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

List of Abbreviations

# na taj kammaj kataj sadhu yaj katva anutappati

# yassa assumukho rodaj vipakaj patisevati

# (DhP 67)

Sentence Translation:

That deed is not well done, which one regrets when it is accomplished,
whose consequences one faces with a tearful face and crying.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

na taj kammaj kataj sadhu yaj katva anutappati
| | | | | | | |
neg. Pron.n. N.n. Adj.n. Adv. Rel.Pron.n. V.ger. V.pas.in.
| Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. | 3.Sg.pres.
| |________| | | | |________|
|__________|____________| | |___________|
| |____________| |________________________________
|___________| |
|______________________________________|

List of Abbreviations

yassa assu+mukho rodaj vipakaj patisevati
| | | | | |
Rel.Pron.n. N.n. Adj.m. Adj.m. N.m. V.act.in.
Gen.Sg. | Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.pres.
| |______| | | |
| |__________| | |
|____________________|_____________| |
| |____________________|
|__________________|
____________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

na, neg.: not.

taj: tat-, Pron.: that. Nom.Sg.n.: taj.

kammaj: kamma-, N.n.: deed, action. Derived from the verb kar- (to do).
Nom.Sg. = kammaj.

kataj-, kata-, Adj.: done. P.p. of the verb kar- (to do). Nom.Sg.n. = kataj.

sadhu, Adv.: good, well.

yaj: yat-, Rel.Pron.: that, which. Nom.Sg.n.: yaj.

List of Abbreviations

katva, V.ger.: having done. The verb root is kar- (to do).

anutappati, V.: to regret, to feel remorse. Pass. of tap- (to be hot, to burn) with the prefix anu- (following, after). 3.Sg.pas.in.pres. = anutappati.

yassa: yat-, Rel.Pron.: that, which. Gen.Sg.n. = yassa.

assumukho: assumukha-, Adj.: having a tearful face. It is a compound of:
assu-, N.n.: tear.
mukha-, N.n.: face, mouth.
Nom.Sg.m. = assumukho.

List of Abbreviations

rodaj: rodant-, Adj.: crying, lamenting. It is an a.pr.p. of the verb root rud- (to cry, to lament). Nom.Sg.m. = rodaj.

vipakaj: vipaka-, N.m.: result, effect, consequence. Acc.Sg. = vipakaj.

patisevati, V.: to pursue, to follow. The verb root is sev- (to serve, to associate with) with the prefix pati- (after, with). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = patisevati.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of one main sentence and two subordinate clauses.
The main sentence is na taj kammaj kataj sadhu (that deed is not well done). The subject of this sentence is the noun kammaj (deed, nominative singular) with its attribute, the personal pronoun taj (that, nominative singular). The past participle kataj (done, nominative singular), which is negated by the negative particle na (not), serves as the verb. It has an attribute, the adverb sadhu (well).
The first subordinate clause is yaj katva anutappati (which one regrets when it is accomplished). Here, the subject is the relative pronoun yaj (that which, nominative singular). It also connects the clause to the main sentence. The verbal phrase katva anutappati (having done - regrets) serves as the verb here. The word katva (having done) is in the gerundive, the verb anutappati (regrets) is in the 3rd person, singular, passive, indicative, present tense.
The second subordinate clause is yassa assumukho rodaj vipakaj patisevati (whose consequences one faces with a tearful face and crying). The subject is missing; any personal pronoun can be implied. This missing subject has two attributes, the adjective assumukho (with a tearful face, nominative singular) and the active present participle rodaj (crying, nominative singular). The verb is patisevati (follows, faces, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the word vipakaj (consequence, accusative singular). The relative pronoun yassa (whose, genitive singular) points to the subject of the main sentence (kammaj) and it connects this clause to the main sentence.

Commentary:

Some thieves were once dividing the stolen goods amongst themselves in the field. But accidentally, they left one bag of money behind.
Then a farmer from a nearby village started to plough that very field. The Buddha accompanied by Venerable Ananda went by and the Buddha said: "Ananda, look at that poisonous snake!" To which Ananda replied: "Yes, Venerable Sir, it indeed is a very poisonous snake." The farmer was very curious so he went to investigate. He found the bag with money and took it with him.
Then the people who were robbed came to that place, followed the footprints of the farmer and found their money. They took the farmer to the king who ordered him executed. But on the way to the cemetery the poor man was constantly repeating the Buddha and Ananda's words. The executioners were surprised, so they took him back to see the king. The king then brought the farmer to the presence of the Buddha. After hearing what happened that morning, the king set the farmer free and remarked that if the farmer were not able to call the Buddha as his witness, he would have been killed.
To that the Buddha replied with this verse, saying that a wise man should not do anything he could regret later.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

na
taj
kammaj
kataj
sadhu
yaj
katva
anutappati
yassa
assumukho
assu
mukho
rodaj
vipakaj
patisevati