Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
Who will investigate this earth and this Yama's world
with its deities?
Who will understand this well taught Dharma-verse, as
a skilful person picks flowers?
ko
imaj pathavij
vicessati yama+lokaj
ca imaj
sadevakaj
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Pron.m. Pron.f.
N.f. V.act. N.m.
N.m. conj. Pron.m. Adj.m.
Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.fut.
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Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg.
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List of Abbreviations
ko dhamma+padaj
sudesitaj kusalo puppham iva
pacessati
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Pron.m. N.m. N.n.
Adj.n. N.m.
N.n. part. V.act.
Nom.Sg. | Acc.Sg.
Acc.Sg. Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. |
3.Sg.fut.
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ko: kij-, Inter.Pron.: who. Nom.Sg.m. = ko.
imaj: idaj-, Pron.: this. Acc.Sg.f. = imaj.
pathavij: pathavi-, N.f.: earth. Acc.Sg. = pathavij.
vicessati: will investigate. The verb is vicinati (to investigate, to examine), the root ci- (to collect, to accumulate) with the prefix vi- ("detail"). 3.Sg.act.fut = vicessati.
List of Abbreviations
yamalokaj: yamaloka-,
N.m.: Yama's world. A compound of:
yama-, N.m.: Yama, the ruler
of the underworld, the king of death.
loka-, N.m.; world.
Acc.Sg. = yamalokaj.
ca, conj.: and.
imaj: see above.
sadevakaj: sadevaka-,
Adj.: with the gods. The word deva-, N.m.: god, deity, with the
prefix sa- (with, together) and suffix -ka- (the suffix for
forming adjectives).
Acc.Sg.m. = sadevakaj.
List of Abbreviations
ko: see above.
dhammapadaj: dhammapada-,
N.n.: verse on Dharma, a portion of the Dharma.
A compound of:
dhamma-, N.m.: Buddha's Teaching.
The Law. Derived from the verb dha-, to hold.
Thus dhamma "holds the world together".
pada-, N.n.: portion, verse.
Acc.Sg. = dhammapadaj.
sudesitaj: sudesita-, Adj.: well taught. The word desita-, Adj.: taught (a p.p. of the verb root dis-, to teach) with the prefix su- (well, good). Acc.Sg.n. = sudesitaj.
List of Abbreviations
kusalo: kusala-, Adj.: skilful. As a N.m.: a skilful man. Nom.Sg. = kusalo.
puppham: puppha-, N.n.: flower. Acc.Sg. = puppham.
iva, part.: like, as (another, more often used form of this word is va).
pacessati: will understand, will know, will realize. The verb is pacinati, to understand, to realize; but its different meaning is to gather, to collect, to pick. Both meanings are used here: understand and realize the world and the verses and pick the flowers. The verb root ci- (to collect, to accumulate) with the strengthening prefix pa-. 3.Sg.act.fut. = pacessati.
List of Abbreviations
The two lines of this verse form two
syntactically separated sentences.
In the first one, the subject is the
interrogative pronoun ko (who, nominative singular). The verb is
vicessati (will investigate, 3rd person, singular, active,
future tense). There are two paratactic objects: pathavij
(earth, accusative singular) with the attribute imaj
(this, accusative singular) and yamalokaj
(Yama's world, accusative singular) with two attributes, imaj
(as above) and sadevakaj (with the
gods, accusative singular). These two objects are connected by the conjunction
ca (and).
In the second sentence, the subjects
is again the interrogative pronoun ko (as above). The verb is
pacessati ("will understand" and "will pick", 3rd person,
singular, active, future tense). The object is the noun dhammapadaj
(verse on the Dharma, accusative singular) with one attribute, the adjective
sudesitaj (well taught, accusative
singular). There is a parenthetic clause, kusalo puppham iva (like
a skilful [one] flowers). Here the noun-adjective kusalo (skilful
[one], nominative singular) is the subject. The object is the noun puppham
(flower, accusative singular). The verb is not in the clause itself, implying
the verb pacessati from the main sentence. The particle iva (as,
like) connects the clause to the sentence.
A group of monks accompanied the Buddha
to a certain village and then they all returned to the monastery. The monks
started to talk about the trip. They paid close attention to the condition
of the land: whether it was level or hilly, whether the soil was clayey
or sandy etc.
The Buddha visited them and when overheard
the topic of their discussion, he told them to better concentrate on their
own bodies. He said, that the earth is external and that they should strive
to examine their own bodies and understand what they really are.
He then added that by understanding
one's own body we are also able to understand the whole world. We will
be able to realize the Dharma, just as a skilful garland-maker makes the
garlands.
Word pronunciation:
ko
imaj
pathavij
vicessati
yamalokaj
ca
sadevakaj
dhammapadaj
sudesitaj
kusalo
puppham
iva
pacessati