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

List of Abbreviations

# sukha matteyyata loke atho petteyyata sukha

# sukha samabbata loke atho brahmabbata sukha

# (DhP 332)

Sentence Translation:

Being filial towards one's mother and father is good in this world.
Good is to be a monk in this world. It is also good to be a true Brahmin.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

sukha matteyyata loke atho petteyyata sukha
| | | | | |
Adj.f. N.f. N.m. part. N.f. Adj.f.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Loc.Sg. | Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|___________|______| | |_______|
|_____| |___________|

List of Abbreviations

sukha samabbata loke atho brahmabbata sukha
| | | | | |
Adj.f. N.f. N.m. part. N.f. Adj.f.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Loc.Sg. | Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|___________|______| | |_________|
|______| |____________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

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

matteyyata: matteyyata-, N.f.: filial love towards one's mother. It is an abstract from the word matteyya-, Adj.: reverential towards one's mother. This word is derived from the word matar-, N.f.: mother. Nom.Sg. = matteyyata.

loke: loka-, N.m.: world. Loc.Sg. = loke.

atho, part.: and, also, further.

petteyyata: petteyyata-, N.f.: filial love towards one's father. It is an abstract from the word petteyya-, Adj.: reverential towards one's father. This word is derived from the word pitar-, N.m.: father.
Nom.Sg. = petteyyata.

List of Abbreviations

sukha: see above.

samabbata: samabbata-, N.f.: monkshood. It is an abstract from the word samana-, N.m.: monk, recluse. Nom.Sg. = samabbata.

loke: see above.

atho: see above.

brahmabbata: brahmabbata-, N.f.: Brahminship, the state of a Brahmin. The meaning of this word is not "a member of the Brahmin caste", but rather "a true Brahmin", a spiritual person. It is an abstract from the word brahmana-, N.m.: Brahmin. Nom.Sg. = brahmabbata.

sukha: see above.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of four syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) sukha matteyyata loke (being filial towards one's mother is good in this world). The subject is the noun matteyyata (filial love towards one's mother, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". It has an attribute, the noun loke (in [this] world, locative singular). The object is the adjective sukha (good, nominative singular).
2) atho petteyyata sukha (being filial towards one's father is good in this world). The subject is the noun petteyyata (filial love towards one's father, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective sukha (good, nominative singular). Sentence is introduced by the particle atho (then, also).
3) sukha samabbata loke (good is to be a monk in this world). The subject is the noun samabbata (monkshood, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". It has an attribute, the noun loke (in [this] world, locative singular). The object is the adjective sukha (good, nominative singular).
4) atho brahmabbata sukha (it is also good to be a true Brahmin). The subject is the noun brahmabbata (Brahminship, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective sukha (good, nominative singular). Sentence is introduced by the particle atho (then, also).

Commentary:

The story for this verse is identical with the one for the previous verse (DhP 331) and the following one (DhP 333).
Filial love towards one's parents is (or should be) one of the basic foundations of our society even now, not to speak of the Buddha's times, when it was actually a crime not to look after one's parents (see the story for the verse in DhP 324). In this verse, the Buddha says that being a monk and reaching the state of a true Brahmin (which equals attaining the Awakenment) is as important as to love one’s parents. Maybe even more important - if we are able to reach Awakenment while our parents are still alive, we can teach them and help them on their own way towards this goal.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

sukha
matteyyata
loke
atho
petteyyata
samabbata
brahmabbata