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

List of Abbreviations

# yo nibbanatho vanadhimutto vanamutto vanam eva dhavati

# taj puggalam etha passatha mutto bandhanam eva dhavati

# (DhP 344)

Sentence Translation:

Imagine somebody who is free from the householder's life, inclined to live as a monk. Then, free of the forest of the householder's life, he runs back to it.
Come and look at that person! After being set free, he runs back to the bond!

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

yo nibbanatho vana+adhimutto vana+mutto vanam eva dhavati
| | | | | | | | |
Rel.Pron.m. Adj.m. N.n. Adj.m. N.n. Adj.m. N.n. part. V.act.in.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. | 3.Sg.pres.
| | |______| |_____| |_____| |
| |__________|_____________| |_________|
|___________________| |
|_____________________________________________|
|__________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

taj puggalam etha passatha mutto bandhanam eva dhavati
| | | | | | | |
Pron.m. N.m. V.act. V.act. Adj.m. N.n. part. V.act.in.
Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. 2.Pl.imp. 2.Pl.imp. Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. | 3.Sg.pres.
|__________| |_______| | |______| |
|________________| | |_________|
_____________| |_______________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

yo: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which. Nom.Sg.m. = yo (who).

nibbanatho: nibbanatha-, Adj.: free of undergrowth, thicket, under-brush. It is the word vanatha-, N.m. (undergrowth, thicket, under-brush; here as an allegory for "household life") with the prefix ni- (without). Nom.Sg.m. = nibbanatho.

vanadhimutto: vanadhimutta-, Adj.: inclined to live in the forest as a monk. It is a compound of:
vana-, N.n.: forest. Here meaning "monk's life".
adhimutta-, Adj.: intent upon, inclined to, given to. It is a p.p. of the verb adhimuccati- (to be drawn to, to be inclined towards).
Euphonic combination: vana- + adhimutta- = vanadhimutta-.
Nom.Sg.m. = vanadhimutto.

List of Abbreviations

vanamutto: vanamutta-, Adj.: freed from forest.
vana-, N.n.: forest. Here meaning "householder's life".
mutta-, Adj.: freed, released. It is a p.p. of the verb root muc- (to release).
Nom.Sg.m. = vanamutto.

vanam: vana-, N.n.: forest. Here meaning "householder's life". Acc.Sg. = vanam.

eva, part.: just, only.

dhavati, V.: runs. The verb root is dhav- (to run). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = dhavati.

taj: tad-, Pron.: that. Acc.Sg.m. = taj.

puggalam: puggala-, N.m.: person, being. Acc.Sg. = puggalam.

List of Abbreviations

etha, V.: come. The verb root is i- (to go) with the prefix a- (towards). 2.Pl.act.imp. = etha.

passatha, V.: see, look at. The verb root is dis- (to see). 2.Pl.act.imp. = passatha.

mutto: mutta-, Adj.: freed, released. It is a p.p. of the verb muc- (to release). Nom.Sg.m. = mutto.

bandhanam: bandhana-, N.n.: bond, fetter. Derived from the verb bandh- (to bind, to fasten).
Acc.Sg. = bandhanam.

eva: see above.

dhavati: see above.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) yo nibbanatho vanadhimutto vanamutto vanam eva dhavati taj puggalam etha passatha (Imagine somebody who is free from the householder's life, inclined to live as a monk. Then, free of the forest of the householder's life, he runs back to it. Come and look at that person!). This can be further analysed into two sentences:
a) yo nibbanatho vanadhimutto vanamutto vanam eva dhavati (Imagine somebody who is free from the householder's life, inclined to live as a monk. Then, free of the forest of the householder's life, he runs back to it). The subject is the relative pronoun yo (who, nominative singular). It has three attributes, the adjectives nibbanatho (free from undergrowth, nominative singular), vanadhimutto (given to the forest, nominative singular) and vanamutto (free from the forest, nominative singular). The verb is dhavati (runs, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the noun vanam (to the forest, accusative singular). It is stressed by the particle eva (just).
b) taj puggalam etha passatha (come and look at that person). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the second person plural pronoun. There are two verbs, etha (come, 2nd person, plural, active, imperative) and passatha (see, 2nd person, plural, active, imperative). The object is the noun puggalam (person, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the pronoun taj (that, accusative singular).
2) mutto bandhanam eva dhavati (after being set free, he runs back to the bond). The subject is the past participle mutto (freed, nominative singular). The verb is dhavati (runs, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the noun bandhanam (to the bond, accusative singular). It is stressed by the particle eva (just).

Commentary:

A certain monk was a pupil of Venerable Maha Kassapa. Although he did not reach any stage of Awakenment, he was able to achieve the four mental absorptions (jhana). Once he visited his uncle who was a goldsmith and developed a strong craving for the gold ornaments he saw there. Therefore he left the Order and came to live with his uncle.
But because he was lazy, his uncle threw him out of the house. The man became a thief. After some time he was caught and sentenced to execution. At the execution ground he did not show any fear at all and established himself in deep mental absorption. When the executioners saw that they were very surprised and informed the king. The king gave the order to release the man.
The Buddha then admonished the monk with this verse, showing him how foolish it was to leave the monk's life. He further instructed the man in the meditation of insight. The man reached the first stage of Awakenment. Later he rejoined the Order and soon reached the Arahantship.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

yo
nibbanatho
vanadhimutto
vana
adhimutto
vanamutto
mutto
vanam
eva
dhavati
taj
puggalam
etha
passatha
bandhanam