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

List of Abbreviations

# idha nandati pecca nandati katapubbo ubhayattha nandati

# pubbaj me katan ti nandati bhiyyo nandati sugatij gato

# (DhP 18)

Translation:

He is delighted here, he is delighted after death, in both states is the well-doer delighted.
He is delighted [by the thought] "I have done good". He is delighted even more, having gone to a good birth.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

idha nandati pecca nandati kata+pubbo ubhayattha nandati
| | | | | | | |
Adv. V.act.in. V.ger. V.act.in. Adj. N.m. Adv. V.act.in.
| 3.Sg.pres. | 3.Sg.pres. | Nom.Sg. | 3.Sg.pres.
|________| |_______| |_____| |________|
|______________| |______________|
|___________________________| List of Abbreviations

pubbaj me katan ti nandati bhiyyo nandati sugatij gato
| | | | | | | | |
Nom.n. Pron. Adj.n. Part. V.act.in. Adv. V.act.in. N.f. Adj.m.
Nom.Sg. Ins.Sg. Nom.Sg. | 3.Sg.pres. | 3.Sg.pres. Acc.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|__________|________| | | |_______| |_______|
|_____| | | |_______________|
|_______________| | |
|_______________| |
|____________________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

idha, Adv.: here, in this world.

nandati, V.: to rejoice, to find delight, to be happy. The root nand-.
3.Sg.act.in.pres. = nandati.

pecca, V.: after death. It is a ger. of the verb i- (to go) with the prefix pa- (directional prefix of forward motion). This verb means literally "to go over", it is used as an euphemism for "to die".

katapubbo: katapubba-, N.m.: a good man, one who has done good deeds. A compound of:
kata-, Adj.: done. A p.p. of kar- (to do).
pubba-, N.n.: good deed, meritorious deed, merit.
Nom.Sg. = katapubbo.

List of Abbreviations

ubhayattha, Adv.: in both cases.

pubbaj: pubba-, N.n.: good deed, meritorious deed, merit. Nom.Sg. = pubbaj.

me: aham-, Pron.: I. Ins.Sg. = maya, short form me (by me).

katan-, kata-, Adj.: done. P.p. of the verb kar- (to do). Nom.Sg.n. = kataj. The form katan is due to the euphonic combination (kataj + ti = katan ti).

ti, part.: (sometimes written as iti) usually a particle, symbolizing the end of direct speech (in English that is expressed by quotation marks).

bhiyyo, Adv.: more, further, in a higher degree.

sugatij: sugati-, N.f.: a good existence, a desirable rebirth. Composed of:
su-, pref.: good, easy.
gati-, N.f.: existence, rebirth. Derived from the verb gam- (to go).
Acc.Sg. = sugatij.

gato: gata-, Adj.: gone. P.p. of the verb gam- (to go). Nom.Sg.m. = gato.
List of Abbreviations

The first line consists of loosely connected sentences. They are:

1) idha nandati ([the well-doer] is delighted here). Here the subject is omitted (it is the word katapubbo from the third sentence). The verb nandati (is delighted) is in 3rd person singular, present tense, active voice, indicative. The adverb idha (here) is an attribute to the verb.

2) pecca nandati ([the well-doer] is delighted after death). Again, the subject is the word katapubbo from the following sentence. The verb is nandati (as above). The gerund pecca (having gone) is an attribute to the verb.

3) katapubbo ubhayattha nandati (the well-doer is delighted in both states). The subject of this sentence (and of the two previous ones) is the word katapubbo (well-doer). It is in nominative singular. The verb is nandati (explained above). The adverb ubhayattha (in both places) serves as an attribute to the verb.

The second line consists of two segments:

1) pubbaj me katan ti nandati (He is delighted [by the thought] "I have done good"). Here the subject is omitted, it is the word katapubbo from the previous sentence and the verb is nandati (as above). There is a direct speech clause inserted - pubbaj me katan ti. Here the subject is pubbaj (good, nominative singular). And as a verb serves the past participle kataj (done, nominative singular). The pronoun me (by me, instrumental singular) is an attribute to the verb. The particle ti marks the end of the direct speech.

2) bhiyyo nandati sugatij gato (He is delighted even more, having gone to a good birth). The sentence is introduced by the adverb bhiyyo (more). The subject is again the word katapubbo from the first line. The verb is also nandati. The verb has an attribute - the word gato (gone, past participle, nominative singular), which in turn has its own attribute sugatij (to the good birth, accusative singular).

Commentary:
In contrast to the previous verse (DhP 17), one, who performs good deeds is happy and delighted both in this life and after death. The idea "I have done good deeds" brings him inner satisfaction and happiness. Even more happiness then brings him his next birth - as a human being (the best of all possibilities), as a celestial being in various heavenly worlds etc.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

idha
nandati
pecca
katapubbo
ubhayattha
pubbaj
me
katan
ti
bhiyyo
sugatij
gato