Who would live for hundred years, indolent and of poor effort,
better is the life for one day of somebody who has undertaken a firm effort.

yo             ca vassa+sataṃ       jīve      kusīto  hīna+vīriyo
|                  |       |         |             |            |          |         |
Rel.Pron.  conj. N.n. Num.n.   V.act.    Adj.m.  Adj.   N.m.
Nom.Sg.      |       |    Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.opt. Nom.Sg.   |   Nom.Sg.
|                  |       |         |             |            |          |_____|
|__________|       |_____|             |            |________|
         |____________|__________|___________|
                    |           |__________|
                    |___________|
                              |_______________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

eka+ahaṃ      jīvitaṃ    seyyo   viriyam ārabhato daḷhaṃ
|           |             |             |            |            |            |
Num. N.n.       N.n.      Adj.n.     N.n      Adj.m.  Adj.n.
|     Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. Gen.Sg. Acc.Sg.
|______|              |             |            |_______|_______|
     |                    |             |                    |___|
     |___________|             |                       |
               |_____________|_____________|
                            |______|
___________________|

yo: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which. Nom.Sg.m. = yo.

ca, conj.: and.

vassasataṃ: vassasata-, N.n.: hundred years, century. It is a compound of:
    vassa-, N.n.: year.
    sata-, Num.n.: hundred.
Acc.Sg. = vassasataṃ.

jīve, V.: should live. The verb root is jīv-. 3.Sg.act.opt. = jīve.

kusīto: kusīta-, Adj.: indolent, inactive. Nom.Sg.m.: kusīto.

hīnavīriyo: hīnavīriya-, Adj.: having poor strength. A compound of
    hīna-, Adj.: poor, inferior. It is p.p. of the verb hā- (to reject).
    viriya-, N.n.: energy, vigor, effort. The form vīriya- is used because of metrical requirements.
Nom.Sg.m. = hīnavīriyo.

List of Abbreviations

ekāhaṃ: ekāha-, N.n.: one day. It is a compound of:
    eka-, Num.: one.
    aha-, N.n.: day.
Euphonic combination: eka- + aha- = ekāha-.
Nom.Sg. = ekāhaṃ.

jīvitaṃ: jīvita-, N.n.: life. Originally it is a p.p. of the verb jīv- (to live). Nom.Sg. = jīvitaṃ.

seyyo: seyya-, Adj.: better. Nom.Sg.n. = seyyo.

viriyam: viriya-, N.n.: energy, vigor, effort. Acc.Sg. = viriyam.

ārabhato: ārabhant-, Adj.: undertaking, beginning with. It is an a.pr.p. of the verb rabh- (to begin with, to undertake) with the prefix ā- (here as an intensifying prefix). Gen.Sg.m. = ārabhato.

daḷhaṃ: daḷha-, Adj.: strong, resolute, firm. Acc.Sg.n. = daḷhaṃ.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of two related sentences. They both form the first and the second lines of this verse respectively.
    In the first sentence, the subject is the relative pronoun yo (who, nominative singular). It has two attributes, the adjectives kusīto (indolent, nominative singular) and hīnavīriyo (having a poor effort, nominative singular). The verb is jīve (should live, 3^rd person, singular, active, optative). It has an attribute, the compound vassasataṃ (hundred years, accusative singular). The conjunction ca (and) serves only for metrical purposes.
    In the second line, the subject is the adjective/noun jīvitaṃ (life, nominative singular). It has two attributes. First of them is the compound ekāhaṃ (one day, nominative singular). Second is the adjective ārabhato (of somebody who is undertaking, genitive singular). This word has an attribute, the noun viriyam (effort, accusative singular) and it in turn has the adjective daḷhaṃ (firm, accusative singular) as an attribute. The object is the adjective seyyo (nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be".

    There was a certain monk named Sappadāsa, who was not happy with his life in the monastery. Although he tried his best, he could not attain Awakenment therefore he felt he was unable to do it and wanted to return to the worldly life. But he thought that would be very humiliating for him to do so. He contemplated his options and at the end he decided to commit suicide. He tried to put his hand into a pot with snakes but the snakes would not bite him. So he took a razor and wanted to cut his throat. He put the razor on his throat, but as he was about to cut himself, he reflected on his life as a monk. He realized that he had led a pure life, full of morality and spirituality. He became full of satisfaction and happiness. Then he detached himself from these feelings and reached Awakenment instantly.
    The other monks asked him what happened to him and he told them his story. They went to ask the Buddha if it was possible for someone to attain Arahantship while attempting suicide. The Buddha replied with this verse, saying that indeed it was possible. He added that in reaching the Awakenment, time and space is not really relevant. It is possible to reach it while walking, before one's foot touches the ground.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

yo
ca
vassasataṃ
vassa
sataṃ
jīve
kusīto
hīnavīriyo
hīna
vīriyo
ekāhaṃ
eka
ahaṃ
jīvitaṃ
seyyo
viriyam
ārabhato
daḷhaṃ