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

List of Abbreviations

# na brahmanassa pahareyya nassa mubcetha brahmano

# dhi brahmanassa hantaraj tato dhi yassa mubcati

# (DhP 389)

Sentence Translation:

One should not strike a Brahmin. But a Brahmin should not get angry with the one, who hit him.
Shame to those who hurt Brahmins! More shame to those, who are angry with them!

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

na brahmanassa pahareyya na assa mubcetha brahmano
| | | | | | |
neg. N.m. V.act. neg. Pron.m. V.med. N.m.
| Gen.Sg. 3.Sg.opt. | Dat.Sg. 3.Sg.opt. Nom.Sg.
|________|_________| |____|_______| |
|____| |___| |
|______________|

List of Abbreviations

dhi brahmanassa hantaraj tato dhi yo assa mubcati
| | | | | | | |
Ind. N.m. Adj.m. Adv. Ind. Rel.Pron.m. Pron.m. V.act.in.
| Gen.Sg. Acc.Sg. |____| Nom.Sg. Dat.Sg. 3.Sg.pres.
| |_________| | | |________|
|_____________| | |_____________|
|________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

na, neg.: not.

brahmanassa: brahmana-, N.m.: Brahmin, a holy man. Gen.Sg. = brahmanassa.

pahareyya, V.: [one should] strike, beat, hit. The verb root is har- (to take) with the strengthening prefix pa-. 3.Sg.act.opt. = pahareyya.

na, neg.: not.

assa: idam-, Pron.: it. Dat.Sg.m. = assa (him).
Euphonic combination: na + assa = nassa.

mubcetha, V.: [one should] release, let loose [anger]. The verb root is muc- (to release).
3.Sg.med.opt. = mubcetha.

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

List of Abbreviations

dhi, Ind.: shame!, an exclamation of reproach and disgust.

brahmanassa: see above.

hantaraj: hantar-, Adj.: striker, killer. It is derived from the verb root han- (to strike, to kill). Acc.Sg.m. = hantaraj.

tato, Adv.: than that.

dhi: see above.

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

assa: see above.
Euphonic combination: yo + assa = yassa.

mubcati, V.: releases, lets loose [anger]. The verb root is muc- (to release). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = mubcati.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of four syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) na brahmanassa pahareyya (one should not strike a Brahmin). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is pahareyya (one should hit, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the noun brahmanassa (Brahmin, genitive singular).
2) nassa mubcetha brahmano (but a Brahmin should not get angry with the one, who hit him). The subject is the noun brahmano (Brahmin, nominative singular). The verb is mubcetha (one should release [anger], 3rd person, singular, medium, optative). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the pronoun assa (with him, dative singular).
3) dhi brahmanassa hantaraj (shame to those who hurt Brahmins). The subject is the indeclinable dhi (shame!). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective hantaraj (to killer, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the noun brahmanassa (of a Brahmin, genitive singular).
4) tato dhi yassa mubcati (more shame to those, who are angry with them). This can be further analysed into two segments:
a) tato dhi (more shame). The subject is the indeclinable dhi (shame!). It is modified by the adverb tato (more).
b) yassa mubcati (who is angry with him). The subject is the relative pronoun yo (who, nominative singular). The verb is mubcati (releases [anger], 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the pronoun assa (with him, dative singular).

Commentary:

Venerable Sariputta was famous for his patience and forbearance. Once a certain Brahmin boasted he would provoke Sariputta to anger. He came to Sariputta while he was on his almsround and hit him on his back. Sariputta did not even turn around but calmly continued on his way. The Brahmin felt very ashamed and begged Sariputta for pardon. He then invited Sariputta to his house for almsfood.
When the Buddha heard about this, he praised Sariputta with this verse (and the following one, DhP 390).

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

na
brahmanassa
pahareyya
assa
mubcetha
brahmano
dhi
hantaraj
tato
yo
mubcati