Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
Like a fish, thrown from all abodes on a dry ground
this mind trembles in order to leave Mara's realm.
varijo
va thale khitto
okam+okato ubbhato
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N.m. part.
N.n. Adj.m. N.n. Adv.
Adv.
Nom.Sg. | Loc.Sg.
Nom.Sg. |_____|
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List of Abbreviations
pariphandati idaj
cittaj mara+dheyyaj
pahatave
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V.act.in. Pron.n.
N.n. N.m. N.m.
V.inf.
3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
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varijo:
varija-, N.m.: fish. Etymology: it
is a compound of:
vari-,
N.n.: water.
-ja-, suf.: born. Derived from
the verb jan- (to be born).
Nom.Sg. = varijo.
va, part.: as, like.
thale: thala-, N.n.: dry ground, land. Loc.Sg. = thale.
khitto: khitta-, Adj.: thrown, cast. It is a p.p. of the verb khip- (to throw, to cast). Nom.Sg.m. = khitto.
List of Abbreviations
okamokato, Adv.: from all abodes. The phrase okam+oka-,
N.n.: abodes; oka-, N.n.: home, abode, shelter. The letter m
in between two words is just the result of euphonic combination. The form
okato (from the abode) is the old ablative from the Sanskrit form
of the word. Because the following word (ubbhato) begins with u-,
the final -o changes to -a.
Another explanation for this phrase takes the first oka+m-
as the contraction of the word udaka-, N.n.: water. Then the phrase
would translate: from the watery abode. This explanation is favored by
most translators, even by the ancient commentator Buddhaghosa.
ubbhato, Adv.: both, twofold, in both ways.
pariphandati, V,: quiver, throb, tremble. The verb root phand- (to twitch, to move) with the prefix pari- (all around, completely). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = pariphandati.
List of Abbreviations
idaj: idaj-, Pron.: this. Nom.Sg.n.: idaj.
cittaj: citta-, N.n.: mind. Nom.Sg. = cittaj.
maradheyyaj:
maradheyya-, N.m.: the Realm of Mara.
A compound of:
mara-,
N.m.: Mara, the Evil One, Death.
dheyya-, N.m.: realm, kingdom.
Originally a grd. of the verb root dha-
(to put,
to place, to claim).
Acc.Sg. = maradheyyaj.
pahatave, V., inf.: in order to leave. The verb root ha- (to abandon) with strengthening prefix pa-. The infinitive in -tave is very old, actually from Vedic Sanskrit. It has the meaning of "in order to" or "so as to".
List of Abbreviations
The subject of this sentence is the
word cittaj (mind, nominative singular)
with its attribute, demonstrative pronoun idaj
(this, nominative singular). The verb is pariphandati (trembles,
3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense).
The first part of the verse forms
a subordinate clause to the main sentence: varijo
va thale khitto okamokata ubbhato (Like a fish, thrown from all abodes
on a dry ground). Here, the subject is varijo
(fish, nominative singular). The past participle khitto (thrown,
nominative singular) fulfills the role of the verb. The object is thale
(on the ground, locative singular). Two adverbs (okamokata, from
all abodes; ubbhato, both) are attributes to the past participle
khitto. The particle va (as, like) connects this clause to
the main sentence.
The end of the verse forms another
clause. It expresses the reason for the action in main sentence. There
is a verb in its infinitive form. It is so called dative infinitive. Thus
pahatave means "in order to leave".
The object is maradheyyaj
(Mara's realm, accusative singular).
The story for this verse is the same
as for the previous one (DhP 33). Our mind is indeed wavering, writhing
and difficult to restrain, like a snake or a young branch. An arrow maker
making an arrow has to straighten it first; otherwise it would be a worthless
arrow. In the same way, we have to straighten the mind; otherwise we cannot
hit the goal with it.
When we want to leave Mara's realm,
the world, the mind trembles and flickers just like a fish thrown on a
dry ground, suddenly without its familiar surroundings, unable to relate
to this new situation.
Word pronunciation:
varijo
va
thale
khitto
okamokata
ubbhato
pariphandati
idaj
cittaj
maradheyyaj
pahatave