Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
Let one first establish oneself in what is proper,
and then instruct others. A wise one should not be impure.
attanam eva pathamaj
patirupe nivesaye
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N.m. part. Adv.
Adj.m. V.act.
Acc.Sg. |
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List of Abbreviations
atha abbam anusaseyya
na kilisseyya pandito
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Adv. Adj.m. V.act.
neg. V.act. N.m.
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attanam: attan-, N.m.: self, oneself. Acc.Sg. = attanam.
eva, part.: just, only.
pathamaj: pathama-, Num.: first. As an Adv.: pathamaj: first of all.
patirupe: patirupa-, Adj.: proper, suitable. Loc.Sg.m. = patirupe.
nivesaye, V.: should settle down, should establish oneself. The verb root is vis- (to enter) with the prefix ni- (into, onto). 3.Sg.act.caus. = nivesaye.
atha, Adv.: then.
List of Abbreviations
abbam:
abba-, Adj.: other, different. Acc.Sg.m.
= abbam.
Euphonic combination: atha + abbam
= athabbam.
anusaseyya, V.: to teach, to advice, to instruct. The verb root is sas- (to teach) with the prefix anu- (according to). 3.Sg.act.opt. = anusaseyya.
na, neg.: not.
kilisseyya, V.: should get impure. The verb root is kilis- (to go bad, to get stained, to be impure). 3.Sg.act.opt. = kilisseyya.
pandito: pandita-, N.m.: wise man, learned man. Nom.Sg. = pandito.
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of two syntactically
separate sentences. They are:
1) attanam
eva pathamaj
patirupe nivesaye athabbam
anusaseyya (let one first establish oneself
in what is proper and then instruct others). This can be further analysed
into two segments:
a) attanam
eva pathamaj
patirupe nivesaye (let one first establish
oneself in what is proper). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the
third person singular pronoun. The verb is nivesaye (should establish
oneself, 3rd person, singular, active, causative). It has an
attribute, the adjective patirupe (in
[what is] proper, locative singular). The object is the noun attanaj
(oneself, accusative singular) with its attribute, the adverb pathamaj
(first) which is further stressed by the particle eva (just).
b) athabbam
anusaseyya (and then instruct others).
Again, the subject is omitted and the verb implies the third person singular
pronoun. The verb is anusaseyya (should
instruct, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). The object
is the adjective abbam (other [person],
accusative singular). The adverb atha (then) introduces this segment
and connects it to the previous one.
2) na kilisseyya pandito
(a wise one should not be impure). The subject is the noun pandito
(a wise one, nominative singular). The verb kilisseyya (should be
impure, 3rd person, singular, active, optative) is negated by
the negative particle na (not).
There was a monk named Upananda. He
was a very good orator. He would preach eloquently about being satisfied
with little, about contentment and about austerity, but actually he was
very greedy and always took all he could get.
Once he wanted to spend the Rain Retreat
in one monastery. When he found out that at the end of the retreat the
monks there received only one robe each, he decided to go away. But he
left his slippers there. It was similar at the second monastery, where
the monks usually got two robes - he did not stay but left his staff. At
the third monastery he left his water bottle, but himself left, because
three robes that monks received there, did not satisfy him. Finally, he
spent the Rain Retreat in the fourth monastery, where he received four
robes at the end of the retreat. Because he left his things in three previous
temples, he also claimed his share of the robes from them!
So, he set on the way back to his
own monastery with ten robes. On the way he met two monks, who could not
agree how to divide two robes and a blanket between themselves. Upananda
agreed to act as an arbiter. He gave each of them one robe and he himself
kept the blanket as a payment for his arbitration.
The monks went to see the Buddha and
reported to him what happened. The Buddha reprimanded Upananda with this
verse, saying that before one can teach others, he has to act properly
- especially in the subject he wants to teach.
Word pronunciation:
attanaj
eva
pathamaj
patirupe
nivesaye
atha
abbam
anusaseyya
na
kilisseyya
pandito