Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
Selfish ones do not get to the world of the gods. Fools
do not praise giving.
And the wise one enjoys giving. Just because of that
he is happy hereafter.
na ve kadariya
deva+lokaj vajanti
bala
have na ppasajsanti danaj
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neg. part. Adj.m. N.m. N.m. V.act.in.
N.m. part. neg. V.act.in.
N.n.
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List of Abbreviations
dhiro
ca danaj
anumodamano tena eva
so hoti
sukhi parattha
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Adj.m. conj. N.n.
Adj.m. Pron.n. part. Pron.m.
V.act.in. Adj.m. Adv.
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Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg. |
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na, neg.: not.
ve, part.: indeed.
kadariya: kadariya-, Adj.: selfish, miserly, stingy. Nom.Pl.m. = kadariya.
devalokaj: devaloka-,
N.m.: the world of the gods. It is a compound of:
deva-, N.m.: god, celestial
being.
loka-, N.m.: world.
Acc.Sg. = devalokaj.
vajanti, V.: go. The verb root is vaj- (to go, to wander). 3.Pl.act.in.pres. = vajanti.
bala: bala-, Adj.: childish, young. As an N.m.: "like a child", fool, ignorant person. Nom.Pl. = bala.
List of Abbreviations
have, part.: indeed, truly.
na: see above.
pasajsanti,
V.: to praise, to commend. The verb root is sajs-
(to proclaim, to point out) with the strenghtening prefix pa-. 3.Pl.act.in.pres.
= pasajsanti.
Euphonic combination: na + pasajsanti
= na ppasajsanti.
danaj: dana-, N.n.: giving [in charity], distribution [of gifts]. Acc.Sg. = danaj.
dhiro: dhira-, Adj.: wise, clever. Nom.Sg.m. = dhiro.
ca, conj.: and.
danaj: see above.
List of Abbreviations
anumodamano: anumodamana-, Adj.: enjoying, appreciating. It is an. med.pr.p. of the verb root mud- (to be happy) with the prefix anu- (following, after). Nom.Sg.m. = anumodamano.
tena: tad-, Pron.: it. Ins.Sg.n. = tena.
eva, part.: just, only.
Euphonic combination: tena + eva = ten'eva.
so: tad-, Pron.n.: it. Nom.Sg.m. = so.
hoti, V. is. The verb root is bhu- (to be). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = bhavati or hoti.
sukhi: sukhin-, Adj.: happy. It is the word sukha-, N.n.: happiness, with the possessive suffix -in. Nom.Sg.m. = sukhi.
parattha, Adv.: lit. elsewhere; hereafter, in the other world.
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of four syntactically
separate sentences. They are:
1) na ve kadariya
devalokaj vajanti (selfish ones do not
get to the world of the gods). The subject is the adjective kadariya
(selfish ones, nominative plural). The verb is vajanti (go, 3rd
person, plural, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the
negative particle na (not). The object is the compound devalokaj
(to the world of the gods, accusative singular). The particle ve
(indeed) serves mainly for metrical purposes.
2) bala
have na ppasajsanti danaj
(fools do not praise giving). The subject is the noun bala
(fools, nominative plural). The verb is pasajsanti
(praise, 3rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense).
It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the
noun danaj
(giving, accusative singular). The particle have (indeed) serves
mainly for metrical purposes.
3) dhiro
ca danaj anumodamano
(and the wise one enjoys giving). The subject is the adjective dhiro
(wise one, nominative singular). The verb is in the medium present participle,
anumodamano ([is] enjoying, nominative
singular). The object is the noun danaj
(giving, accusative singular). The conjunction ca (and) serves mainly
for metrical purposes.
4) ten'eva so hoti sukhi
parattha (just because of that he is happy hereafter). The subject
is the pronoun so (he, nominative singular). The verb is hoti
(is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense).
It has two attributes, the adjective sukhi
(happy, nominative singular) and the adverb parattha (hereafter).
The sentence is introduced by the pronoun tena (by that, instrumental
singular), which is further stressed by the particle eva (just).
This phrase points to the word danaj
from the previous sentence.
King Pasenadi of Kosala was once competing
with his subjects in almsgiving. However big offering the king made, his
subjects always found a way to give more alms. Queen Mallika
then devised a plan. She had a great pavilion built, brought many white
umbrellas and tame elephants. The elephants held the umbrellas over the
monks. In the middle of the pavilion there was a lake with ten boats filled
with incense and perfume. Finally, princesses served the food. Because
the subjects had no elephants or umbrellas (white umbrellas could be owned
only by kings) and of course had no princesses, they could not compete
any more.
Two ministers of the king were present.
One of them praised the king for offering so much. He realized that the
merit would be shared by all the living beings in the kingdom. The other
minister however thought that the king was giving away the national wealth
for the sake of some lazy monks.
After the meal, the Buddha prepared
to make a speech. He understood what the second minister was feeling and
so he decided to give only a short speech instead of a long one he was
originally planning. The king was disappointed by such a brief sermon and
he reflected what he had done wrong. Therefore he went to the monastery
and asked the Buddha.
The Buddha told him about one of his
ministers and explained that had he delivered a long speech, the minister
would be disappointed even more. The Buddha further added this verse for
the benefit of the king.
Word pronunciation:
na
ve
kadariya
devalokaj
deva
lokaj
vajanti
bala
have
pasajsanti
danaj
dhiro
ca
anumodamano
tena
eva
so
hoti
sukhi
parattha