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

List of Abbreviations

# atthamhi jatamhi sukha sahaya

# tutthi sukha ya itaritarena

# pubbaj sukhaj jivitasavkhayamhi

# sabbaso dukkhassa sukhaj pahanaj

# (DhP 331)

Sentence Translation:

Good are friends when need arises.
Good is satisfaction with whatever one has.
Good is merit when the life comes an end.
Good is to abandon all suffering completely.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

atthamhi jatamhi sukha sahaya
| | | |
N.n. Adj.n. Adj.m. N.m.
Loc.Sg. Loc.Sg. Nom.Pl. Nom.Pl.
|__________| | |
|____________|_______|
|_____|

List of Abbreviations

tutthi sukha ya itara+itarena
| | | | |
N.f. Adj.f. Rel.Pron.f. Adj. Adv.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. |_____|
| | |__________|
|___________|_____________|
|______|

List of Abbreviations

pubbaj sukhaj jivita+savkhayamhi
| | | |
N.n. Adj.n. N.n. N.m.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. | Loc.Sg.
| | |_________|
|___________|___________|
|_____|

List of Abbreviations

sabbaso dukkhassa sukhaj pahanaj
| | | |
Adv. N.m. Adj.n. N.n.
| Gen.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|___________| | |
|_____________|________|
|_______|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

atthamhi: attha-, N.n.: meaning, sense. Here in the sense of "need". Loc.Sg. = atthamhi.

jatamhi: jata-, Adj.: born, arisen. It is a p.p. of the verb root jan- (to be born). Loc.Sg. = jatamhi.

sukha: sukha-, Adj.: pleasant, agreeable, good. Nom.Sg.f. = sukha.

sahaya: sahaya-, N.m.: companion, friend. Nom.Pl. = sahaya.

tutthi: tutthi-, N.f.: joy, contentment, satisfaction. Nom.Sg. = tutthi. The form tutthi is sometimes used in poetry.

sukha: see above.

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

itaritarena: itaritara-, Adj.: one or the other, whatsoever. It is the compound of two words itara-, Adj.: other, different. Euphonic combination: itara- + itara- = itaritara-. Ins.Sg. = itaritarena. Here as an Adv. (in every way, always, whatsoever).

List of Abbreviations

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

sukhaj: sukha-, Adj.: pleasant, agreeable, good. Nom.Sg.n. = sukhaj.

jivitasavkhayamhi: jivitasavkhaya-, N.m.: end of life, death. It is a compound of:
jivita-, N.n.: life. Originally it is a p.p. of the verb jiv- (to live).
savkhaya-, N.m.: destruction, loss. It is derived from the word khaya-, N.m. (destruction) with the prefix sam- (completely).
Loc.Sg. = jivitasavkhayamhi.

sabbaso, Adv.: altogether, thoroughly. It is derived from the word sabba-, Adj.: all.

dukkhassa: dukkha-, N.m.: suffering. Gen.Sg. = dukkhassa.

sukhaj: see above.

pahanaj: pahana-, N.n.: giving up, abandoning, rejection. It is derived from the verb root ha- (to leave, to abandon) with the strengthening prefix pa-. Nom.Sg. = pahanaj.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of four syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) atthamhi jatamhi sukha sahaya (good are friends when need arises). The subject is the noun sahaya (friends, nominative plural). It has an attribute, the noun atthamhi (in need, locative singular) with its attribute, the past participle jatamhi (in arisen, locative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective sukha (good, nominative plural).
2) tutthi sukha ya itaritarena (good is satisfaction with whatever one has). The subject is the noun tutthi (satisfaction, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the adverb itaritarena (in every way). It is connected to the subject by the relative pronoun ya (which, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective sukha (good, nominative singular).
3) pubbaj sukhaj jivitasavkhayamhi (good is merit when the life comes an end). The subject is the noun pubbaj (merit, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the compound jivitasavkhayamhi (at the end of life, locative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective sukhaj (good, nominative singular).
4) sabbaso dukkhassa sukhaj pahanaj (good is to abandon all suffering completely). The subject is the noun pahanaj (abandoning, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the noun dukkhassa (of suffering, genitive singular) with its attribute, the adverb sabbaso (completely). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective sukhaj (good, nominative singular).

Commentary:

The Buddha was once thinking about how so many people were ill-treated by evil rulers. He tried to think up some way to convince the kings to rule wisely. Mara then tried to entice the Buddha to become a king himself. But the Buddha replied him with this verse (and the two following ones, DhP 332 and DhP 333), saying that their teachings were quite different and it was impossible for Mara to influence him to become a king.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

atthamhi
jatamhi
sukha
sahaya
tutthi
ya
itaritarena
itara
itarena
pubbaj
sukhaj
jivitasavkhayamhi
jivita
savkhayamhi
sabbaso
dukkhassa
pahanaj