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

List of Abbreviations

# papaj ce puriso kayira na naj kayira punappunaj

# na tamhi chandaj kayiratha dukkho papassa uccayo

# (DhP 117)

Sentence Translation:

Should a person do evil, let him not do it again and again.
One should not wish for it. Accumulation of evil is painful.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

papaj ce puriso kayira na naj kayira punappunaj
| | | | | | | |
N.n. part. N.m. V.act. neg. Pron.n. V.act. Adv.
Acc.Sg. | Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.opt. | Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.opt. |
| |_____|________| |_____|_______| |
| |____| | |___________|
|___________| |_________|
|_______________________________|

List of Abbreviations

na tamhi chandaj kayiratha dukkho papassa uccayo
| | | | | | |
neg. Pron.n. N.m. V.med. Adj.m. N.n. N.m.
| Loc.Sg. Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.opt. Nom.Sg. Gen.Sg. Nom.Sg.
| |_______| | | |______|
|______________|__________| |___________|
|____|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

papaj: papa-, N.n.: evil, wrong doing. Acc.Sg. = papaj.

ce, part.: if.

puriso: purisa-, N.m.: person. Nom.Sg. = puriso.

kayira, V.: would do. The verb root is kar- (to do). 3.Sg.act.opt. = kayira.

na, neg.: not.

naj: ena-, Pron.: it. In Pali used only in Acc.Sg.m.: naj (him).

kayira: see above.

punappunaj, Adv.: again and again. It is the word puna, Ind.: again, doubled in intensifying sense. The double -p- is a result of the euphonic combination.

List of Abbreviations

na: see above.

tamhi: tad-, Pron.: that. Loc.Sg.n. = tamhi.

chandaj: chanda-, N.m.: wish, desire, intention. Acc.Sg. = chandaj.

kayiratha, V.: should do. The verb root is kar- (to do). 3.Sg.med.opt. = kayiratha.

dukkho: dukkha-, Adj.: painful, unpleasant, causing suffering. Nom.Sg.m. = dukkho.

papassa: papa-, N.n.: see above. Gen.Sg. = papassa.

uccayo: uccaya-, N.m.: heaping up, accumulation. It is derived from the verb root ci- (to collect) with the prefix ud- (up). Nom.Sg. = uccayo.

List of Abbreviations

This verse contains three syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) papaj ce puriso kayira na naj kayira punappunaj (should a person do evil, let him not do it again and again). This can be further subdivided into two parts:
a) papaj ce puriso kayira (should a person do evil). The subject is the noun puriso (person, nominative singular). The verb is kayira (should do, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). It is modified by the particle ce (if). The object is the noun papaj (evil, accusative singular).
b) na naj kayira punappunaj (let him not do it again and again). The subject is omitted; the word puriso from the first sentence is implied. The verb is kayira (should do, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The adverb punappunaj (again and again) forms an attribute to the verb. The object is the pronoun naj (it, accusative singular).
2) na tamhi chandaj kayiratha (one should not wish for it, lit.: one should not make a wish in it). As above, the subject is omitted, implying the noun puriso from the first sentence. The verb is kayiratha (should do, 3rd person, singular, medium, optative). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the noun chandaj (wish, accusative singular) with its attribute, the pronoun tamhi (in it, locative singular).
3) dukkho papassa uccayo (accumulation of evil is painful). The subject is the noun uccayo (accumulation, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the noun papassa (of evil, genitive singular). The object is the adjective dukkho (painful, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be".

Commentary:

There was a monk named Seyyasaka. He was not satisfied with his life as a monk. He had a habit of masturbating. When the Buddha heard about this, he admonished the monk for giving in to his desire for sensual pleasures. He made a new rule for the community of monks and nuns to abstain from such acts. He then added this verse, saying that one should not perform evil again and again, because such behavior leads to much suffering.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

papaj
ce
puriso
kayira
na
naj
punappunaj
puna
tamhi
chandaj
kayiratha
dukkho
papassa
uccayo