Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
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List of Abbreviations

# na tena bhikkhu hoti yavata bhikkhate pare

# vissaj dhammaj samadaya bhikkhu hoti na tavata

# (DhP 266)

Sentence Translation:

One is not a monk because one begs almsfood from others.
If one follows the life of a householder, one is not a monk because of that.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

na tena bhikkhu hoti yavata bhikkhate pare
| | | | | | |
neg. Pron. N.m. V.act.in. Rel.Adv. V.act.in. Adj.m.
| Ins.Sg. Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. | 3.Sg.pres. Acc.Pl.
|______|______|_______| | |_______|
| |__| |___________|
|_____| |
|________________________|

List of Abbreviations

vissaj dhammaj samadaya bhikkhu hoti na tavata
| | | | | | |
Adj.m. N.m. V.ger. N.m. V.act.in. neg. Adv.
Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. | Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. | |
|_________| | | |______| |
|______________| | |________|
| |______________|
|_____________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

na, neg.: not.

tena: tad-, Pron.: it. Ins.Sg.n. = tena (by it, because of it).

bhikkhu: bhikkhu-, N.m.: a (Buddhist) monk. Nom.Sg. = bhikkhu.

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

yavata, Rel.Adv.: as far as, because.

List of Abbreviations

bhikkhate, V.: begs (for almsfood). The verb root is bhikkh-. 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = bhikkhate.

pare: para-, Adj.: other. Acc.Pl.m. = pare.

vissaj: vissa-, Adj.: all, every, entire. Acc.Sg.m. = vissaj. This word in this context is very strange. The meaning would be "one is not a monk if one is observing the Dharma completely", which is just the opposite of what we would expect. The commentary explains this word by visama-, Adj. (disharmonious, contrary, wrong). But other versions of the Dhammapada (Gandhari and Sanskrit) use the word vewma-, N.n. (house). The meaning therefore would be "teaching of the houses", "life of a householder".

dhammaj: dhamma-, N.m.: here not as the Dharma (Buddha's Teaching), but rather in a more general meaning: teaching, way. Acc.Sg. = dhammaj.

List of Abbreviations

samadaya, V.ger.: having undertaken, observing. The verb root is da- (to give) with the prefixes sam- (completely) and a- (towards).

bhikkhu: see above.

hoti: see above.

na: see above.

tavata, Adv.: on that account, thus.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) na tena bhikkhu hoti yavata bhikkhate pare (one is not a monk because one begs almsfood from others). This can be analysed into two parts:
a) na tena bhikkhu hoti (one is not a monk). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is hoti (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the noun bhikkhu (monk, nominative singular). The pronoun tena (by that, instrumental singular) connects this part to the following one.
b) yavata bhikkhate pare (because one begs almsfood from others). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is bhikkhate (begs, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the adjective pare (others, accusative plural). The relative adverb yavata (because) connects this part to the previous one.
2) vissaj dhammaj samadaya bhikkhu hoti na tavata (if one follows the life of a householder, one is not a monk because of that). This can be further analysed into two segments:
a) vissaj dhammaj samadaya (if one follows the life of a householder). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is in gerund (samadaya, having undertaken). The object is the noun dhammaj (teaching, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the adjective vissaj (for meaning see the Vocabulary, accusative singular).
b) bhikkhu hoti na tavata (one is not a monk because of that). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is hoti (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the noun bhikkhu (monk, nominative singular). The adverb tavata (by that) connects this segment to the previous one.

Commentary:

There was a brahmin, who had the habit of going on almsround begging for almsfood, just as the Buddha's monks did. Therefore, he thought he was also to be called a monk. He went to see the Buddha and told him this idea. The Buddha reprimanded him with this verse (and the following one, DhP 267).

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

na
tena
bhikkhu
hoti
yavata
bhikkhate
pare
vissaj
dhammaj
samadaya
tavata