Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
Even if he recites a lot of scriptures, but does not act accordingly, the negligent man.
He is like a cowherd who counts others' cows. He does not share the [blessings of] monkshood.
bahum pi ce sajhitaj
bhasamano na
tak+karo hoti
naro pamatto
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Adj.m. part. part. N.m.
Adj.m. neg. Pron. N.m. V.act.in.
N.m. Adj.m.
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List of Abbreviations
gopo va
gavo ganayaj
paresaj na bhagava
samabbassa
hoti
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N.m. part. N.m.
Adj.m. Adj.m. neg. Adj.m.
N.n. V.act.in.
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Gen.Pl. | Nom.Sg. Gen.Sg.
3.Sg.pres.
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bahum: bahu-, Adj.: much, many, a lot. Acc.Sg.m. = bahum.
pi, part.: also, as well, even (often spelled api).
ce, part.: if.
sajhitaj: sajhita-, Adj.: connected, joined, settled. A p.p. of the verb dha- (put) with the prefix saj- (together). As a N.m. = the Buddhist texts. Acc.Sg. = sajhitaj.
bhasamano: bhasamana-, Adj.: speaking. It is a med.pr.p. of the verb bhas- (to speak). Nom.Sg.m. = bhasamano.
List of Abbreviations
na, neg.: not.
takkaro: takkara-, N.m.: acting accordingly
(lit. "doer of that"). A compound of:
tat-, Pron.n.: that.
kara-, N.m.: doer. Derived
from the verb kar- (to do).
The form takkara is due to the euphonic combination
(tat + kara = takkara).
Nom.Sg. = takkaro.
hoti, V.: is. The verb bhu- (to be). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = hoti.
naro: nara-, N.m.: man, person. Nom.Sg. = naro.
List of Abbreviations
pamatto: pamatta-, Adj.: negligent, careless. A p.p. of the verb pamajjati (to be careless, to neglect). The verb root is mad- (to be intoxicated) with the strengthening prefix pa-. Nom.Sg.m. = pamatto.
gopo: gopa-, N.m.: cowherd. Nom.Sg. = gopo.
va, part.: as. like.
gavo: go-, N.m.: cow. Acc.Pl. = gavo.
ganayaj:
ganayant-, Adj.: counting. It is an
a.pr.p. of the verb gan- (to count).
Nom.Sg.m. = ganayaj.
List of Abbreviations
paresaj: para-, Adj.: other, different. Gen.Pl.m. = paresaj (of others).
bhagava: bhagavant-, Adj.m.: partaking of, having a share. The word bhaga-, N.m.: share, with a possessive suffix vant-. Nom.Sg. = bhagava.
samabbassa: samabba-, N.n.: monkshood. An abstract from samana-, N.m.: monk, recluse. Gen.Sg. = samabbassa.
List of Abbreviations
The first segment of this sentence
is bahum pi ce sajhitaj
bhasamano
(even if [he] recites a lot of scriptures). The subject of this sentence
is omitted, implying a personal pronoun (which comes in the last clause).
The verb is bhasamano
(which is the medium present participle in nominative singular). The object
is the word sajhitaj
(scripture, accusative singular) with its attribute bahum (a
lot, accusative singular). There are two particles pi (even) and
ce (if).
Next comes the clause na takkaro
hoti (he is not a "doer-of-that"). Here the subject is the noun takkaro
("doer-of-that", nominative singular) and the verb is hoti (is,
3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense) negated
by the negative particle na (not).
The last clause on the first line
is naro pamatto (negligent man). We can take this phrase as a separate
clause (as we do here). In this case it is a isolated subject naro
(man, nominative singular) with its attribute pamatto (negligent,
nominative singular). We could also understand it as the subject of the
whole sentence.
On the second line we have two more
clauses. The first one is gopo va gavo
ganayaj paresaj
(like a cowherd, counting others' cows). The subject is gopo (cowherd,
nominative singular) and as the verb serves the active present participle
ganayaj (counting,
nominative singular). The object is the word gavo
(cows, accusative plural) with its attribute paresaj
(others', genitive plural). The particle va (like) connects this
clause to the main sentence.
Last part is the sentence na bhagava
samabbassa hoti
([he] is not a sharer of the monkshood). As the subject is again implied
the pronoun he, meaning the "negligent man" from the first line. The verb
is hoti (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative,
present tense) negated by the negative particle na (not). The object
is the word bhagava
(sharer, "shareholder", nominative singular) with its attribute samabbassa
(of monkshood, genitive singular).
The teacher must act according to his
own words. A monk, who talks nice, true words, but his acts are not in
accordance with them, does not really share the blessings of monk's life.
He is like a hireling, doing work for others.
A cowherd is poor, he usually does
not have his own cows, and he just takes others' cows out to the pasture.
He does not have a real profit out of his actions. In the same sense, the
monk who only talks about the Buddha's teachings, but does not put them
into practice himself, does not reap the fruit thereof, is just like the
cowherd. Thus he neglects his own practice and as we will soon hear in
coming verses, the negligence is not a good path to take.
Word pronunciation:
bahum
pi
ce
sajhitaj
bhasamano
na
takkaro
hoti
naro
pamatto
gopo
va
gavo
ganayaj
paresaj
bhagava
samabbassa