Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
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List of Abbreviations

# arogyaparama labha santutthiparamaj dhanaj

# vissasaparama bati nibbanaj paramaj sukhaj

# (DhP 204)

Sentence Translation:

Health is the highest gain. Contentment is the highest wealth.
Trusted people are the best relatives. Nirvana is the highest happiness.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

arogya+parama labha santutthi+paramaj dhanaj
| | | | | |
N.n. Adj.m. N.m. N.f. Adj.n. N.n.
| Nom.Pl. Nom.Pl. | Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|_________| | |_______| |
|____________| |____________|

List of Abbreviations

vissasa+parama bati nibbanaj paramaj sukhaj
| | | | | |
N.m. Adj.m. N.m. N.n. Adj.n N.n.
| Nom.Pl. Nom.Pl. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|_________| | | |________|
|___________| |____________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

arogyaparama: arogyaparama-, Adj.: having health as the highest. It is a compound of:
arogya-, N.n.: health, absence of illness.
parama-, Adj.: most, highest, absolute.
Nom.Pl.m. = arogyaparama.

labha: labha-, N.m.: gain, possession. Nom.Pl. = labha.

santutthiparamaj: santutthiparama-, Adj.: having contentment as the highest. It is a compound of:
santutthi-, N.f.: satisfaction, contentment.
parama-, Adj.: see above.
Nom.Sg.n. = santutthiparamaj.

dhanaj: dhana-, N.n.: wealth. Nom.Sg. = dhanaj.

List of Abbreviations

vissasaparama: vissasaparama-, Adj.: having trusted people as the highest. It is a compound of:
vissasa-, N.m.: trust, confidence. Here as "a trusted person".
parama-, Adj: see above.
Nom.Pl.m. = vissasaparama.

bati: bati-, N.m.: relative. Nom.Pl. = bati.

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

paramaj: parama-, Adj.: see above. Nom.Sg.n. = paramaj.

sukhaj: sukha-, N.n.: happiness. Nom.Sg. = sukhaj.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of four syntactically independent sentences. They are:
1) arogyaparama labha (health is the highest gain). The subject is the noun labha (gains, nominative plural). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the compound arogyaparama (having health as the highest, nominative plural).
2) santutthiparamaj dhanaj (contentment is the highest wealth). The subject is the noun dhanaj (wealth, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the compound santutthiparamaj (having contentment as the highest, nominative singular).
3) vissasaparama bati (trusted people are the best relatives). The subject is the noun bati (relatives, nominative plural). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the compound vissasaparama (having trusted people as the highest, nominative plural).
4) nibbanaj paramaj sukhaj (Nirvana is the highest happiness). The subject is the noun nibbanaj (Nirvana, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the noun sukhaj (happiness, nominative singular) with its attribute, the adjective paramaj (highest, nominative singular).

Commentary:

The King Pasenadi of Kosala once came to the monastery to hear the Dharma. But on that day he ate too much and as a result he was sleepy, did not pay much attention and was only sitting there and nodding.
Seeing him, the Buddha advised him not to overeat, because moderation in food brings comfort to the body. Pasenadi did as he was told and after a time he lost some weight, was more fit and began to feel much better.
The Buddha then told him this verse, saying that health is the greatest gain and we should do everything to attain it.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

arogyaparama
arogya
parama
labha
santutthiparamaj
santutthi
paramaj
dhanaj
vissasaparama
vissasa
bati
nibbanaj
sukhaj