Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
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List of Abbreviations

# vitakkapamathitassa jantuno tibbaragassa subhanupassino

# bhiyyo tanha pavaddhati esa kho dalhaj karoti bandhanaj

# (DhP 349)

Sentence Translation:

The thirst of a person who has confused thoughts, is strongly passionate and contemplates only the pleasant things
will only grow more. Such a person makes his fetters stronger.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

vitakka+pamathitassa jantuno tibba+ragassa subha+anupassino
| | | | | | |
N.m. Adj.m. N.m. Adj. Adj.m. Adj. Adj.m.
| Gen.Sg. Gen.Sg. | Gen.Sg | Gen.Sg.
|____________| | |______| |________|
|_______________|________|_____________|
|_______|
|_______________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

bhiyyo tanha pavaddhati esa kho dalhaj karoti bandhanaj
| | | | | | | |
Adv. N.f. V.act.in. Pron.m. part. Adj.n. V.act.in. N.n.
| Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg. | Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. Acc.Sg.
|________|_______| |______| |________| |
________| | | |___________|
|________| |__________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

vitakkapamathitassa: vitakkapamathita-, Adj.: with confused thoughts. It is a compound of:
vitakka-, N.m.: thought, thinking.
pamathita-, Adj.: upset, unbalanced, disturbed. It is a p.p. of the verb root math- (to shake) with the strengthening prefix pa-.
Gen.Sg.m. = vitakkapamathitassa.

jantuno: jantu-, N.m.: being, person, man. Gen.Sg. = jantuno.

tibbaragassa: tibbaraga-, Adj.: of strong passions. It is a compound of:
tibba-, Adj.: sharp, strong, intense.
raga-, N.m.: passion, lust. It is derived from the verb raj- (to color).
Gen.Sg.m. = tibbaragassa.

List of Abbreviations

subhanupassino: subhanupassin-, Adj.: contemplating the pleasant [things]. It is a compound of:
subha-, Adj.: pleasant
anupassin-, Adj.: contemplating, viewing, observing. It is derived from the verb root pass- (to see) with the prefix anu- (on, at, down on). The suffix -in is so called possessive suffix (thus literally "having contemplation).
Euphonic combination: subha- + anupassin- = subhanupassin-.
Gen.Sg.m. = subhanupassino.

bhiyyo, Adv.: more, further, in a higher degree.

tanha: tanha-, N.f.: thirst, craving. Nom.Sg. = tanha.

List of Abbreviations

pavaddhati, V.: grows. The verb root is vaddh-, with the strengthening prefix pa-.
3.Sg.act.in.pres. = pavaddhati.

esa: etad-, Pron.: this. Nom.Sg.m: esa.

kho, part.: indeed.

dalhaj: dalha-, Adj.: strong, resolute, firm. Acc.Sg.n. = dalhaj.

karoti, V.: do. The verb root is kar-. 3.Sg.in.act.pres. = karoti.

bandhanaj: bandhana-, N.n.: bond, fetter. It is derived from the verb root bandh- (to bind, to fasten). Acc.Sg. = bandhanaj.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) vitakkapamathitassa jantuno tibbaragassa subhanupassino bhiyyo tanha pavaddhati (the thirst of a person who has confused thoughts, is strongly passionate and contemplates only the pleasant things will only grow more). The subject is the noun tanha (thirst, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the noun jantuno (of a person, genitive singular). This word has three attributes, the compounds vitakkapamathitassa (of one with confused thoughts, genitive singular), tibbaragassa (of one with strong passions, genitive singular) and subhanupassino (of one who is contemplating only the pleasant, genitive singular). The verb is pavaddhati (grows, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the adverb bhiyyo (more).
2) esa kho dalhaj karoti bandhanaj (such a person makes his fetters stronger). The subject is the pronoun esa (he, nominative singular). It is stressed by the particle kho (indeed). The verb is karoti (makes, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the adjective dalhaj (strong, accusative singular). The object is the noun bandhanaj (fetter, accusative singular).

Commentary:

A young monk once asked for some water in a house where a young woman lived alone. She fell in love with him immediately and invited him to come over for almsfood anytime he wanted. Later she would hint that she had enough money but felt very lonely. The monk felt himself attracted to her and began contemplating leaving the Order and marrying her. He became thin and nervous because of his thoughts and the matter was reported to the Buddha.
The Buddha told the monk that in his previous life this woman was his wife. Once they were traveling and met some thieves. She fell in love with their leader and helped him kill her husband. Just like in the previous life she was the source of his death, so in this life she could well be the ruin of his life as a monk. The Buddha then spoke this verse (and the following one, DhP 350).
The monk took the advice to his heart and began striving diligently towards the Awakenment.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

vitakkapamathitassa
vitakka
pamathitassa
jantuno
tibbaragassa
tibba
ragassa
subhanupassino
subha
anupassino
bhiyyo
tanha
pavaddhati
esa
kho
dalhaj
karoti
bandhanaj