Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
If one is sluggish and eats too much,
is sleepy and rolls about in his sleep,
such a lazy one is like a fat well fed hog -
will be born again and again.
middhi
yada
hoti maha+gghaso ca
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Adj.m. Rel.Adv. V.act.in.
Adj. Adj.m. conj.
Nom.Sg. |
3.Sg.pres. | Nom.Sg.
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List of Abbreviations
niddayita
samparivatta+sayi
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N.m.
Adj. Adj.m.
Nom.Sg.
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List of Abbreviations
maha+varaho
va nivapa+puttho
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Adj. N.m. part.
N.m. Adj.m.
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II._____________________________________________________II.
List of Abbreviations
puna+ppunaj gabbham
upeti mando
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Adv. Adv.
N.m. V.act.in. Adj.m.
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Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg.
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middhi: middhin-, Adj.: sluggish, drowsy. It is the word middha-, N.n. (torpor, sluggishness) with the possessive suffix -in. Nom.Sg.m. = middhi.
yada, Rel.Adv.: when.
hoti, V. is. The verb root is bhu- (to be). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = bhavati or hoti.
mahagghaso: mahagghasa-, Adj.: overeating,
greedy. It is a compound of:
mahant-, Adj.: big, great,
much. The compound form used here: maha-.
ghasa-, Adj.: eating, eater.
Euphonic combination: maha- + ghasa- =
mahagghasa-.
Nom.Sg. = mahagghaso.
ca, conj.: and.
List of Abbreviations
niddayita: niddayitar-, N.m.: a sleepy person. It is derived from the word nidda-, N.f.: sleep. Nom.Sg.m. = niddayita.
samparivattasayi:
samparivattasayin-, Adj.: rolling about
while sleeping. It is a compound of
samparivatta-, Adj.: rolling
about, turning. It is derived from the verb root vat- (to turn)
with the prefixes sam- (altogether) and pari- (around).
sayin-,
Adj.: lying, sleeping. It is derived from the verb root si-
(to lie).
Nom.Sg.m. = samparivattasayi.
mahavaraho:
mahavaraha-,
Adj.: big boar. It is a compound of:
mahant-, Adj.: big, great.
The compound form is maha-.
varaha-,
N.m.: boar, wild pig.
Nom.Sg. = mahavaraho.
va, part.: as, like.
List of Abbreviations
nivapaputtho:
nivapaputtha-,
Adj.: nourished by a lot of fodder. It is a compound of:
nivapa-,
N.m.: fodder, food thrown to animals. It is derived from the verb root
vap- (to throw) with the prefix ni- (down).
puttha-,
Adj.: nourished, fed. It is a p.p. of the verb root pus- (to nourish).
Nom.Sg.m. = nivapaputtho.
punappunaj, Adv.: again and again. It is the word puna, Ind.: again, doubled in intensifying sense. The double -p- is a result of the euphonic combination.
gabbham: gabbha-, N.m.: womb. Acc.Sg. = gabbham.
upeti, V.: undergo, come to, approach. The verb root is i- (to go) with the prefix upa- (near). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = upeti.
mando: manda-, Adj.: slow, lazy, indolent. Nom.Sg.m. = mando.
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of two related
sentences. They are:
1) middhi
yada hoti mahagghaso ca niddayita
samparivattasayi
(if one is sluggish and eats too much, is sleepy and rolls about in his
sleep). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular
pronoun. The verb is hoti (is, 3rd person, singular,
active, indicative, present tense). There are four objects, the noun niddayita
(sleepy person, nominative singular) and the adjectives middhi
(sluggish, nominative singular), mahagghaso (overeating, nominative
singular) and samparivattasayi
(rolling about in sleep, nominative singular). The conjunction ca
(and) connects two of these objects. The relative adverb yada
(when) connects the sentence to the following one.
2) mahavaraho
va nivapaputtho
punappunaj gabbham upeti mando (such a
lazy one is like a fat well fed hog - will be born again and again). This
can be further analysed into the main sentence b) and the clause a):
a) mahavaraho
va nivapaputtho
(like a fat well fed hog). The subject is the compound mahavaraho
(big hog, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the compound nivapaputtho
(fed on fodder, nominative singular). The particle va (as, like)
connects the clause to the subject of the main sentence.
b) punappunaj
gabbham upeti mando (such a lazy one will be born again and again).
The subject is the adjective mando (lazy, nominative singular).
The verb is upeti (goes, approaches, 3rd person, singular,
active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the adverb punappunaj
(again and again). The object is the noun gabbham (to womb, accusative
singular).
The king Pasenadi of Kosala once went
to see the Buddha just after finishing an opulent meal. As a result, he
was feeling drowsy and sleepy, could not concentrate on the Buddha's words
and almost fell asleep. He apologized to the Buddha and told him about
his heavy meal.
The Buddha replied with this verse,
saying that overeating creates discomfort. The king acted accordingly,
ate less and became much healthier and more active.
Word pronunciation:
middhi
yada
hoti
mahagghaso
maha
ghaso
ca
niddayita
samparivattasayi
samparivatta
sayi
mahavaraho
maha
varaho
va
nivapaputtho
nivapa
puttho
punappunaj
puna
gabbham
upeti
mando