Gāthā | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
Very faint is this scent of tagara
and sandal.
Highest is the scent of a virtuous one; it blows even amongst
the gods.
appa+matto ayaṃ gandho
yā ayaṃ tagara+candanī
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Adj. Adj.m. Pron.m. N.m. Rel.Pron.f. Pron.f. N.n. N.f.
| Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg.
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List of Abbreviations
yo ca sīlavataṃ gandho
vāti devesu uttamo
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Rel.Pron.m. conj. Adj.m. N.m. V.act.in. N.m.
Adj.m.
Nom.Sg. | Gen.Pl. Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. Loc.Pl. Nom.Sg.
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appamatto: appamatta-,
Adj.: little, slight, insignificant. It is a compound of:
appa-, Adj.: small, little.
matta-, Adj.: measured, measuring.
Nom.Sg.m. = appamatto.
ayaṃ: idaṃ-, Pron.: this. Nom.Sg.m. = ayaṃ.
gandho: gandha-, N.m.: smell. Nom.Sg. = gandho.
yā: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which, such as. Nom.Sg.f. = yā.
List of Abbreviations
ayaṃ: idaṃ-, Pron.: this. Nom.Sg.f. = ayaṃ.
tagaracandanī: tagaracandanī-,
N.f.: tagara and sandal. It is a compound of:
tagara-, N.n.: the incense obtained from a kind of
shrub
(in Latin: Tabernaemontana coronaria).
candanī-, N.f.: sandal.
Nom.Sg. = tagaracandanī.
yo: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which. Nom.Sg.m. = yo.
ca, conj.: and.
List of Abbreviations
sīlavataṃ: sīlavant-, Adj.: virtuous. As a N.m.: virtuous person. It is the word sīla-, N.n.: virtue, with a possessive suffix -vant. Gen.Pl. = sīlavataṃ.
gandho: see above.
vāti, V.: blows. The verb root is vā- (to blow). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = vāti.
devesu: deva-, N.m.: god, deity. Loc.Pl. = devesu.
uttamo: uttama-, Adj.: highest, utmost, best. Nom.Sg.m. = uttamo.
List of Abbreviations
Two lines of this verse form two
syntactically separated sentences.
In the first sentence, subject is the noun gandho (smell,
nominative singular). It has an attribute, the pronoun ayaṃ (this, nominative
singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". It has
the adjective appamatto (faint, nominative singular) as a predicate.
There is a clause, yā ayaṃ tagaracandanī (namely, this tagara and sandal).
Here, the subject is the compound tagaracandanī (tagara and sandal, nominative
singular). It has the pronoun ayaṃ (this, nominative singular) as an
attribute. The relative pronoun yā (that, which; nominative singular)
connects the clause to the main sentence.
In the second line, the subject is the noun gandho (smell,
nominative singular) with two attributes, the adjective uttamo (highest,
nominative singular) and the adjective sīlavataṃ (of the virtuous ones,
genitive plural). The verb is vāti (blows, 3rd person, singular, active,
indicative, present tense) with an attribute, the noun devesu (amongst
the gods, locative plural). The relative pronoun yo (that, which; nominative
singular) introduces the sentence and also connects it to the previous one.
The conjunction ca (and) serves a similar purpose.
One of the Buddha's chief disciples,
Venerable Kassapa, went to the city of Rājagaha for alms food. He wanted to
give some poor man opportunity to give him food and thus obtain merit.
Sakka, the king of the gods saw this, he assumed the form
of an old poor weaver and together with his wife Sujātā came to Rājagaha. Venerable
Kassapa stood at their door and Sakka filled his bowl with delicious rice and
curry. Kassapa thought, that this cannot be a poor man - how could such a person
afford so delicious food? Kassapa then realized that this man and his wife are
actually Sakka and Sujātā.
They admitted this fact and told Kassapa that they were too very poor
- they did not have enough opportunity to give alms and thus did not accumulate
any merit.
Monks asked the Buddha how Sakka knew Kassapa was such a virtuous
person that any alms given to him reap great meritorious reward. The Buddha
answered by this verse, telling them that the fame of Kassapa's virtue reached
even amongst the gods.
Word pronunciation:
appamatto
appa
matto
ayaṃ
gandho
yā
ayaṃ
tagaracandanī
tagara
candanī
yo
ca
sīlavataṃ
vāti
devesu
uttamo