Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
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List of Abbreviations

# api dibbesu kamesu ratij so nadhigacchati

# tanhakkhayarato hoti sammasambuddhasavako

# (DhP 187)

Sentence Translation:

[continued from DhP 186]
he does not find liking even for divine pleasures.
A student of the truly and completely Awakened One is devoted to destruction of cravings.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

api dibbesu kamesu ratij so na adhigacchati
| | | | | | |
part. Adj.m. N.m. N.f. Pron.m. neg. V.act.in.
| Loc.Pl. Loc.Pl. Acc.Sg. Nom.Sg. | 3.Sg.pres.
| |______| | | |______|
|_________| | | |
|_______________| | |
|______________|_________|
|_______|

List of Abbreviations

tanha+kkhaya+rato hoti samma+sambuddha+savako
| | | | | | |
N.f. N.m. Adj.m. V.act.in. Adv. Adj. N.m.
|_______| Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. |________| Nom.Sg.
|__________| | |_____________|
|_____________| |
|_______________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

api, part.: also, as well, even (often spelled pi).

dibbesu: dibba-, Adj.: divine, heavenly. Loc.Sg.m. = dibbesu.

kamesu: kama-, N.m.: sense-pleasure, sense desire. Loc.Pl. = kamesu.

ratij: rati-, N.f.: love, attachment, liking for. Acc.Sg. = ratij.

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

na, neg.: not.

adhigacchati, V.: find, obtain. The verb root is gam- (to go) with the prefix adhi- (above, towards). 3.Sg.act.pres.in. = adhigacchati.
Euphonic combination: na + adhigacchati = nadhigacchati.

List of Abbreviations

tanhakkhayarato: tanhakkhayarata-, Adj.: devoted to destruction of cravings. It is a compound of:
tanha-, N.f.: thirst, craving.
khaya-, N.m.: destruction, dissolution, end.
rata-, Adj.: devoted. It is a p.p. of the verb ram- (to delight in, to be devoted to).
Euphonic combination: tanha- + khaya- = tanhakkhaya-.
Nom.Sg.m. = tanhakkhayarato.

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

sammasambuddhasavako: sammasambuddhasavaka-, N.m.: student of the truly and completely Awakened One. It is a compound of:
sammasambuddha-, N.m.: truly and completely Awakened One. This denotes the Buddha Shakyamuni. It can be further analyzed as:
samma, Adv.: properly, rightly, as it should be, truly.
sambuddha-, Adj.: completely awakened. It is a p.p. of the verb sam+budh-, to awaken completely. Prefix sam- denotes the completeness of the action, "together", "wholy". The verb budh- means to wake up.
savaka-, N.m.: , "listener", student, pupil. It is derived from the verb root su- (to hear, to listen).
Nom.Sg. = sammasambuddhasavako.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) api dibbesu kamesu ratij so nadhigacchati (he does not find liking even for divine pleasures). The subject of this sentence is the pronoun so (he, nominative singular). The verb is adhigacchati (finds, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the noun ratij (pleasure, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the noun kamesu (in pleasures, locative plural). This word has itself an attribute, the adjective dibbesu (in divine, locative plural). It is further modified by the particle api (even).
2) tanhakkhayarato hoti sammasambuddhasavako (a student of the truly and completely Awakened One is devoted to destruction of cravings). The subject is the compound sammasambuddhasavako (a student of the truly and completely Awakened One, nominative singular). The verb is hoti (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the adjective compound tanhakkhayarato (devoted to destruction of cravings, nominative singular).

Commentary:

The story for this verse is identical with the one for the previous verse (DhP 187).
It is a well-known fact that people are never satisfied with what they have. Even millionaires want to become billionaires; even kings want to become emperors. So the Buddha's message is rather simple: be satisfied with little and rather strive for the spiritual perfection, do not wish for worldly possessions.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

api
dibbesu
kamesu
ratij
so
na
adhigacchati
tanhakkhayarato
tanha
khaya
rato
hoti
sammasambuddhasavako
sammasambuddha
samma
sambuddha
savako