Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
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List of Abbreviations

# attana codayattanaj patimajsetha attana

# so attagutto satima sukhaj bhikkhu vihahisi

# (DhP 379)

Sentence Translation:

You yourself exhort and control yourself.
The monk, who is self-guarded and mindful, will live happily.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

attana codaya attanaj patimajsetha attana
| | | | |
N.m. V.act. N.m. V.act. N.m.
Ins.Sg. 2.Sg.imp. Acc.Sg. 2.Pl.opt. Ins.Sg.
|_________| | |________|
|____________|

List of Abbreviations

so atta+gutto satima sukhaj bhikkhu vihahisi
| | | | | | |
Pron.m. N.m. Adj.m. Adj.m. Adv. N.m. V.act.
Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.fut.
| |_____| | | | |
| |__________| | | |
|_________________|___________|_______| |
| |______________|
|___________________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

attana: attan-, N.m.: self. Ins.Sg. = attana.

codaya, V.: exhort, reprimand, incite. The verb root is cud-. 2.Sg.act.imp. = codaya.

attanaj: attan-, N.m.: self. Acc.Sg. = attanaj.
Euphonic combination: codaya + attanaj = codayattanaj.

patimajsetha, V.: restrain, control. The verb root is majs- (to touch) with the prefix pati- (against). 2.Pl.act.opt. = patimajsetha.

attana: see above.

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

List of Abbreviations

attagutto: attagutta-, Adj.: self-guarded. It is a compound of:
atta-, N.m.: it is the compound form of the word attan-, N.m.: see above.
gutta-, Adj.: guarded, protected. It is a p.p. of the verb root gup- (to protect).
Nom.Sg.m. = attagutto.

satima: satimant-, Adj.: mindful, wakeful. It is the word sati-, N.f. (mindfulness, wakefulness, alertness) with the possessive suffix -mant. Nom.Sg.m. = satima.

sukhaj, Adv.: happily. It is the word sukha-, N.n.: happiness. Acc.Sg. = sukhaj. Here as an adverb.

bhikkhu: bhikkhu-, N.m.: a (Buddhist) monk. Nom.Sg. = bhikkhu.

vihahisi, V.: stay, dwell, live. The verb root is har- (to carry) with the prefix vi- (denoting separation). Thus viharati, V.: to live, to stay, to dwell. 3.Sg.act.fut. = vihahisi. This form is very peculiar and the reading is doubtful.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of three syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) attana codayattanaj (exhort yourself by yourself). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the second person singular pronoun. The verb is codaya (exhort, 2nd person, singular, active, imperative). It has an attribute, the noun attana (by oneself, instrumental singular). The object is the noun attanaj (oneself, accusative singular).
2) patimajsetha attana (one should control [oneself] by oneself). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is patimajsetha (one should control, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). It has an attribute, the noun attana (by oneself, instrumental singular).
3) so attagutto satima sukhaj bhikkhu vihahisi (the monk, who is self-guarded and mindful, will live happily). The subject is the noun bhikkhu (monk, nominative singular). It has three attributes, the pronoun so (he, nominative singular), the compound attagutto (self-guarded, nominative singular) and the adjective satima (mindful, nominative singular). The verb is vihahisi (will live, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). It has an attribute, the adverb sukhaj (happily).

Commentary:

There was a poor farmer named Nangala Kula. Once he was ploughing a field wearing his old clothes, when he saw a monk passing by. He asked to be ordained and became a monk on the spot. He left his plough and old clothes there and went to the monastery, which was not very far.
After a time he would grow discontented with a life of a monk. In that case, he would go back to the tree, where he left his plough and clothes and would remind himself of his poor past. Thus his discontent left and he went back to his meditation practice. This happened several times.
Other monks observed his visits to the tree and asked him what it meant. He replied that he had to go to his teacher. After some time he attained the Arahantship and stopped going to the tree. The monks asked him why he stopped. He told them that he did not need a teacher any longer. The monks asked the Buddha if that was so and the Buddha confirmed that Nangala Kula has indeed attained the Arahantship. The Buddha then added this verse (and the following one, DhP 380).

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

attana
codaya
attanaj
patimajsetha
so
attagutto
atta
gutto
satima
sukhaj
bhikkhu
vihahisi