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

List of Abbreviations

# yada dvayesu dhammesu paragu hoti brahmano

# athassa sabbe sajyoga atthaj gacchanti janato

# (DhP 384)

Sentence Translation:

If a Brahmin is crossed over to the opposite shore in regard of two things,
then all the bonds of such a knowing one disappear.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

yada dvayesu dhammesu para+gu hoti brahmano
| | | | | | |
Rel.Adv. Adj.m. N.m. N.n. Adj.m. V.act.in. N.m.
| Loc.Pl. Loc.Pl. | Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg.
| |________| |___| | |
| |_____________| | |
| |_________________| |
| |________________|
|______________________________________|
|____________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

atha assa sabbe sajyoga atthaj gacchanti janato
| | | | | | |
Adv. Pron.m. Adj.m. N.m. N.n. V.act.in. Adj.m.
| Gen.Sg. Nom.Pl. Nom.Pl. Acc.Sg. 3.Pl.pres. Gen.Sg.
| | |_______| |________| |
| |___________|______________|___________|
| |______| |
| |_________________|
|_______________________|
___________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

yada, Rel.Adv.: when.

dvayesu: dvaya-, Adj.: two(fold). Loc.Pl.m. = dvayesu.

dhammesu: dhamma-, N.m.: here does not mean Buddha's teaching, but should be interpreted rather as "state" or even more generally "thing". Loc.Pl. = dhammesu.

paragu: paragu-, N.m.: gone to the other shore, crossed over, gone beyond. It is a compound of:
para-, N.n.: the opposite shore, the other side.
-gu-, suf.: going, having gone. It is derived from the verb root gam- (to go).
Nom.Sg. = paragu.

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

brahmano: brahmana-, N.m.: Brahmin, a holy man. Nom.Sg. = brahmano.

atha, Adv.: then.

List of Abbreviations

assa: idam- Pron.: it. Gen.Sg.m. = assa (his).
Euphonic combination: atha + assa = athassa.

sabbe: sabba-, Adj.: all, every. Nom.Pl.m. = sabbe.

sajyoga: sajyoga-, N.m.: bond, fetter. It is derived from the verb root yuj- (to bind) with the prefix saj- (together). Nom.Sg. = sajyoga.

atthaj: attha-, N.n.: home, place of rest. Acc.Sg. = atthaj.

gacchanti, V.: goes. The verb root is gam-. 3.Pl.in.act.pres. = gacchanti. With the noun atthaj ("home"; as here): disappear, vanish, become extinct.

janato: janant-, Adj.: knowing, understanding. It is an a.pr.p. of the verb root ba- (to know). Gen.Sg.m. = janato.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two syntactically related sentences. They are:
1) yada dvayesu dhammesu paragu hoti brahmano (if a Brahmin is crossed over to the opposite shore in regard of two things). The subject is the noun brahmano (Brahmin, nominative singular). The verb is hoti (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the adjective paragu (crossed to the [opposite] shore, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the noun dhammesu (in things, locative plural). This word has also an attribute, the adjective dvayesu (in twofold, locative plural). The relative adverb yada (when) connects this sentence to the following one.
2) athassa sabbe sajyoga atthaj gacchanti janato (then all the bonds of such a knowing one disappear). The subject is the noun sajyoga (bonds, nominative plural). It has three attributes, pronoun assa (his, genitive singular), the adjective sabbe (all, nominative plural) and the active present participle janato (of the knowing one, genitive singular). The verb is gacchanti (go, 3rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the noun atthaj (to rest, accusative singular). The adverb atha (then) connects this sentence to the previous one.

Commentary:

A group of monks once came to see the Buddha. Venerable Sariputta perceived that those monks were very close to attaining the Arahantship. Therefore he approached the Buddha and asked him a question for the benefit of the monks. He asked, what were the two things that can bring about the disappearance of all bonds. The Buddha replied with this verse, adding that the two things were the tranquility and the insight meditations.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

yada
dvayesu
dhammesu
paragu
para
gu
hoti
brahmano
atha
assa
sabbe
sajyoga
atthaj
gacchanti
janato