From whom you learned the Dharma, that is taught by the truly and completely Awakened One,
you should duly pay your respects to him, like a Brahmin at the fire sacrifice.

yamha       dhammaj  vijaneyya samma+sambuddha+desitaj
|                       |                  |           |              |                 |
Rel.Pron.m.   N.m.          V.act.    Adv.        N.m.        Adj.m.
Abl.Sg.        Acc.Sg.      3.Sg.opt.     |________|           Acc.Sg.
|                       |                  |                   |_____________|
|                       |__________|_________________|
|                                          |________|
|____________________________|
                       |______________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

sakkaccaj taj  namasseyya aggi+hutaj   va  brahmano
|                   |             |            |        |         |          |
Adv.       Pron.m.   V.act.     N.m.  N.n.   part.    N.m.
|              Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.opt.      |   Acc.Sg.    |    Nom.Sg.
|___________|_______|            |____|          |          |
           |_____|                             |________|_____|
                |                                         |____|
                |_________________________|
____________________|

yamha: yat-, Rel.Pron.: that, which. Abl.Sg.m. = yamha.

dhammaj: dhamma-, N.m.: Dharma, The Law, the teaching of the Buddha. Acc.Sg. = dhammaj.

vijaneyya, V.: [one would] learn, know, become aware of. The verb root is ba- or ja- (to know) with the prefix vi- (intensifying prefix). 3.Sg.act.opt. = vijaneyya.

sammasambuddhadesitaj: sammadambuddhadesita-, Adj.: taught by the truly and completely Awakened One. It is a compound of:
    sammasambuddha-, N.m.: truly and completely Awakened One. This denotes the Buddha Shakyamuni. It can be further analyzed as:
        samma, Adv.: properly, rightly, as it should be, truly.
        sambuddha-, Adj.: completely awakened. It is a p.p. of the verb root budh-, to wake up with the prefix sam- (completely).
   desita-, Adj.: taught. It is a p.p. of the verb root dis-, to teach.
Acc.Sg.m. = sammasambuddhadesitaj.

List of Abbreviations

sakkaccaj, Adv.: respectfully, duly, thoroughly.

taj: tad-, Pron.: that. Acc.Sg.m.: taj.

namasseyya, V.: [one should] honor, pay homage to. This verb is a denominative of the noun namo-, N.n.: prayer, honor, homage. 3.Sg.act.opt. = namasseyya.

aggihutaj: aggihuta-, N.n.: fire-sacrifice. It is a compound of:
    aggi-, N.m.: fire.
    huta-, Adj.: sacrificed. It is a p.p. of the verb root hu- (to sacrifice). As an N.n.: oblation, sacrifice.
Acc.Sg. = aggihutaj.

va, part.: as, like.

brahmano: brahmana-, N.m.: Brahmin, a holy man. Nom.Sg. = brahmano.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of two syntactically related sentences. They are:
    1) yamha dhammaj vijaneyya sammasambuddhadesitaj (from whom one learned the Dharma, that is taught by the truly and completely Awakened One). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is vijaneyya (one would learn, 3^rd person, singular, active, optative). The object is the noun dhammaj (the Dharma, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the compound sammasambuddhadesitaj (taught by the truly and completely Awakened One, accusative singular). The relative pronoun yamha (from whom, ablative singular) connects this sentence to the following one.
    2) sakkaccaj taj namasseyya aggihutaj va brahmano (one should duly pay respects to him, like a Brahmin at the fire sacrifice). This can be further analyzes into the main sentence a) and the dependent clause b):
    a) sakkaccaj taj namasseyya (one should duly pay respects to him). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is namasseya (one should pay respects, 3^rd person, singular, active, optative). It has an attribute, the adverb sakkaccaj (duly). The object is the pronoun taj (him, accusative singular).
    b) aggihutaj va brahmano (like a Brahmin at the fire sacrifice). The subject is the noun brahmano (Brahmin, nominative singular). The object is the noun aggihutaj (fire sacrifice, accusative singular). The particle va (as, like) connects the clause to the main sentence.

    Sariputta and Moggallana were friends ever since they were born. They grew up in one village, where their parents were Brahmins. Both youths searched for the teaching of Awakenment. They went to various teachers and performed various religious practices, but they were not satisfied.
    When they were at Rajagaha, the Buddha also came there together with his monks. One of them was Venerable Assaji, one of the first five disciples of the Buddha. Sariputta met Assaji while the later was on his almsround. Sariputta was impressed with Assaji's calmness and serenity and asked him who was his teacher and what was his teaching. Assaji spoke a short verse:
    "The Tathagata (the Buddha) declared the cause and the cessation of all things that arise from a cause. This is what the Great Ascetic (The Buddha) says."
    Sariputta immediately attained the first level of Awakenment. He then went to inform Moggallana about this and told him the verse. Moggallana also attained the first stage of Awakenment. Together they went to see the Buddha and became monks. Soon they attained the Arahantship. Later they became the Buddha's chief disciples.
    Venerable Sariputta always remembered that it was Assaji who taught him the Dharma and used to pay his respect in the direction, where his teacher was. The other monks misunderstood this and reported to the Buddha that Sariputta was still worshipping the directions as he had done before as a Brahmin. Sariputta then explained that he only honored his teacher. The Buddha then spoke this verse, saying that we should always honor the person, who taught us the Dharma in the first place.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

yamha
dhammaj
vijaneyya
sammasambuddhadesitaj
sammasambuddha
samma
sambuddha
desitaj
sakkaccaj
taj
namasseyya
aggihutaj
aggi
hutaj
va
brahmano