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

List of Abbreviations

# taj ca kammaj kataj sadhu yaj katva n'anutappati

# yassa patito sumano vipakaj patisevati

# (DhP 68)

Sentence Translation:

That deed is well done, which one does not regret when it is accomplished,
whose consequences one faces delighted and happy.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

taj ca kammaj kataj sadhu yaj katva na anutappati
| | | | | | | | |
Pron.n. conj. N.n. Adj.n. Adv. Rel.Pron.n V.ger. neg. V.pas.in.
Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. | | 3.Sg.pres.
|________|_______| |_____| | | |______|
|____________________| | |_______|
| |___________|
| |________________________________
|________________________________________|

List of Abbreviations

yassa patito sumano vipakaj patisevati
| | | | |
Rel.Pron.n. Adj.m. Adj.m. N.m. V.act.in.
Gen.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.pres.
| |________| | |
|________________|___________| |
| |_______________|
|____________|
_____________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

taj: tat-, Pron.: that. Nom.Sg.n.: taj.

ca, conj.: and.

kammaj: kamma-, N.n.: deed, action. Derived from the verb kar- (to do).
Nom.Sg. = kammaj.

kataj, kata-, Adj.: done. P.p. of the verb kar- (to do). Nom.Sg.n. = kataj.

sadhu, Adv.: good, well.

yaj: yat-, Rel.Pron.: that, which. Nom.Sg.n.: yaj.

katva, V.ger.: having done. The verb root is kar- (to do).

List of Abbreviations

na, neg.: not.

anutappati, V.: to regret, to feel remorse. Pass. of tap- (to be hot, to burn) with the prefix anu- (following, after). 3.Sg.pas.in.pres. = anutappati.
Euphonic combination: na + anutappati = n'anutappati.

yassa: yat-, Rel.Pron.: that, which. Gen.Sg.n. = yassa.

patito: patita-, Adj.: pleased, delighted. It is a p.p. of the verb root i- (to go) with the prefix pati- (back to). Nom.Sg.m. = patito.

List of Abbreviations

sumano: sumana-, Adj.: glad, happy. It is the word mano-, N.n.: mind (the compound form is mana-) with the prefix su- (well, good).
Nom.Sg.m. = sumano.

vipakaj: vipaka-, N.m.: result, effect, consequence. Acc.Sg. = vipakaj.

patisevati, V.: to pursue, to follow. The verb root is sev- (to serve, to associate with) with the prefix pati- (after, with). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = patisevati.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of one main sentence and two subordinate clauses.
The main sentence is taj ca kammaj kataj sadhu (that deed is well done). The subject of this sentence is the noun kammaj (deed, nominative singular) with its attribute, the personal pronoun taj (that, nominative singular). The past participle kataj (done, nominative singular) serves as the verb. It has an attribute, the adverb sadhu (well). The conjunction ca (and) serves mainly metrical purposes.
The first subordinate clause is yaj katva na anutappati (which one does not regret when it is accomplished). Here, the subject is the relative pronoun yaj (that which, nominative singular). It also connects the clause to the main sentence. The verbal phrase katva na anutappati (having done - does not regret) serves as the verb here. The word katva (having done) is in the gerundive, the verb anutappati (regrets) is in the 3rd person, singular, passive, indicative, present tense and is negated by the negative particle na (not).
The second subordinate clause is yassa patito sumano vipakaj patisevati (whose consequences one faces delighted and happy). The subject is missing; any personal pronoun can be implied. This missing subject has two attributes, the adjective patito (delighted, nominative singular) and the adjective sumano (happy, nominative singular). The verb is patisevati (follows, faces, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the word vipakaj (consequence, accusative singular). The relative pronoun yassa (whose, genitive singular) points to the subject of the main sentence (kammaj) and it connects this clause to the main sentence.

Commentary:

In the city of Rajagaha there lived a florist named Sumana. His duty was to bring the king Bimbisara fresh jasmine flowers every morning. One day he was on his way to the palace with the flowers, when he saw the Buddha and many monks on their alms round. He felt a strong desire to offer the flowers to the Buddha. He decided that even if the king were to fire him or even kill him, he would offer the flowers to the Buddha. He did so and was filled with delightful satisfaction.
When Bimbisara heard about it, he was extremely happy with what Sumana have done. He praised him for his devotion and gave him a big reward.
Venerable Ananda asked the Buddha what consequences would Sumana bear for this action. The Buddha replied that Sumana would not be reborn any more in any of the lower worlds and that he will attain arahantship in the near future.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

taj
ca
kammaj
kataj
sadhu
yaj
katva
na
anutappati
yassa
patito
sumano
vipakaj
patisevati