Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
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List of Abbreviations

# papo pi passati bhadraj yava papaj na paccati

# yada ca paccati papaj atha papo papani passati

# (DhP 119)

Sentence Translation:

An evil person may even see goodness [in his evil deeds] as long as the evil has not ripened.
When the evil has ripened, then the evil person sees those evil deeds.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

papo pi passati bhadraj yava papaj na paccati
| | | | | | | |
N.m. conj. V.act.in. N.n. Rel.Adv. N.n. neg. V.pas.in.
Nom.Sg. | 3.Sg.pres. Acc.Sg. | Nom.Sg. | 3.Sg.pres.
| | |________| | | |_______|
| |__________| | |________|
|_____________| |_____________|
|______________________________|

List of Abbreviations

yada ca paccati papaj atha papo papani passati
| | | | | | | |
Rel.Adv. conj. V.pas.in. N.n. Adv. N.m. N.n. V.act.in.
| | 3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. Acc.Pl. 3.Sg.pres.
| | |_______| | | |_______|
| |__________| | |___________|
|______________| |___________|
|_____________________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

papo: papa-, Adj.: evil, wrong. As an N.m.: evil person. Nom.Sg. = papo.

pi, conj.: also, even.

passati: sees. The verb root is dis- (to see). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = passati.

bhadraj: bhadra-, Adj.: good, beneficial. As an N.n.: good deed, something bringing benefit.
Acc.Sg. = bhadraj.

yava, Rel.Adv.: as long as, as far as.

papaj: papa-, Adj.: evil, wrong. As an N.n.: evil, wrong doing. Nom.Sg. = papaj.

na, neg.: not.

List of Abbreviations

paccati, V.: to be cooked, fig.: to ripe. It is a pas. of the verb pac- (to cook). 3.Sg.pas.in.pres. = paccati.

yada, Rel.Adv.: when.

ca, conj.: and.

paccati: see above.

papaj: see above

atha, Adv.: then.

papo: see above.

papani: papa-, Adj.: evil, wrong. As an N.n.: evil, wrong doing. Acc.Pl. = papani.

passati: see above.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) papo pi passati bhadraj yava papaj na paccati (an evil person may even see goodness [in his evil deeds] as long as the evil has not ripened). This can be further analyzed into two segments:
a) papo pi passati bhadraj (an evil person may even see goodness [in his evil deeds]). The subject of this sentence is the adjective/noun papo (evil person, nominative singular). The verb is passati (sees, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the adjective/noun bhadraj (goodness, accusative singular). The sentence is modified by the conjunction pi (even).
b) yava papaj na paccati (as long as the evil has not ripened). The subject is the adjective/noun papaj (evil, nominative singular). The verb is in passive, paccati (has ripened, 3rd person, singular, passive, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The relative adverb yava (as long as) connects this segment to the previous one.
2) yada ca paccati papaj atha papo papani passati (when the evil has ripened, then the evil person sees those evil deeds). This contains two related sentences:
a) yada ca paccati papaj (when the evil has ripened). The subject is the adjective/noun papaj (evil, nominative singular). The verb is in passive, paccati (has ripened, 3rd person, singular, passive, indicative, present tense). The relative adverb yada (when) introduces the sentence and connects it to the following one. The conjunction ca (and) serves mainly for metrical purposes.
b) atha papo papani passati (then the evil person sees those evil deeds). The subject of this sentence is the adjective/noun papo (evil person, nominative singular). The verb is passati (sees, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the adjective/noun papani (evils, accusative plural). The adverb atha (then) introduces the sentence and connects it to the previous one.

Commentary:

One of the most famous benefactors of the Buddha was Anathapindika from the city of Savatthi. He built the Jetavana monastery and regularly donated food and other requisites to the community of the Buddha's followers. By doing so, he gave away most of his wealth and became poor. The guardian spirit of his house came to him and told him to stop donating for some time, make money, become rich again, and then continue giving. Anathapindika told the spirit to leave his house for saying such things.
The guardian spirit went to see Sakka, the king of the gods, and asked him what should he do to get pardon from Anathapindika. Sakka told him that there was some money Anathapindika loaned to others and did not collect it back yet. He also pointed to the guardian spirit some wealth buried by Anathapindika's ancestors. The spirit collected all those riches and brought them to Anathapindika’s house.
Anathapindika then permitted the spirit to enter the house and continue living there. The Buddha learned about this story and told them these two verses (DhP 119 and 120). Even though the good person can come to misfortune sometimes, the results of his good deeds will come sure enough - and so will the results of evil deeds of a bad person, even though for some time he might enjoy luck and happiness.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

papo
pi
passati
bhadraj
yava
papaj
na
paccati
yada
ca
atha
papani