Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
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List of Abbreviations

# ucchinda sineham attano kumudaj saradikaj va panina

# santimaggam eva bruhaya nibbanaj sugatena desitaj

# (DhP 285)

Sentence Translation:

Cut off your own desires, as if picking an autumnal lotus with your hand.
Practice the path of tranquility, Nirvana taught by the Buddha.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

ucchinda sineham attano kumudaj saradikaj va panina
| | | | | | |
V.act. N.m. Pron. N.n. Adj.n. part. N.m.
2.Sg.imp. Acc.Sg. Gen.Sg. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. | Ins.Sg.
| |______| |_________| | |
|______________| |__________|_____|
| |_____|
|______________________________|

List of Abbreviations

santi+maggam eva bruhaya nibbanaj sugatena desitaj
| | | | | | |
N.f. N.m. part. V.act. N.n. Adj.m. Adj.n.
| Acc.Sg. | 2.Sg.imp. Acc.Sg. Ins.Sg. Acc.Sg.
|_______| | | | |_______|
|_________| | |___________|
|___________|_____________|
|_____|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

ucchinda, V.: cut off, destroy. The verb root is chid- (cut off, remove), with the prefix ud- (out, off). 2.Sg.act.imp. = ucchinda.

sineham: sineha-, N.m.: affection, lust, desire. Acc.Sg. = sineham.

attano: attan-, N.m./Pron.: self, oneself. Gen.Sg. = attano.

kumudaj: kumuda-, N.n.: lotus. Acc.Sg. = kumudaj.

saradikaj: saradika-, Adj.: autumnal. It is derived from the word: sarada-, N.m.: fall, autumn. Acc.Sg.n. = saradikaj.

va, part.: as, like.

panina: pani-, N.m.: hand, palm. Ins.Sg. = panina.

List of Abbreviations

santimaggam: santimagga-, N.m.: the path of tranquility. It is a compound of:
santi-, N.f.: tranquility, peace.
magga-, N.m.: way, road, path.
Acc.Sg. = santimaggam.

eva, part.: just, only.

bruhaya, V.: develop, practice, devote oneself to. The verb root is brah-. 2.Sg.act.imp. = bruhaya.

nibbanaj: nibbana-, N.n.: Nirvana, the goal of Buddhism. Acc.Sg. = nibbanaj.

sugatena: sugata-, Adj.: well-gone, an epithet of the Buddha. It is a p.p. of the verb root gam- (to go) preceded by the prefix su- (well). Ins.Sg.m. = sugatena.

desitaj: desita-, Adj.: taught. It is a p.p. of the verb root dis-, to teach. Acc.Sg.n. = desitaj.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) ucchinda sineham attano kumudaj saradikaj va panina (cut off your own desires, as if picking an autumnal lotus with your hand). This can be further analyzed into the main sentence a) and the clause b):
a) ucchinda sineham attano (cut off your own desires). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the second person singular pronoun. The verb is ucchinda (cut off, 2nd person, singular, active, imperative). The object is the noun sineham (desire, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the pronoun attano (own, genitive singular).
b) kumudaj saradikaj va panina (as if picking an autumnal lotus with your hand). The subject and verb are omitted, implying the ones from the main sentence. The object is the noun kumudaj (lotus, accusative singular). It has two attributes, the adjective saradikaj (autumnal, accusative singular) and the noun panina (with the hand, instrumental singular). The particle va (as, like) connects the clause to the main sentence.
2) santimaggam eva bruhaya nibbanaj sugatena desitaj (practice the path of tranquility, Nirvana taught by the Buddha). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the second person singular pronoun. The verb is bruhaya (practice, develop; 2nd person, singular, active, imperative). There are two objects: a) the compound santimaggam (the path of tranquility, accusative singular). It is stressed by the particle eva (just, only); b) the noun nibbanaj (Nirvana, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the past participle desitaj (taught, accusative singular) with its attribute, the adjective sugatena (by the Buddha, instrumental singular).

Commentary:

Venerable Sariputta had a young monk as a pupil. This monk was a son of a goldsmith. Sariputta gave him a subject of meditation (impurity of the body) and the monk went to the forest to practice meditation. But he did not make any progress and kept returning to Sariputta to ask for more instructions. So Sariputta took him to see the Buddha.
The Buddha changed the tactics. He gave the monk a beautiful lotus. He told him to put it in front of himself and meditate on its purity and beauty. The monk did so and was able to reach unbroken concentration and achieve the fourth level of mental absorption (jhana).
At that moment the Buddha made the lotus to wither. The monk saw this and realized the impermanence of all things. The Buddha then further exhorted him with this verse. The monk reflected on its meaning and attained the Awakenment.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

ucchinda
sineham
attano
kumudaj
saradikaj
va
panina
santimaggam
santi
maggam
eva
bruhaya
nibbanaj
sugatena
desitaj