Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
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List of Abbreviations

# ahaj nago va savgame capato patitaj saraj

# ativakyaj titikkhissaj dussilo hi bahujjano

# (DhP 320)

Sentence Translation:

As an elephant in the battle endures the arrows shot from bows,
so will I endure abuse. Many people are of bad morality.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

ahaj nago va savgame capato patitaj saraj
| | | | | | |
Pron. N.m. part. N.m. N.m. Adj.m. N.m.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. | Loc.Sg. Abl.Sg. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg.
| |______|_____| | |______|
| | | |__________|
| | |______________|
| |__________|
|______________________|
|______________________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

ativakyaj titikkhissaj dussilo hi bahu+jjano
| | | | | |
N.n. V.med. Adj.m. part. Adj. N.m.
Acc.Sg. 1.Sg.fut. Nom.Sg. | | Nom.Sg.
|_____________| | | |_____|
_______| |_____|______|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

ahaj, Pron.: I. Nom.Sg. = ahaj.

nago: naga-, N.m.: elephant. Nom.Sg. = nago.

va, part.: as, like.

savgame: savgama-, N.m.: battle, fight. Loc.Sg. = savgame.

capato: capa-, N.m.: bow. Abl.Sg. = capato.

patitaj: patita-, Adj.: fallen, shot, released. It is a p.p. of the verb root pat-. Acc.Sg.m. = patitaj.

saraj: sara-, N.m.: arrow. Acc.Sg. = saraj.

List of Abbreviations

ativakyaj: ativakya-, N.n.: abuse, blame, reproach. It is derived from the verb root vac- (to speak) with the prefix ati- (extremely, in excess). Acc.Sg. = ativakyaj.

titikkhissaj, V.: [I would] endure, bear, tolerate. The verb root is tij- (to sharpen). The desiderative form (expressing a desire to do an action) is titikkhati. 1.Sg.med.fut. = titikkhissaj.

dussilo: dussila-, Adj.: of bad morality. It is the word sila-, N.n.: virtue, morality, with a prefix du- (bad). Euphonic combination: du- + sila- = dussila-. Nom.Sg.m. = dussilo.

hi, part.: indeed.

bahujjano: bahujjana-, N.m.: many people, large crowd. It is a compound of:
bahu-, Adj.: large, much, very.
jana-, N.m.: person, man.
Euphonic combination: bahu- + jana- = bahujjana-.
Nom.Sg. = bahujjano. The singular here has to be taken collectively.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) ahaj nago va savgame capato patitaj saraj ativakyaj titikkhissaj (as an elephant in the battle endures the arrows shot from bows, so will I endure abuse). This can be further analysed into the main sentence a) and the clause b):
a) ahaj ativakyaj titikkhissaj (I will endure abuse). The subject is the pronoun ahaj (I, nominative singular). The verb is titikkhissaj (I will endure, 1st person, singular, medium, future). The object is the noun ativakyaj (abuse, accusative singular).
b) nago va savgame capato patitaj saraj (as an elephant in the battle [endures] the arrow shot from a bow). The subject is the noun nago (elephant, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the noun savgame (in the battle, locative singular). The object is the noun saraj (arrow, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the past participle patitaj (shot, accusative singular) with its attribute, the noun capato (from a bow, ablative singular). The particle va (as, like) connects the clause to the main sentence.
2) dussilo hi bahujjano (many people are of bad morality). The subject is the compound bahujjano (many people, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective dussilo (of bad morality, nominative singular). The particle hi (indeed) serves mainly metrical reasons.

Commentary:

The queen Magandiya, the wife of the king Udena of Kosambi hated the Buddha. When he came to Kosambi, she hired some villains who followed the Buddha and abused him. Venerable Ananda suggested that the Buddha should just leave Kosambi and go elsewhere, but the Buddha replied with this verse (and the following two, DhP 321 and Dhp 322), saying that he will endure the abuse patiently.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

ahaj
nago
va
savgame
capato
patitaj
saraj
ativakyaj
titikkhissaj
dussilo
hi
bahujjano
bahu
jano