Gāthā | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
An intelligent person can attend on
a wise man even for a second,
he will quickly understand the Dharma, like a tongue knows the
taste of the soup.
muhuttam api ce viññū paṇḍitaṃ
payirupāsati
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N.m. part. part. N.m. N.m. V.act.in.
Acc.Sg. |____| Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.pres.
|___________| |_______|_______|
| |_____|
|__________________|
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List of Abbreviations
khippaṃ dhammaṃ vijānāti jivhā
sūpa+rasaṃ yathā
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| |
Adv. N.m. V.act.in. N.f. N.m. N.m. Rel.Adv.
| Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg. | Acc.Sg. |
|__________|________| | |_____| |
|_____| |________| |
________| |___________|
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muhuttam: muhutta-, N.m.: a moment, a second. Acc.Sg. = muhuttam: for a moment.
api, part.: also, as well, even (often spelled pi).
ce, part.: if.
viññū: viññū-, Adj.: intelligent. As a N.m.: intelligent person. Nom.Sg. = viññū.
paṇḍitaṃ: paṇḍita-, N.m.: wise man, learned man. Acc.Sg. = paṇḍitaṃ.
payirupāsati, V.: to attend on, "to sit close around". The verb root is
ās- (to sit) with prefixes pari- (around) and upa- (close
to, near).
Euphonic combination: pari + upa = payirupa-.
3.Sg.act.in.pres. = payirupāsati.
List of Abbreviations
khippaṃ, Adv.: quickly. It is derived from the word khippa-, Adj.: quick, fast.
dhammaṃ: dhamma-, N.m.:
Buddha's Teaching. The Law. Derived from the verb dha-, to hold.
Thus dhamma "holds the world together". Acc.Sg.
= dhammaṃ.
vijānāti, V.: to understand, to realize. The verb root is ñā- or jā- (to know) with the prefix vi- (intensifying prefix). 3.Sg.act.in.pres.: vijānāti.
jivhā: jivhā-, N.f.: tongue. Nom.Sg. = jivhā.
sūparasaṃ:
sūparasa-, N. : taste of the soup. It is a compound of:
sūpa-, N.m.: soup, sauce.
rasa-, N.m.: flavor, taste.
Acc.Sg. = sūparasaṃ.
yathā, Rel.Adv.: as, just like.
List of Abbreviations
Two lines of this verse form two
related sentences.
In the first sentence, the subject is the noun/adjective viññū
(intelligent person, nominative singular). The verb is payirupāsati (attends
on, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is
the noun paṇḍitaṃ (a wise man, accusative singular). The verb has an
attribute, the noun muhuttam (for a second, accusative singular). There
are two particles, api (also, even) and ce (if) which form a phrase
api ce (even if).
The subject of the second sentence is omitted, implying the subject
of the previous sentence (viññū). The verb is vijānāti (understands,
3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute,
the adverb khippaṃ (quickly). The object is the noun dhammaṃ (Dharma,
accusative singular). There is a clause in this sentence, jivhā sūparasaṃ
yathā (like a tongue the taste of the soup). The subject here is the noun
jivhā (tongue, nominative singular) and the object the noun sūparasaṃ
(the taste of the soup, accusative singular). The verb is omitted in the clause;
the verb vijānāti (knows) from the main sentence is implied. The relative
adverb yathā (just like) connects the clause to the main sentence.
In the city of Pāveyyaka there
lived a group of young friends. Once they went to a forest and took a courtesan
with them. While they were resting, the courtesan ran away with their money.
While they searched for her in the forest, they met the Buddha. They stopped
looking for the woman and listened to the Buddha's teachings. Immediately they
all became monks and followed the Buddha to the monastery. They all practiced
very diligently and soon (when the Buddha was delivering one of the discourses),
they all became Arahants.
Some other monks were surprised, how is it possible to attain the
arahantship so quickly. The Buddha explained by this verse, that an intelligent
person could quickly realize the Dharma although he is associated with a wise
person only for a very short time - just as the tongue tastes the soup.
Word pronunciation:
muhuttam
api
ce
viññū
paṇḍitaṃ
payirupāsati
khippaṃ
dhammaṃ
vijānāti
jivhā
sūparasaṃ
sūpa
rasaṃ
yathā