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List of Abbreviations

# etam atthavasaj batva pandito silasajvuto

# nibbanagamanaj maggaj khippam eva visodhaye

# (DhP 289)

Sentence Translation:

The wise man restrained by virtue, knowing this reasoning,
should quickly purify the path leading to Nirvana.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

etam attha+vasaj batva pandito sila+sajvuto
| | | | | | |
Pron.m. N.n. N.m. V.ger. N.m. N.n. Adj.m.
Acc.Sg. | Acc.Sg. | Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg.
| |_____| | | |______|
|____________| | |_________|
|_____________| |
|_________________|
|_________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

nibbana+gamanaj maggaj khippam eva visodhaye
| | | | | |
N.n. Adj.m. N.m. Adv. part. V.act.
| Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. |______| 3.Sg.opt.
|___________| | |_________|
|_____________| |
|______________________|
________________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

etam: etad-, Pron.: this. Neuter: etam-. Acc.Sg.m. = etam.

atthavasaj: atthavasa-, N.m.: cause, reason. Lit. "control over the sense". It is a compound of:
attha-, N.n.: meaning, worth, sense.
vasa-, N.m.: power, will, authority, control.
Acc.Sg. = atthavasaj.

batva, V.ger.: having known. It is a ger. of the verb ba- (to know).

pandito: pandita-, N.m.: wise man, learned man. Nom.Sg. = pandito.

silasajvuto: silasajvuta-, Adj.: restrained by virtue. It is a compound of:
sila-, N.n.: virtue.
sajvuta-, Adj.: restrained, governed, guarded. It is a p.p. of the verb var- (to obstruct) with the prefix saj- (together, completely).
Nom.Sg.m. = silasajvuto.

List of Abbreviations

nibbanagamanaj: nibbanagamana-, Adj.: leading to Nirvana. It is a compound of:
nibbana-, N.n.: Nirvana, the goal of Buddhism.
gamana-, N.n.: going. It is derived from the verb root gam- (to go).
Acc.Sg.m. = nibbanagamanaj.

maggaj: magga-, N.m.: road, path. Acc.Sg. = maggaj.

khippam, Adv.: quickly. It is derived from the word khippa-, Adj.: quick, fast.

eva, part.: just.

visodhaye, V.: should clean, can purify. The verb root is sudh- (to be clean) with the prefix vi- (intensifying sense). 3.Sg.act.caus.opt. = visodhaye.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two related sentences. They are:
1) etam atthavasaj batva pandito silasajvuto (the wise man restrained by virtue, knowing this reasoning). The subject is the noun pandito (wise man, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the compound silasajvuto (restrained by virtue, nominative singular). The verb is in gerund, batva (having known). The object is the compound atthavasaj (reasoning, accusative singular) with its attribute, the pronoun etam (this, accusative singular).
2) nibbanagamanaj maggaj khippam eva visodhaye (should quickly purify the path leading to Nirvana). The subject is omitted; the noun pandito from the first sentence is implied. The noun is visodhaye (should purify, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). It has an attribute, the adverb khippam (quickly). It is stressed by the particle eva (just). The object is the noun maggaj (path, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the compound nibbanagamanaj (leading to Nirvana, accusative singular).

Commentary:

The story for this verse is identical with the one for the previous verse (DhP 288).
The only help and protection against the death is constant and intensive practice of the Buddha’s teaching. No external help from relatives, friends or gods of any kind is possible when we have to face the death. Only by following the path of meditation and awareness, can we overcome death and face it without any fear.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

etaj
atthavasaj
attha
vasaj
batva
pandito
silasajvuto
sila
sajvuto
nibbanagamanaj
nibbana
gamanaj
maggaj
khippam
eva
visodhaye