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

List of Abbreviations

# alavkato ce pi samaj careyya

# santo danto niyato brahmacari

# sabbesu bhutesu nidhaya dandaj

# so brahmano so samano sa bhikkhu

# (DhP 142)

Sentence Translation:

Even if one would walk around like an adorned man,
[but he would be] peaceful, self-controlled, restrained and pure,
having given up punishing of all living beings,
he is a Brahmin, he is a recluse, he is a monk.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

alavkato ce pi samaj careyya
| | | | |
Adj.m. part. part. Adj.m. V.act.
Nom.Sg. |___| Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.opt.
|__________|________| |
|_____| |
|__________________|
|____________________________________

List of Abbreviations

santo danto niyato brahma+cari
| | | | |
Adj.m. Adj.m. Adj.m. N.m. Adj.m.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg.
| | | |______|
|__________|________|_________|
______|_______________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

sabbesu bhutesu nidhaya dandaj
| | | |
Adj.m. N.m. V.ger. N.m.
Loc.Pl. Loc.Pl. | Acc.Sg.
|_________| | |
|___________|______|
|_____|
______________|_______________________________________

List of Abbreviations

so brahmano so samano sa bhikkhu
| | | | | |
Pron.m. N.m. Pron.m. N.m. Pron.m. N.m.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|__________| |_______| |________|
|_________________|_______________|
______________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

alavkato: alavkata-, Adj.: adorned, well-attired. Nom.Sg.m. = alavkato.

ce, part.: if.

pi, part.: also, as well, even (often spelled api).

samaj: sama-, Adj.: same, even. Acc.Sg. = samaj. In the accusative, the meaning is: equally, like.

careyya, V.: should walk. The verb root is car- (to walk). 3.Sg.act.opt. = careyya.

santo: santa-, Adj.: calmed, tranquil, peaceful. It is a p.p. of the verb root sam- (to be calm).
Nom.Sg.m. = santo.

danto: danta-, Adj.: restrained, tamed, controlled. It is a p.p. of the verb dam- (to restrain, to control, to tame). Nom.Sg.m. = danto.

List of Abbreviations

niyato: niyata-, Adj.: restrained. It is a p.p. of the verb yam- (to restrain) with the prefix ni- (down). Adj.Sg.m. = niyato.

brahmacari: brahmacarin-, Adj.: leading a holy life, pious, pure. It is a compound of:
brahma-, Adj.: holy, "brahmanic", pious.
carin-, Adj.: living, acting. Derived by the suffix -in from the verb car- (to walk, to act).
Nom.Sg.m. = brahmacari.

sabbesu: sabba-, Adj.: all, every. Loc.Pl.m. = sabbesu.

bhutesu: bhuta-, N.m.: living being. Originally it is a p.p. of the verb bhu- (to be). Loc.Pl. = bhutesu.

nidhaya, V.ger.: having laid down, having put aside. The verb root is dha- (to put) with
the prefix ni- (down).

dandaj: danda-, N.m.: stick, club, punishment. Acc.Sg. = dandaj.

List of Abbreviations

so: tad-, Pron.n.: it. Nom.Sg.m. = so.

brahmano: brahmana-, N.m.: Brahmin, a holy man. Nom.Sg. = brahmano.

so: see above.

samano: samana-, N.m.: a recluse, a wandering ascetic, a monk (not only a Buddhist monk).
Nom.Sg. = samano.

sa: tad-, Pron.n.: it. Nom.Sg.m. = sa (or, as above, so).

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

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of four loosely connected sentences. They are:
1) alavkato ce pi samaj careyya (even if one would walk around like an adorned man). The subject of this sentence is omitted, implying the third person singular pronoun. This subject has an attribute, the adjective alavkato (adorned, nominative singular) with its attribute, the adjective samaj (like, equall; accusative singular). It is further modified by two particles, ce (if) and pi (even). The verb is careyya (3rd person, singular, active, optative).
2) santo danto niyato brahmacari ([but he would be] peaceful, self-controlled, restrained and pure). Here everything is omitted, except for four attributes to the subject. They are: santo (peaceful, nominative singular), danto (self-controlled, nominative singular), niyato (restrained, nominative singular) and brahmacari (of pure living, nominative singular). The subject would be a third person singular pronoun and the verb the verb "to be".
3) sabbesu bhutesu nidhaya dandaj (having given up punishing of all living beings). The subject is again omitted; third person singular pronoun is implied. The verb is nidhaya (having laid aside, gerundive). The object is the noun dandaj (stick, punishment, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the noun bhutesu (amongst living beings, locative plural) with its attribute, the adjective sabbesu (amongst all, locative plural).
4) so brahmano so samano sa bhikkhu (he is a Brahmin, he is a recluse, he is a monk). This part actually contains three more or less syntactically independent sentences. In all of them, the verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". They are:
a) so brahmano (he is a Brahmin). The subject is the personal pronoun so (he, nominative singular). The object is the noun brahmano (Brahmin, nominative singular).
b) so samano (he is a recluse). The subject is the personal pronoun so (he, nominative singular). The object is the noun samano (recluse, nominative singular).
c) sa bhikkhu (he is a monk). The subject is the personal pronoun sa (he, nominative singular). The object is the noun bhikkhu (monk, nominative singular).

Commentary:

The king Pasenadi of Kosala once sent his minister Santati to deal with some rebellion in the border area. Santati suppressed it quickly and efficiently and the king was very pleased. He gave Santati many gifts, amongst others also a dancing girl to entertain him. The minister spent several days drinking and enjoying the young dancer.
On the last day, he went to the river to take a bath. On the way he met the Buddha and some monks. Even though he was drunk, he still bowed in respect. The Buddha remarked to Venerable Ananda that Santati will reach the Awakenment the very same day and soon after that he will die.
In the evening, the dancer again entertained Santati and his guests. While dancing, she died due to exhaustion. The minister was shocked and distressed. Immediately he went to the Buddha and begged for some words of solace. The Buddha told him to get rid of his cravings, not to let these feelings to enslave him. By getting rid of all the cravings, all the roots of evil will be destroyed and he will reach the Nirvana.
After hearing this, Santati attained Awakenment. Realizing, that he was about to die, he thanked the Buddha for his help and told him that he was about to reach the final emancipation. Soon after that he passed away.
Some monks were confused that Santati attained the Arahantship, although he was wearing beautiful dress and ornaments. They asked if he was a monk or a Brahmin. The Buddha replied with this verse, saying that clothes and ornaments are not important. What counts is whether one has or has not freed oneself from ignorance and cravings.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

alavkato
ce
pi
samaj
careyya
santo
danto
niyato
brahmacari
brahma
cari
sabbesu
bhutesu
nidhaya
dandaj
so
brahmano
samano
sa
bhikkhu