f.: joy, delight.
bhakkha-, Adj.: eating, feeding. It is derived from the verb root bhakkh- (to eat).
Nom.Pl.m. = pitibhakkha.

bhavissama, V.: (we) will be. The verb root is bhu-. 1.Pl.act.fut. = bhavissama.

deva: deva-, N.m.: god, celestial being. Nom.Pl. = deva.

abhassara: abhassara-, Adj.: radiant. Radiant Gods, a special class of gods that feed on joy.
Nom.Pl.m. = abhassara.

yatha, Rel.Adv.: as, just like.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) susukhaj vata jivama yesaj no natthi kibcanaj (very happily indeed we live, who have nothing whatsoever). This can be further analysed into two segments:
a) susukhaj vata jivama (very happily indeed we live). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the first person plural pronoun. The verb is jivama (we live, 1st person, plural, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the adverb susukhaj (very happily). The particle vata (indeed) serves mainly for metrical purposes.
b) yesaj no natthi kibcanaj (who have nothing whatsoever). The subject is the pronoun kibcanaj (anything, nominative singular). The verb is atthi (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The verb has two attributes, the pronoun no (ours, genitive plural) and the relative pronoun yesaj (whose, genitive plural).
2) pitibhakkha bhavissama deva abhassara yatha (we will be feeding on joy, just like the Radiant Gods). This can be further analysed into the main sentence a) and the clause b):
a) pitibhakkha bhavissama (we will be feeding on joy). The subject is the adjective compound pitibhakkha (feeding on joy, nominative plural). The verb is bhavissama ([we] will be, 1st person, plural, active, future).
b) deva abhassara yatha (just like the Radiant Gods). The subject is the noun deva (gods, nominative plural) with its attribute, the adjective abhassara (radiant, nominative plural). The relative adverb yatha (just as, like) connects the clause to the main sentence.

Commentary:

The Buddha once saw that a group of young girls from Pabcasala village was very close to attaining the first stage of Awakenment. One day, when the girls were returning from the bath at the river, the Buddha entered the village for almsfood. However, the villagers were influenced by Mara and gave him nothing.
When the Buddha left the village, he met Mara who asked him if he has received enough almsfood. The Buddha, knowing that Mara influenced the villagers, admonished him for doing such a wrong deed. Mara wanted to make further fun of the Buddha and so told him to go back to the village to ask for almsfood again.
When the Buddha returned to the village, the girls came back from their bath and paid their homage to him. Mara appeared again and asked the Buddha if he was not quite hungry, not having eaten anything that day. The Buddha replied with this verse, saying that even if he did not get any food at all, he would sustain himself on joy and satisfaction, like the Radiant Gods, who live in constant joy and happiness.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

susukhaj
vata
jivama
yesaj
no
na
atthi
kibcanaj
pitibhakkha
piti
bhakkha
bhavissama
deva
abhassara
yatha