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

List of Abbreviations

# middhi yada hoti mahagghaso ca

# niddayita samparivattasayi

# mahavaraho va nivapaputtho

# punappunaj gabbham upeti mando

# (DhP 325)

Sentence Translation:

If one is sluggish and eats too much,
is sleepy and rolls about in his sleep,
such a lazy one is like a fat well fed hog -
will be born again and again.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

middhi yada hoti maha+gghaso ca
| | | | | |
Adj.m. Rel.Adv. V.act.in. Adj. Adj.m. conj.
Nom.Sg. | 3.Sg.pres. | Nom.Sg. |
| | | |______| |
| | | |________|
|___________|________|______________|_____________________
| |______|
|____________|

List of Abbreviations

niddayita samparivatta+sayi
| | |
N.m. Adj. Adj.m.
Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg.
| |_______|
___|_____________|
|_____________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

maha+varaho va nivapa+puttho
| | | | |
Adj. N.m. part. N.m. Adj.m.
| Nom.Sg. | | Nom.Sg.
|________| | |______|
|__________|_______|
|_____|
|___________________________________________I.
II._____________________________________________________II.

List of Abbreviations

puna+ppunaj gabbham upeti mando
| | | | |
Adv. Adv. N.m. V.act.in. Adj.m.
|_______| Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg.
|____________|_______| |
|____| |
I.____________|__________________|
|________|
II.________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

middhi: middhin-, Adj.: sluggish, drowsy. It is the word middha-, N.n. (torpor, sluggishness) with the possessive suffix -in. Nom.Sg.m. = middhi.

yada, Rel.Adv.: when.

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

mahagghaso: mahagghasa-, Adj.: overeating, greedy. It is a compound of:
mahant-, Adj.: big, great, much. The compound form used here: maha-.
ghasa-, Adj.: eating, eater.
Euphonic combination: maha- + ghasa- = mahagghasa-.
Nom.Sg. = mahagghaso.

ca, conj.: and.

List of Abbreviations

niddayita: niddayitar-, N.m.: a sleepy person. It is derived from the word nidda-, N.f.: sleep. Nom.Sg.m. = niddayita.

samparivattasayi: samparivattasayin-, Adj.: rolling about while sleeping. It is a compound of
samparivatta-, Adj.: rolling about, turning. It is derived from the verb root vat- (to turn) with the prefixes sam- (altogether) and pari- (around).
sayin-, Adj.: lying, sleeping. It is derived from the verb root si- (to lie).
Nom.Sg.m. = samparivattasayi.

mahavaraho: mahavaraha-, Adj.: big boar. It is a compound of:
mahant-, Adj.: big, great. The compound form is maha-.
varaha-, N.m.: boar, wild pig.
Nom.Sg. = mahavaraho.

va, part.: as, like.

List of Abbreviations

nivapaputtho: nivapaputtha-, Adj.: nourished by a lot of fodder. It is a compound of:
nivapa-, N.m.: fodder, food thrown to animals. It is derived from the verb root vap- (to throw) with the prefix ni- (down).
puttha-, Adj.: nourished, fed. It is a p.p. of the verb root pus- (to nourish).
Nom.Sg.m. = nivapaputtho.

punappunaj, Adv.: again and again. It is the word puna, Ind.: again, doubled in intensifying sense. The double -p- is a result of the euphonic combination.

gabbham: gabbha-, N.m.: womb. Acc.Sg. = gabbham.

upeti, V.: undergo, come to, approach. The verb root is i- (to go) with the prefix upa- (near). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = upeti.

mando: manda-, Adj.: slow, lazy, indolent. Nom.Sg.m. = mando.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two related sentences. They are:
1) middhi yada hoti mahagghaso ca niddayita samparivattasayi (if one is sluggish and eats too much, is sleepy and rolls about in his sleep). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is hoti (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). There are four objects, the noun niddayita (sleepy person, nominative singular) and the adjectives middhi (sluggish, nominative singular), mahagghaso (overeating, nominative singular) and samparivattasayi (rolling about in sleep, nominative singular). The conjunction ca (and) connects two of these objects. The relative adverb yada (when) connects the sentence to the following one.
2) mahavaraho va nivapaputtho punappunaj gabbham upeti mando (such a lazy one is like a fat well fed hog - will be born again and again). This can be further analysed into the main sentence b) and the clause a):
a) mahavaraho va nivapaputtho (like a fat well fed hog). The subject is the compound mahavaraho (big hog, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the compound nivapaputtho (fed on fodder, nominative singular). The particle va (as, like) connects the clause to the subject of the main sentence.
b) punappunaj gabbham upeti mando (such a lazy one will be born again and again). The subject is the adjective mando (lazy, nominative singular). The verb is upeti (goes, approaches, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the adverb punappunaj (again and again). The object is the noun gabbham (to womb, accusative singular).

Commentary:

The king Pasenadi of Kosala once went to see the Buddha just after finishing an opulent meal. As a result, he was feeling drowsy and sleepy, could not concentrate on the Buddha's words and almost fell asleep. He apologized to the Buddha and told him about his heavy meal.
The Buddha replied with this verse, saying that overeating creates discomfort. The king acted accordingly, ate less and became much healthier and more active.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

middhi
yada
hoti
mahagghaso
maha
ghaso
ca
niddayita
samparivattasayi
samparivatta
sayi
mahavaraho
maha
varaho
va
nivapaputtho
nivapa
puttho
punappunaj
puna
gabbham
upeti
mando