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List of Abbreviations

# na ve kadariya devalokaj vajanti bala have na ppasajsanti danaj

# dhiro ca danaj anumodamano ten'eva so hoti sukhi parattha

# (DhP 177)

Sentence Translation:

Selfish ones do not get to the world of the gods. Fools do not praise giving.
And the wise one enjoys giving. Just because of that he is happy hereafter.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

na ve kadariya deva+lokaj vajanti bala have na ppasajsanti danaj
| | | | | | | | | | |
neg. part. Adj.m. N.m. N.m. V.act.in. N.m. part. neg. V.act.in. N.n.
| | Nom.Pl. | Acc.Sg. 3.Pl.pres. Nom.Pl. | | 3.Pl.pres. Acc.Sg.
|_____| | |_____| | | | |______| |
|________|________|_________| | |_______| |
| |___| | |________________|
|______| |__________________|

List of Abbreviations

dhiro ca danaj anumodamano tena eva so hoti sukhi parattha
| | | | | | | | | |
Adj.m. conj. N.n. Adj.m. Pron.n. part. Pron.m. V.act.in. Adj.m. Adv.
Nom.Sg. | Acc.Sg. Nom.Sg. Ins.Sg. | Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg. |
| | |________| |_____| | | |_____|
|________|__________| | | |___________|
|____| | |_____________|
|______________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

na, neg.: not.

ve, part.: indeed.

kadariya: kadariya-, Adj.: selfish, miserly, stingy. Nom.Pl.m. = kadariya.

devalokaj: devaloka-, N.m.: the world of the gods. It is a compound of:
deva-, N.m.: god, celestial being.
loka-, N.m.: world.
Acc.Sg. = devalokaj.

vajanti, V.: go. The verb root is vaj- (to go, to wander). 3.Pl.act.in.pres. = vajanti.

bala: bala-, Adj.: childish, young. As an N.m.: "like a child", fool, ignorant person. Nom.Pl. = bala.

List of Abbreviations

have, part.: indeed, truly.

na: see above.

pasajsanti, V.: to praise, to commend. The verb root is sajs- (to proclaim, to point out) with the strenghtening prefix pa-. 3.Pl.act.in.pres. = pasajsanti.
Euphonic combination: na + pasajsanti = na ppasajsanti.

danaj: dana-, N.n.: giving [in charity], distribution [of gifts]. Acc.Sg. = danaj.

dhiro: dhira-, Adj.: wise, clever. Nom.Sg.m. = dhiro.

ca, conj.: and.

danaj: see above.

List of Abbreviations

anumodamano: anumodamana-, Adj.: enjoying, appreciating. It is an. med.pr.p. of the verb root mud- (to be happy) with the prefix anu- (following, after). Nom.Sg.m. = anumodamano.

tena: tad-, Pron.: it. Ins.Sg.n. = tena.

eva, part.: just, only.
Euphonic combination: tena + eva = ten'eva.

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

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

sukhi: sukhin-, Adj.: happy. It is the word sukha-, N.n.: happiness, with the possessive suffix -in. Nom.Sg.m. = sukhi.

parattha, Adv.: lit. elsewhere; hereafter, in the other world.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of four syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) na ve kadariya devalokaj vajanti (selfish ones do not get to the world of the gods). The subject is the adjective kadariya (selfish ones, nominative plural). The verb is vajanti (go, 3rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the compound devalokaj (to the world of the gods, accusative singular). The particle ve (indeed) serves mainly for metrical purposes.
2) bala have na ppasajsanti danaj (fools do not praise giving). The subject is the noun bala (fools, nominative plural). The verb is pasajsanti (praise, 3rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the noun danaj (giving, accusative singular). The particle have (indeed) serves mainly for metrical purposes.
3) dhiro ca danaj anumodamano (and the wise one enjoys giving). The subject is the adjective dhiro (wise one, nominative singular). The verb is in the medium present participle, anumodamano ([is] enjoying, nominative singular). The object is the noun danaj (giving, accusative singular). The conjunction ca (and) serves mainly for metrical purposes.
4) ten'eva so hoti sukhi parattha (just because of that he is happy hereafter). The subject is the pronoun so (he, nominative singular). The verb is hoti (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It has two attributes, the adjective sukhi (happy, nominative singular) and the adverb parattha (hereafter). The sentence is introduced by the pronoun tena (by that, instrumental singular), which is further stressed by the particle eva (just). This phrase points to the word danaj from the previous sentence.

Commentary:

King Pasenadi of Kosala was once competing with his subjects in almsgiving. However big offering the king made, his subjects always found a way to give more alms. Queen Mallika then devised a plan. She had a great pavilion built, brought many white umbrellas and tame elephants. The elephants held the umbrellas over the monks. In the middle of the pavilion there was a lake with ten boats filled with incense and perfume. Finally, princesses served the food. Because the subjects had no elephants or umbrellas (white umbrellas could be owned only by kings) and of course had no princesses, they could not compete any more.
Two ministers of the king were present. One of them praised the king for offering so much. He realized that the merit would be shared by all the living beings in the kingdom. The other minister however thought that the king was giving away the national wealth for the sake of some lazy monks.
After the meal, the Buddha prepared to make a speech. He understood what the second minister was feeling and so he decided to give only a short speech instead of a long one he was originally planning. The king was disappointed by such a brief sermon and he reflected what he had done wrong. Therefore he went to the monastery and asked the Buddha.
The Buddha told him about one of his ministers and explained that had he delivered a long speech, the minister would be disappointed even more. The Buddha further added this verse for the benefit of the king.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

na
ve
kadariya
devalokaj
deva
lokaj
vajanti
bala
have
pasajsanti
danaj
dhiro
ca
anumodamano
tena
eva
so
hoti
sukhi
parattha