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

List of Abbreviations

# atta have jitaj seyyo ya cayaj itara paja

# attadantassa posassa niccaj sabbatacarino

# (DhP 104)

Sentence Translation:

It is better to conquer oneself than to conquer other people.
Of a person, who tamed himself, who is always acting with self-control,
[Continued in DhP 105]

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

atta have jitaj seyyo ya ca ayaj itara paja
| | | | | | | | |
N.m. part. Adj.n. Adj.n. Rel.Pron.f. conj. Pron.f. Adj.f. N.f.
Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|________|_____| | |_______|_____| |________|
|________________| |_______________|
|___________________________________|

List of Abbreviations

atta+dantassa posassa niccaj sabbata+carino
| | | | | |
N.m. Adj.m. N.m. Adv. Adj. Adj.m.
| Gen.Sg. Gen.Sg. | | Gen.Sg.
|_______| | | |______|
|__________| |_________|
|_________________|
|_______________________________[continued in DhP 105]

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

atta: attan-, N.m.: self. Nom.Sg. = atta.

have, part.: indeed, truly.

jitaj: jita-, Adj.: conquered. It is a p.p. of the verb root ji- (to conquer, to win). Nom.Sg.n. = jitaj. Note that the masculine form should be used here (atta jito), but neuter form is found here instead.

seyyo: seyya-, Adj.: better. Nom.Sg.n. = seyyo.

ya: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which. Nom.Sg.f. = ya.

ca, conj.: and.

ayaj: idaj, Pron.: this. Nom.Sg.f. = ayaj.
Euphonic combination: ca + ayaj = cayaj.

itara: itara-, Adj.: other, different. Nom.Sg.f. = itara.

List of Abbreviations

paja: paja-, N.f.: beings, people, mankind. Nom.Sg. = paja.

attadantassa: attadanta-, Adj.: who tamed himself. It is a compound of:
atta-, N.m.: it is the compound form of the word attan-, N.m.: see above.
danta-, Adj.: restrained, tamed, controlled. It is a p.p. of the verb dam-
(to restrain, to control, to tame).
Gen.Sg.m. = attadantassa.

posassa: posa-, N.m.: person. It is a contraction of the word purisa-, N.m.: person. Gen.Sg. = posassa.

niccaj, Adv.: perpetually, constantly.

sabbatacarino: sabbatacarin-, Adj.: acting with self-control. It is a compound of:
sabbata-, Adj.: restrained, self-controlled. It is a p.p. of the verb yam- (to restrain,
to become tranquil) with the prefix sam- (together).
carin-, N.m.: living, acting. Derived by the suffix -in from the verb car- (to walk, to act).
Gen.Sg.m. = sabbatacarino.

List of Abbreviations

This verse contains one sentence in the first line. The second line consists of attributes to the subject of the following sentence (see DhP 105).
In the first line, there are two sentences:
1) atta have jitaj seyyo (it is better to conquer oneself). The subject is atta (oneself, nominative singular). The past participle jitaj (conquered, nominative singular) acts as the verb of this sentence. It has an attribute, the adjective seyyo (better, nominative singular). The particle have (indeed) serves only metrical purposes.
2) ya cayaj itara paja (than [to conquer] other people). The phrase ya ayaj (which-this, both in nominative singular) connects this sentence to the previous one and has the meaning of "than". The conjunction ca (and) serves only metrical purposes. The subject is the noun paja (people, nominative singular) with its attribute, the adjective itara (other, nominative singular).
In the second line, there are two attributes: posassa (of a person, genitive singular) with its own attribute attadantassa (who tamed himself, genitive singular) and sabbatacarino (of the one, who is acting with self-control, genitive singular) with its attribute, the adverb niccaj (always). They form attributes to the object of the following sentence (see DhP 105).

Commentary:

A certain Brahmin once approached the Buddha and told him, "Venerable Sir, although you know all the beneficial practices, still I think you do not know the unbeneficial practices." The Buddha told him that he knew both beneficial and unbeneficial practices. He then proceeded to enumerate six unbeneficial practices that will cause loss of wealth. They are: sleeping until sunrise, idleness and laziness, cruelty, indulgence in intoxicating drinks that cause negligence and unclear mind, wandering alone in the city during night hours and sexual misconduct.
Then the Buddha asked the Brahmin how he made his living. The Brahmin told him that he earned his living by gambling, by playing dice. The Buddha further asked if he won or lost. The Brahmin replied that sometimes he won and sometimes he lost. The Buddha told him that to win in a game of dice couldn't be compared with winning over one's own mind, over one's ignorance and mental defilements.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

atta
have
jitaj
seyyo
ya
ca
ayaj
itara
paja
attadantassa
atta
dantassa
posassa
niccaj
sabbatacarino
sabbata
carino