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

List of Abbreviations

# candaj va vimalaj suddhaj vippasannam anavilaj

# nandibhavaparikkhinaj tam ahaj brumi brahmanaj

# (DhP 413)

Sentence Translation:

Who is like a moon, spotless, clean, bright and undisturbed,
who has destroyed the existence of pleasure - him do I call a Brahmin.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

candaj va vimalaj suddhaj vippasannam anavilaj
| | | | | |
N.m. part. Adj.m. Adj.m. Adj.m. Adj.m.
Acc.Sg. | Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg.
| | |_______|__________|________|
|________|_________|
|____|
|_________________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

nandi+bhava+parikkhinaj tam ahaj brumi brahmanaj
| | | | | | |
N.f. N.m. Adj.m. Pron.m. Pron. V.act.in. N.m.
|________| Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. Nom.Sg. 1.Sg.pres. Acc.Sg.
|____________| | | | |
___________| | | | |
|__________________| | | |
|________________|________|________|
| |____|
|__________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

candaj: canda-, N.m.: moon. Acc.Sg. = candaj.

va, part.: as, like.

vimalaj: vimala-, Adj.: clean, without stains, spotless. It is the word mala-, N.n.: impurity, stain, dirt, with the prefix vi- (without). Acc.Sg.m. = vimalaj.

suddhaj: suddha-, Adj.: clean, pure. It is a p.p. of the verb root sudh- (to clean).
Acc.Sg.m. = suddhaj.

vippasannam: vippasanna-, Adj.: purified, clear, bright. It is a p.p. of the verb vippasidati (to become bright). The verb root is sid- (to sit). Acc.Sg.m. = vippasannam.

anavilaj: anavila-, Adj.: undisturbed, clean. It is the word avila-, Adj.: stirred up, dirty with the negative prefix an-. Acc.Sg.m. = anavilaj.

List of Abbreviations

nandibhavaparikkhinaj: nandibhavaparikkhina-, Adj.: by whom the existence of pleasure has been completely destroyed. It is a compound of:
nandi-, N.f.: pleasure, delight. It is derived from the verb root nand- (to rejoice, to be glad).
bhava-, N.m.: becoming, existence. It is derived from the verb root bhu- (to be).
parikkhina-, Adj.: completely removed, destroyed. It is a p.p. of the verb root khi- (to remove, to destroy) with the prefix pari- (all around, completely).
Acc.Sg.m. = nandibhavaparikkhinaj.

tam: tad-, Pron.: it. Masculine form: so-, he. Acc.Sg. = tam (him).

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

brumi, V.: [I] say, proclaim. The verb root is bru-. 1.Sg.act.in.pres. = brumi.

brahmanaj: brahmana-, N.m.: Brahmin, a holy man. Acc.Sg. = brahmanaj.

List of Abbreviations

The subject of this sentence is the pronoun ahaj (I, nominative singular). The verb is brumi ([I] say, 1st person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the noun brahmanaj (Brahmin, accusative singular). It has three attributes, the pronoun tam (him, accusative singular), the compound nandibhavaparikkhinaj (who has destroyed the existence of pleasure, accusative singular) and the noun candaj (moon, accusative singular). This last word has four attributes, the adjectives vimalaj (spotless, accusative singular), suddhaj (clean, accusative singular), vippasannam (bright, accusative singular) and anavilaj (undisturbed, accusative singular). The word is also modified by the particle va (as, like).

Commentary:

There lived a Brahmin in Savatthi called Candabha. In one of his previous lives he made offerings to the stupa of the Buddha Kassapa. Because of this, a circle of light resembling the moon was radiating from his navel. Therefore he was called Candabha (moonlight). Some Brahmins took advantage of this and allowed people to touch Candabha for money.
Once they passed the Jetavana monastery and laughed at some disciples of the Buddha who were on the way to hear the Dharma. Then they took Candabha inside to compete with the Buddha. When Candabha was in the presence of the Buddha, his ring of light went out. Candabha then asked the Buddha to tech him how to make such marks appear and disappear. The Buddha told him to join the Order.
So Candabha became a monk and very soon he attained Arahantship and told his followers to go away, since he would no longer go with them around showing his navel. The Buddha then confirmed his attainment with this verse.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

candaj
va
vimalaj
suddhaj
vippasannam
anavilaj
nandibhavaparikkhinaj
nandi
bhava
parikkhinaj
tam
ahaj
brumi
brahmanaj