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

List of Abbreviations

# na cahaj brahmanaj brumi yonijaj mattisambhavaj

# bhovadi nama so hoti sace hoti sakibcano

# akibcanaj anadanaj tam ahaj brumi brahmanaj

# (DhP 396)

Sentence Translation:

I do not call one a Brahmin only because on account of birth, because he is born from [a Brahmin] mother.
If he has attachments, he is to be called only "self-important".
One who is without attachments and without clinging - him do I call a Brahmin.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

na ca ahaj brahmanaj brumi yoni+jaj matti+sambhavaj
| | | | | | | | |
neg. conj. Pron. N.m. V.act.in. N.f. Adj.m. N.f. Adj.m.
| | Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. 1.Sg.pres. | Acc.Sg. | Acc.Sg.
|______|_____|________|_______| |____| |________|
| | |___________|
| |______________________|
|____________________|

List of Abbreviations

bho+vadi nama so hoti sace hoti sakibcano
| | | | | | | |
Ind. Adj.m. N.n. Pron.m. V.act.in. part. V.act.in. Adj.m.
| Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. | 3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg.
|______| | | | | |________|
|___________| | | |__________|
|____________|_________| |
|_____| |
|_______________________|

List of Abbreviations

akibcanaj anadanaj tam ahaj brumi brahmanaj
| | | | | |
Adj.m. Adj.m. Pron.m. Pron. V.act.in. N.m.
Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. Nom.Sg. 1.Sg.pres. Acc.Sg.
|_____________| | | | |
|______________| | | |
|______________|________|_______|
| |____|
|______|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

na, neg.: not.

ca, conj.: and.

ahaj, Pron.: I. Nom.Sg. = ahaj.
Euphonic combination: ca + ahaj = cahaj.

brahmanaj: brahmana-, Nj.: Brahmin, a holy man. Acc.Sg. = brahmanaj.

brumi, V.: [I] say, proclaim. The verb root is bru-. 1.Sg.act.in.pres. = brumi.

yonijaj: yonija-, Adj.: born from the womb, on account of birth. It is a compound of:
yoni-, N.f.: origin, womb.
-ja-, Adj.suf.: born, proceeding. It is derived from the verb root jan- (to give birth, to produce).
Acc.Sg.m. = yonijaj.

List of Abbreviations

mattisambhavaj: mattisambhava-, Adj.: born from a mother. It is a compound of:
matar-, N.f.: mother.
sambhava-, N.m.: origin, production. It is derived from the verb root bhu- (to be) with the prefix sam- (together).
Euphonic combination: matar- + sambhava- = mattisambhava-.
Acc.Sg. = mattisambhavaj.

bhovadi: bhovadin-, Adj.: a Brahmin, self-important, one who addresses other with the word bho (implying supposed superiority of the speaker). It is a compound of:
bho, Ind.: sir, friend, a familiar term of address.
vadin-, Adj.: speaking. It is derived from the verb root vad- (to say).
Nom.Sg.m. = bhovadi.

nama: nama-, N.n.: name. Acc.Sg. = nama (named, called).

so: tad-, Pron.n.: it. Nom.Sg.m. = so.

List of Abbreviations

hoti, V. is. The verb root is bhu- (to be). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = bhavati or hoti.

sace, part.: if.

sakibcano: sakibcana-, Adj.: having something [i.e. having attachments]. It is the word kibcana-, N.n.: something, anything with the possessive prefix sa- (with). Nom.Sg.m. = sakibcano.

akibcanaj: akibcana-, Adj.: having nothing [i.e. having no attachments]. It is the word kibcana-, N.n.: something, anything with the negative prefix a-. Acc.Sg.m. = akibcanaj.

anadanaj: anadana-, Adj.: free from clinging. It is the word adana-, N.n.: attachment, clinging (this word is derived from the verb da-, to give with the prefix a-, towards; the meaning of the verb is "to take, to grasp") negated by the negative prefix an-. Acc.Sg.m. = anadanaj.

tam: tad-, Pron.: it. Masculine form: so, he. Acc.Sg. = tam (him).

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of three syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) na cahaj brahmanaj brumi yonijaj mattisambhavaj (I do not call one a Brahmin only because on account of birth, because he is born from [a Brahmin] mother). The subject is the pronoun ahaj (I, nominative singular). The verb is brumi ([I] say, 1st person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the noun brahmanaj (Brahmin, accusative singular). There are two objects, the compounds yonijaj (born from the womb, accusative singular) and mattisambhavaj (born from a mother, accusative singular). The conjunction ca (and) serves mainly for metrical purposes.
2) bhovadi nama so hoti sace hoti sakibcano (if he has attachments, he is to be called only "self-important"). This can be further analyzed into two parts:
a) bhovadi nama so hoti (he is to be called only "self-important"). The subject is the personal pronoun so (he, nominative singular). The verb is hoti (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the adjective bhovadi (self-important, nominative singular) with its attribute, the noun nama (named, accusative singular).
b) sace hoti sakibcano (if he has attachments). The subject is omitted, implying the subject of the previous sentence. The verb is hoti (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the adjective sakibcano (with attachments, nominative singular). The particle sace (if) connects the sentence to the previous one.
3) akibcanaj anadanaj tam ahaj brumi brahmanaj (one who is without attachments and without clinging - him do I call a Brahmin). The subject is the pronoun ahaj (I, nominative singular). The verb is brumi ([I] say, 1st person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the noun brahmanaj (Brahmin, accusative singular). It has three attributes, the pronoun tam (him, accusative singular) and the adjectives akibcanaj (without attachments, accusative singular) and anadanaj (without clinging, accusative singular).

Commentary:

A certain Brahmin once asked Buddha why he called his disciples "Brahmins". Was it then not proper that he should be called "a Brahmin" too, since he was born from Brahmin parents? The Buddha replied with this verse, saying that a true Brahmin is one who overcame all his attachments, not the one who was born from Brahmin parents.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

na
ca
ahaj
brahmanaj
brumi
yonijaj
yoni
jaj
mattisambhavaj
matti
sambhavaj
bhovadi
bho
vadi
nama
so
hoti
sace
sakibcano
akibcanaj
anadanaj
tam