Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
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List of Abbreviations

# acaritva brahmacariyaj aladdha yobbane dhanaj

# senti capatikhina va puranani anutthunaj

# (DhP 156)

Sentence Translation:

Those, who have not led the holy life, and have not obtained wealth while young,
lie just like arrows shot from a bow, moaning over the past.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

acaritva brahma+cariyaj aladdha yobbane dhanaj
| | | | | |
V.ger. Adj. N.f. V.ger. N.n. N.n.
| | Acc.Sg. | Loc.Sg. Acc.Sg.
| |_______| | |_______|
|_____________| |__________|
|________________________|
|____________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

senti capa+atikhina va puranani anutthunaj
| | | | | |
V.act.in. N.m. Adj.m. part. N.n. Adj.m.
3.Pl.pres. | Nom.Pl. | Acc.Pl. Nom.Sg.
| |______| | |________|
| |________| |
|________________|_____________|
|________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

acaritva, V.ger.: not having lived. It is the word caritva, V.ger: having lived (the verb root is car-, to live, to act) with the negative prefix a-.

brahmacariyaj: brahmacariya-, N.f.: holy, pious or pure life. It is a compound of:
brahma-, Adj.: holy, "Brahmanic", pious.
cariya-, Adj.: living, acting. It is derived from the verb car- (to walk, to act).
Acc.Sg. = brahmacariyaj.

aladdha, V.ger.: not having obtained, gotten. It is the word laddha, V.ger.: having obtained (the verb root is labh-, to get, to obtain) with the negative prefix a-.

yobbane: yobbana-, N.n.: youth, young age. Loc.Sg. = yobbane.

List of Abbreviations

dhanaj: dhana-, N.n.: wealth. Here in the meaning of "spiritual wealth". Acc.Sg. = dhanaj.

senti, V.: lie, lie down. The verb root is si- (to lay). 3.Pl.act.in.pres. = senti.

capatikhina: capatikhina-, Adj.: shot from the bow. It is a compound of:
capa-, N.m.: bow.
atikhina-, Adj.: shot. It is a p.p. of the verb root khi- (to remove), with the prefix ati- (over, out).
Euphonic combination: capa- + atikhina- = capatikhina-.
Nom.Pl.m. = capatikhina.
Another explanation: we take the words separately, and then capa would be nominative plural of capa-, "bows". The word atikhina we woul take in its different meaning completely (ati-) destroyed, worn out (khina-). Then the simile would read "like worn out bows". But the traditional explanation is "[arrows] shot from the bow" and we follow this explanation here.

List of Abbreviations

va, part.: as, like.

puranani: purana-, Adj.: old. As an N.n.: past, old times. Acc.Pl. = puranani.

anutthunaj: anutthunant-, Adj.: wailing, moaning. It is an a.pr.p. of the verb root than- (to moan) with the prefix anu- (to, at). Nom.Pl.m. = anuthunanto, but for the sake of the meter, the Nom.Sg.m. form anutthunaj is used here.

List of Abbreviations

The main sentence is in the second line: senti capatikhina va puranani anutthunaj (lie just like arrows shot from a bow, moaning over the past). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person plural pronoun. The verb is senti ([they] lie, 3rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the active present participle anutthunaj (moaning over, nominative singular; as stated above, plural would be expected here) and the object is the noun/adjective puranani (past, accusative plural). There is a clause, capatikhina va (just like arrows shot from a bow). Here, the compound capatikhina (arrows shot from a bow, nominative plural; for another explanation of this compound see above, in the Vocabulary and Grammar section) is the subject and the particle va (like, as) connects the clause to the main sentence.
In the first line, there are two sentences, subordinate to the main sentence. They are: 1) acaritva brahmacariyaj (not having led the holy life). The subject is omitted; the subject from the main sentence is implied. The verb is in gerund, acaritva (not having led). The object is the compound brahmacariyaj (holy life, accusative singular). 2) aladdha yobbane dhanaj (not having obtained wealth while young). Again, the subject is omitted and the verb is in gerund, aladdha (not having obtained). The object is the noun dhanaj (wealth, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the noun yobbane (in youth, locative singular).

Commentary:

The story for this verse is identical with the story for the previous one (DhP 155).
If we want to accomplish something in our lives, we have to start working early, in the young age. Be it material or spiritual goals, we should not waste our time and diligently learn the necessary skills and then apply them on the road to the goal we want to achieve. If we do nothing in our young age, all the opportunities will be lost and we will grow old, without ever accomplishing anything.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

acaritva
brahmacariyaj
brahma
cariyaj
aladdha
yobbane
dhanaj
senti
capatikhina
capa
atikhina
va
puranani
anutthunaj