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

List of Abbreviations

# no ce labhetha nipakaj sahayaj

# saddhijcaraj sadhuviharidhiraj

# raja va ratthaj vijitaj pahaya

# eko care matavgarabbe va nago

# (DhP 329)

Sentence Translation:

If you do not find an intelligent companion,
a fellow-traveler of pure actions and wise,
like a king leaves behind the subdued kingdom,
you should travel alone, just like an elephant in the elephant-grove.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

no ce labhetha nipakaj sahayaj
| | | | |
neg. part. V.act. Adj.m. N.m.
| | 2.Pl.opt. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg.
|______|______| |_______|
|___| |________________________________I.
|_______________________________|
|_____________________________________II.

List of Abbreviations

saddhij+caraj sadhu+vihari+dhiraj
| | | | |
Adv. N.m. Adv. Adj. Adj.m.
| Acc.Sg. |______| Acc.Sg.
|__________| |_________|
|__________________|
I._____________|
II.________________________________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

raja va ratthaj vijitaj pahaya
| | | | |
N.m. part. N.n. Adj.n. V.ger.
Nom.Sg. | Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. |
| | |_______| |
| | |__________|
|_________|______________|
|______|
|_________________________________________
________________________________|

List of Abbreviations

eko care matavga+arabbe va nago
| | | | | |
Adj.m. V.act. N.m. N.n. part. N.m.
Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.opt. | Loc.Sg. | Nom.Sg.
|___________| |_______| | |
| |_________|_____|
| |____|
|_______________________|
__________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

no, neg.: not.

ce, part.: if.

labhetha, V.: obtains, gets. The verb root is labh-. 2.Pl.act.opt. = labhetha.

nipakaj: nipaka-, Adj.: intelligent, prudent, wise. Acc.Sg.m. = nipakaj.

sahayaj: sahaya-, N.m.: companion, friend. Acc.Sg. = sahayaj.

saddhijcaraj: saddhijcara-, N.m.: companion; fellow-traveler. It is a compound of:
saddhij, Adv.: together, with.
carant-, Adj.: wanderer, wandering. It is an a.pr.p. of the verb root car- (to move, to wander about). Compound form = cara-.
Acc.Sg. = saddhijcaraj.

List of Abbreviations

sadhuviharidhiraj: sadhuviharidhira-, Adj.: who is wise and acts nobly. It is a compound of:
sadhu, Adv.: well, good.
viharin-, Adj.: acting, living. It is the word vihara-, N.m.: abode, stay, with the possessive suffix -in.
dhira-, Adj.: wise, clever. As. an N.m.: wise person.
Acc.Sg.m. = sadhuviharidhiraj.

raja: rajan-, N.m.: king. Nom.Sg. = raja.

va, part.: as, like.

ratthaj: rattha-, N.n.: country, kingdom. Acc.Sg. = ratthaj.

vijitaj: vijita-, Adj.: conquered, subdued. It is a p.p. of the verb root ji- (to conquer, to win) with the strengthening prefix vi-. Acc.Sg.n. = vijitaj.

List of Abbreviations

pahaya, V.ger.: having abandoned. A ger. of the verb ha- (to leave, to give up) with the strengthening prefix pa-.

eko: eka-, Num.: one. As an Adj.: alone. Nom.Sg.m. = eko.

care, V.: should practice. The verb root is car- (to walk). 3.Sg.act.opt. = care.

matavgarabbe: matavgarabba-, N.n.: elephant forest, elephant-grove. It is a compound of:
matavga-, N.m.: elephant.
arabba-, N.n.: forest.
Euphonic combination: matavga- + arabba- = matavgarabba-.
Loc.Sg. = matavgarabbe.

va: see above.

nago: naga-, N.m.: elephant. Nom.Sg. = nago.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two syntactically related sentences. They are:
1) no ce labhetha nipakaj sahayaj saddhijcaraj sadhuviharidhiraj (if you do not find an intelligent companion, a fellow-traveler of pure actions and wise). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the second person plural pronoun. The verb is labhetha (should you get, 2nd person, plural, active, optative). It is negated by the negative particle no (not) and modified by the particle ce (if). There are two objects, the noun sahayaj (companion, accusative singular) with its attribute, the adjective nipakaj (intelligent, accusative singular) and the compound saddhijcaraj (fellow-traveler, accusative singular) with its attribute, the compound sadhuviharidhiraj (of good deeds and wise, accusative singular).
2) raja va ratthaj vijitaj pahaya eko care matavgarabbe va nago (like a king leaves behind the subdued kingdom, you should travel alone, just like an elephant in the elephant-grove). This can be further analysed into two sentences:
a) raja va ratthaj vijitaj pahaya (like a king leaves behind the subdued kingdom). The subject is the noun raja (king, nominative singular). The verb is in gerund, pahaya (having abandoned). The object is the noun ratthaj (country, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the past participle vijitaj (subdued, accusative singular). The particle va (as, like) connects this sentence to the following one.
b) eko care matavgarabbe va nago (you should travel alone, just like an elephant in the elephant-grove). This can be further analysed into the main sentence I) and the dependent clause II):
I) eko care (you should travel alone). The subject is the numeral/adjective eko (one, alone, nominative singular). The verb is care (should travel, 3rd person, singular, active, optative).
II) matavgarabbe va nago (just like an elephant in the elephant-grove). The subject is the noun nago (elephant, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the compound matavgarabbe (in the elephant-grove). The particle va (as, like) connects the clause to the main sentence.

Commentary:

The story for this verse is identical with the one for the previous verse (DhP 328) and for the following verse (DhP 330).
If one does not find a good and worthy friend, it is better to be alone than to associate with bad people. Good friends are very important, because they can teach and guide us and set a good example worthy of following.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

no
ce
labhetha
nipakaj
sahayaj
saddhijcaraj
saddhij
caraj
sadhuviharidhiraj
sadhu
vihari
dhiraj
raja
va
ratthaj
vijitaj
pahaya
eko
care
matavgarabbe
matavga
arabbe
nago