Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
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List of Abbreviations

# sabbattha ve sappurisa cajanti na kamakama lapayanti santo

# sukhena phuttha atha va dukkhena na uccavacaj pandita dassayanti

# (DhP 83)

Sentence Translation:

True people abandon everything. Good people do not mutter, desiring pleasure.
Wise people do not show elation or depression when they are affected by happiness or suffering.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

sabbattha ve sap+purisa cajanti na kama+kama lapayanti santo
| | | | | | | | | |
Adv. part. Adj. N.m. V.act.in. neg. N.m. Adj.m. V.act.caus. Adj.m.
| | | Nom.Pl. 3.Pl.pres. | | Nom.Pl. 3.Pl.pres. Nom.Pl.
| | |____| | | |_____| | |
|________|______|___________| |_______|__________| |
| |____| | |__________________|
|________| |____________|

List of Abbreviations

sukhena phuttha atha va dukkhena na ucca+avacaj pandita dassayanti
| | | | | | | | | |
N.n. Adj.m. Adv. conj. N.n. neg. Adj. Adj.m. N.m. V.act.caus.
Ins.Sg. Nom.Pl. |____| Ins.Sg. | | Acc.Sg. Nom.Pl. 3.Pl.pres.
|_________|________|______| | |_____| | |
|____| |______|_________|_______|
| |____| |
| |_______|
|_____________________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

sabbattha, Adv.: everywhere, in every respect.

ve, part.: indeed, truly.

sappurisa: sappurisa-, N.m.: a true person. It is a compound of:
sat-, Adj.: true, good, real. This is a compound form of the word sant- (see below).
purisa-, N.m.: person.
Euphonic combination: sat- + purisa- = sappurisa-.
Nom.Pl. = sappurisa.

cajanti, V.: abandon, give up. The verb root is caj-. 3.Pl.act.in.pres. = cajanti.

List of Abbreviations

na, neg.: not.

kamakama: kamakama-, Adj.: desiring, pleasure-loving. It is a compound of:
kama-, N.m.: pleasure, enjoyment, sense-desire.
kama-, N.m.: as above.
Nom.Pl.m. = kamakama.

lapayanti, V.: talk, prattle, mutter. The verb root is lap-. 3.Pl.act.caus.pres. = lapayanti.

santo: sant-, Adj.: real, good, true. It is an a.pr.p. of the verb root as- (to be). Thus sant- means literally means "existing", "being". Nom.Pl.m. = santo.

sukhena: sukha-, N.n.: happiness, ease, well-being. Ins.Sg. = sukhena.

phuttha: phuttha-, Adj.: touched, affected. It is a p.p. of the verb phus- (to touch).
Nom.Pl.m. = phuttha.

List of Abbreviations

atha, Adv.: and also, and then.

va, conj.: or.

dukkhena: dukkha-, N.n.: suffering. Ins.Sg. = dukkhena.

uccavacaj: uccavaca-, Adj.: high and low, elated and depressed. It is a compound of:
ucca-, Adj.: high.
avaca-, Adj.: low.
Euphonic combination: ucca- + avaca- = uccavaca-.
Acc.Sg.m. = uccavacaj.

pandita: pandita-, N.m.: wise man, learned man. Nom.Pl. = pandita.

dassayanti, V.: show. It is the causative of the verb root das- (to see). 3.Pl.act.caus.pres. = dassayanti.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of three sentences. They are:
1) sabbattha ve sappurisa cajanti (true people abandon everything). The subject is the noun sappurisa (true people, nominative plural). The verb is cajanti (give up, 3rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the adverb sabbattha (everywhere, everything). The particle ve (indeed) just stresses the sentence and serves mainly metrical purposes.
2) na kamakama lapayanti santo (good people do not mutter, desiring pleasure). The subject is the active present participle santo (good people, nominative plural). It has an attribute, the adjective kamakama (desiring pleasure, nominative plural). The verb is lapayanti (mutter, 3rd person, plural, active, causative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not).
3) sukhena phuttha atha va dukkhena na uccavacaj pandita dassayanti (wise people do not show elation or depression when they are affected by happiness or suffering). The subject is the noun pandita (wise ones, nominative plural). It has an attribute, the past participle phuttha (affected, nominative plural). This word has two attributes, nouns sukhena (by happiness) and dukkhena (by suffering). They are both in instrumental singular and they are connected by the phrase atha va ("or then", or). This phrase consists of the adverb atha (then) and the conjunction va (or). The verb is dassayanti (show, 3rd person, plural, active, causative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the adjective uccavacaj (high and low, elated and depressed, accusative singular).

Commentary:

The Buddha and many monks once stayed for the Rain Retreat in the village of Veranja at a request of a Brahmin from that village. But for some reason the Brahmin did not look after them. Moreover, there was a famine in the region and people could not support them very well. But the monks were all contented and happy. Some horse traders offered them grain every day and they lived on that food and continued to practice meditation diligently.
When the Rains were over, the Buddha and the monks returned to Savatthi. At that time, a certain group of people was permitted to stay in the monastery. They only ate greedily, slept and played on the bank of the river. There was a lot of noise in the monastery and around it.
When monks remarked to the Buddha that people were so depressed during the famine and now, when it was over, they were so elated. The Buddha replied with this verse, adding that only the foolish are full of sorrow when things do not go well and extremely happy when everything is fine. The wise is always calm and equanimous whether they have to face good or bad things.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

sabbattha
ve
sappurisa
sat
purisa
cajanti
na
kamakama
kama
lapayanti
santo
sukhena
phuttha
atha
va
dukkhena
uccavacaj
ucca
avacaj
pandita
dassayanti