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

List of Abbreviations

# udakaj hi nayanti nettika usukara namayanti tejanaj

# daruj namayanti tacchaka attanaj damayanti subbata

# (DhP 145)

Sentence Translation:

Irrigators lead water. Arrow-makers bend arrow-shaft.
Carpenters bend wood. Virtuous ones master themselves.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

udakaj hi nayanti nettika usu+kara namayanti tejanaj
| | | | | | | |
N.n. part. V.act.in. N.m. N.n. Adj.m. V.act.in. N.n.
Acc.Sg . | 3.Pl.pres. Nom.Pl. | Nom.Pl. 3.Pl.caus. Acc.Sg.
|_______|______| | |____| | |
|___| | |___________| |
|________________| |______________|

List of Abbreviations

daruj namayanti tacchaka attanaj damayanti subbata
| | | | | |
N.n. V.act.in. N.m. N.m. V.act.in. Adj.m.
Acc.Sg. 3.Pl.caus. Nom.Pl. Acc.Sg. 3.Pl.pres. Nom.Pl.
|__________| | |_______| |
|_____________| |____________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

udakaj: udaka-, N.n.: water. Acc.Sg. = udakaj.

hi, part.: indeed.

nayanti, V.: lead. The verb root is ni-. 3.Pl.act.in.pres. = nayanti.

nettika: nettika-, Adj: irrigating, for irrigation. As a N.m.: irrigator.
Nom.Pl. = nettika.

usukara: usukara-, N.m.: arrow-maker. It is a compound of:
usu-, N.m.: arrow.
kara-, Adj.: doing. As a N.m.: one, who makes, maker. It is derived from the verb kar-, to do.
Nom.Pl. = usukara.

namayanti, V.: bend. The verb root is nam-. 3.Pl.act.in.caus. = namayanti.

List of Abbreviations

tejanaj: tejana-, N.n.: the shaft of an arrow. Acc.Sg. = tejanaj.

daruj: daru-, N.n.: wood. Acc.Sg. = daruj.

namayanti: see above.

tacchaka: tacchaka-, N.m.: carpenter. Nom.Pl. = tacchaka.

attanaj: attan-, N.m.: self, oneself. Acc.Sg. = attanaj.

damayanti, V.: tame, subdue, master. The verb root is dam- (to tame).
3.Pl.act.in.pres. = damayanti.

subbata: subbata-, Adj.: virtuous, devout. It is the word vata-, N.m.: religious duty, precept, with the prefix su- (well). Euphonic combination: su- + vata- = subbata-. Nom.Pl.m. = subbata.

List of Abbreviations

This verse contains four independent sentences. They are:
1) udakaj hi nayanti nettika (irrigators lead water). The subject is the noun nettika (irrigators, nominative plural). The verb is nayanti (lead, 3rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the noun udakaj (water, accusative singular). The particle hi (indeed) stresses the object and serves mainly for metrical purposes.
2) usukara namayanti tejanaj (arrow-makers bend arrows). The noun usukara (arrow-makers) is the subject of this sentence. The verb is namayanti (bend, 3rd person, plural, active, causative, present tense). Object is the noun tejanaj (arrow-shaft, accusative singular).
3) daruj namayanti tacchaka (carpenters bend wood). The subject is the noun tacchaka (carpenters, nominative plural). The verb is namayanti (bend, 3rd person, plural, active, causative, present tense). The noun daruj (wood, accusative singular) is the object in this sentence.
4) attanaj damayanti subbata (virtuous ones master themselves). The adjective subbata (virtuous ones, nominative plural) is the subject here. The verb is damayanti (master, 3rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the noun attanaj (oneself, accusative singular).

Commentary:

Venerable Sariputta once had a very young novice. His name was Sukha. One day, he went with Sariputta on his alms-round. He observed irrigators irrigating the fields, arrow-makers making their arrows and carpenters working with wood. He asked Venerable Sariputta if those things, which have no mind, could be guided to wherever one wishes. Sariputta replied that it is so. The young novice then thought, "If those things, which have no mind, could be guided to wherever one wishes, then why could not I master myself?"
He then asked permission from Sariputta, returned to the monastery and diligently practiced. He was about to attain Arahantship, when Sariputta returned and was going towards the novice's hut. The Buddha saw this and he also saw that the novice was just about to attain the goal, so he met Sariputta outside and prevented him from going to the novice's hut by asking him various questions. The novice indeed attained Arahantship very soon and the Buddha explained that the reason, why he kept Sariputta outside, was to enable the young novice to attain his goal without being interrupted.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

udakaj
hi
nayanti
nettika
usukara
usu
kara
namayanti
tejanaj
daruj
tacchaka
attanaj
damayanti
subbata