Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
Hard to find is a noble person. He is not born everywhere.
Where is such a wise one born, that family prospers happily.
dullabho purisa+ajabbo
na so
sabbattha jayati
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Adj.m. N.m. Adj.m.
neg. Pron.m. Adv. V.pas.in.
Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg.
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3.Sg.pres.
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List of Abbreviations
yattha
so jayati
dhiro
taj
kulaj sukham edhati
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Rel.Adv. Pron.m. V.pas.in. Adj.m.
Pron.n. N.n. Adv.
V.act.in.
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Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. |
3.Sg.pres.
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dullabho: dullabha-, Adj.: hard to get, difficult to obtain. It is the word labha-, Adj.: receiving, with the prefix du(l)- (difficult, bad, hard). Nom.Sg.m. = dullabho.
purisajabbo:
purisajabba-,
N.m.: noble man. It is a compound of:
purisa-, N.m.: person.
ajabba-,
Adj.: of good birth, of good breed, noble.
Euphonic combination: purisa- + ajabba-
= purisajabba-.
Nom.Sg. = purisajabbo.
na, neg.: not.
so: tad-, Pron.n.: it. Nom.Sg.m. = so.
sabbattha, Adv.: everywhere, in every place.
jayati, V.: is born. The verb root is jan- (to be born). 3.Sg.med.in.pres. = jayati.
List of Abbreviations
yattha, Rel.Adv.: where.
so: se above.
jayati: see above.
dhiro: dhira-, Adj.: wise, clever. Nom.Sg.m. = dhiro.
taj: tad-, Pron.: that. Nom.Sg.n. = taj.
kulaj: kula-, N.n.: clan, family. Nom.Sg. = kulaj.
sukham, Adv.: happily. It is derived from the word sukha-, N.n.: happiness. Acc.Sg. = sukhaj. Here as an adverb.
edhati, V.: prospers, increases, succeeds. The verb root is edh-. 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = edhati.
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of three syntactically
separate sentences. They are:
1) dullabho purisajabbo
(hard to find is a noble person). The subject of this sentence is the compound
purisajabbo
(noble person, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the
verb "to be". The object is the adjective dullabho (hard to find,
nominative singular).
2) na so sabbattha jayati
(he is not born everywhere). The subject is the personal pronoun so
(he, nominative singular). The verb is jayati
(is born, 3rd person, singular, passive, indicative, present
tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The verb
has an attribute, the adverb sabbattha (everywhere).
3) yattha so jayati
dhiro taj kulaj
sukham edhati (where is such a wise one born, that family prospers
happily). This can be further analysed into two segments:
a) yattha so jayati
dhiro (where is such a wise one born).
There are two subjects, the pronoun so (he, nominative singular)
and the adjective dhiro (wise one,
nominative singular). The verb is jayati
(is born, 3rd person, singular, passive, indicative, present
tense). It has an attribute, the relative adverb yattha (where).
b) taj
kulaj sukham edhati (that family prospers
happily). The subject is the noun kulaj
(family, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the pronoun taj
(that, nominative singular). The verb is edhati (prospers, 3rd
person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute,
the adverb sukham (happily).
Venerable Ananda
was once pondering about what the Buddha said. Thoroughbreds of elephants
are born only amongst Chaddanta and Uposatha breeds, thoroughbred horses
amongst Sindh breed, and thoroughbreds of cattle amongst Usabha breed.
But the Buddha said nothing about thoroughbreds of people.
So Ananda
decided to ask the Buddha. The Buddha told him that noble people are not
born in any particular family. But wherever they are born, that family
is very lucky indeed.
Word pronunciation:
dullabho
purisajabbo
purisa
ajabbo
na
so
sabbattha
jayati
yattha
dhiro
taj
kulaj
sukham
edhati