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

List of Abbreviations

# na tavata dhammadharo yavata bahu bhasati

# yo ca appam pi sutvana dhammaj kayena passati

# sa ve dhammadharo hoti yo dhammaj na ppamajjati

# (DhP 259)

Sentence Translation:

One does not understand Dharma only because one speaks a lot.
Who sees Dharma directly, after having heard even a little of it,
and who does not neglect the Dharma, such a one does understand it.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

na tavata dhamma+dharo yavata bahu bhasati
| | | | | | |
neg. Adv. N.m. Adj.m. Rel.Adv. Adv. V.act.in.
| | | Nom.Sg. | | 3.Sg.pres.
| | |_______| | |______|
|______|__________| |__________|
|___| |
|____________________________|

List of Abbreviations

yo ca appam pi sutvana dhammaj kayena passati
| | | | | | | |
Rel.Pron.m. conj. Adj.n. part. V.ger. N.m. N.m. V.act.in.
Nom.Sg. | Acc.Sg. | | Acc.Sg. Ins.Sg. 3.Sg.pres.
| | |_____| | | |______|
|____________|_______| | |___________|
|__________| |
|__________________|
|____________________________________

List of Abbreviations

sa ve dhamma+dharo hoti yo dhammaj na ppamajjati
| | | | | | | | |
Pron.m. part. N.m. Adj.m. V.act.in. Rel.Pron.m. N.m. neg. V.act.in.
Nom.Sg. | | Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. | 3.Sg.pres.
| | |_______| | | | |______|
|________| |____________| | |________|
|__________________| |____________|
____________| |______________________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

na, neg.: not.

tavata, Adv.: on that account, thus.

dhammadharo: dhammadhara-, Adj.: one who holds the Dharma, who knows the Dharma really well. It is a compound of:
dhamma-, N.m.: Buddha's Teaching. The Law. Derived from the verb dha-, to hold. Thus dhamma "holds the world together".
dhara-, Adj.: keeping, holding, knowing. It is derived from the verb root dha- (to hold).
Nom.Sg.m. = dhammadharo.

yavata, Rel.Adv.: as far as, because.

bahu, Adv.: much, a lot. It is derived from the word bahu-, Adj.: large, much, very.

bhasati, V.: speaks. The verb root is bhas-. 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = bhasati.

List of Abbreviations

yo: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which. Nom.Sg.m. = yo.

ca, conj.: and.

appam: appa-, Adj.: little, few. Acc.Sg.n. = appam.

pi, part.: even, only.

sutvana, V.ger.: having heard. The verb root is su- (to hear).

dhammaj: dhamma-, N.m.: Buddha's Teaching. The Law. Derived from the verb dha-, to hold. Thus dhamma "holds the world together". Acc.Sg. = dhammaj.

kayena: kaya-, N.m.: body. Here as "directly, by one's own effort". Ins.Sg. = kayena.

passati: sees. The verb root is dis- (to see). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = passati.

List of Abbreviations

sa: tad-, Pron.n.: it. Nom.Sg.m. = sa (the more usual form is so).

ve, part.: indeed.

dhammadharo: see above.

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

yo: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which. Nom.Sg.m. = yo.

dhammaj: see above.

na: see above.

pamajjati, V.: is careless, neglects. The verb root is mad- (to be intoxicated) with the strengthening prefix pa-. 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = pamajjati.
Euphonic combination: na + pamajjati = na ppamajjati.

List of Abbreviations

This sentence consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) na tavata dhammadharo yavata bahu bhasati (one does not understand Dharma only because one speaks a lot). This can be analysed into two parts:
a) na tavata dhammadharo (one does not understand Dharma). The subject is omitted. The third person singular pronoun is implied. The verb is also omitted, implying the verb "to be". It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the adjective dhammadharo (one who understands the Dharma, nominative singular). The adverb tavata (on account of) connects this part to the following one.
b) yavata bahu bhasati (only because one speaks a lot). The subject is omitted. The third person singular pronoun is implied. The verb is bhasati (speaks, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the adverb bahu (a lot). The relative adverb yavata (as far as, because) connects this part to the previous one.
2) yo ca appam pi sutvana dhammaj kayena passati sa ve dhammadharo hoti yo dhammaj na ppamajjati (who sees Dharma directly, after having heard even a little of it, and who does not neglect the Dharma, such a one does understand it). This can be further analysed into three related sentences:
a) yo ca appam pi sutvana dhammaj kayena passati (who sees Dharma directly, after having heard even a little of it). This sentence has two segments:
I) yo ca appam pi sutvana (after having heard even a little of it). The subject is the relative pronoun yo (who, nominative singular). The verb is in gerund, sutvana (having heard). It has an attribute, the adjective appam (a little, accusative singular). It is modified by the conjunction pi (even). The conjunction ca (and) serves mainly for metrical purposes.
II) dhammaj kayena passati (who sees Dharma directly). The subject is still the relative adverb yo from the previous segment. The verb is passati (sees, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the noun kayena (by the body, directly; instrumental singular). The object is the noun dhammaj (Dharma, accusative singular).
b) sa ve dhammadharo hoti (such a one does understand the Dharma). The subject is the pronoun sa (he, nominative singular). The verb is hoti (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the adjective dhammadharo (one who understands the Dharma, nominative singular). The particle ve (indeed) serves mainly for metrical purposes.
c) yo dhammaj na ppamajjati (who does not neglect the Dharma). The subject is the relative pronoun yo (who, nominative singular). The verb is pamajjati (neglects, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the noun dhammaj (Dharma, accusative singular).

Commentary:

A monk named Ekudana lived alone in the forest. He knew by heart only one verse of the Dharma, but he fully understood its meaning. Whenever he would recite the verse, the guardian spirits of the forest would applaud.
At one occasion, two learned monks with many disciples came to that place. They asked Ekudana of there were many beings that wished to learn the Dharma. Ekudana told them about the spirits applauding every time the Dharma was spoken. The two monks they took turns preaching the Dharma but when they finished, the guardian spirits did not applaud at all. Therefore they started to doubt Ekudana’s words. But Ekudana simply recited the verse he knew and immediately the spirits started to applaud.
The two monks returned to Savatthi and reported the matter to Buddha. The Buddha replied with this verse, saying that in understanding the Dharma, quality is much more important than quantity. To remember only one verse, but understanding it fully is far better than remembering all the Buddha’s words but not actually grasping their meaning.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

na
tavata
dhammadharo
dhamma
dharo
yavata
bahu
bhasati
yo
ca
appam
pi
sutvana
dhamma j
kayena
passati
sa
ve
hoti
pamajjati