This mind of mine used to wander around aimlessly,
as it liked, wherever it wanted, as was its pleasure.
Today, I will restrain it thoroughly,
just as the elephant driver subdues an elephant in rut.

idaṃ       pure   cittam       acāri   cārikaṃ
|                |           |              |            |
Pron.n.   Adv.    N.n.       V.act.      N.f.
Nom.Sg.    |     Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.aor. Acc.Sg.
|_________|______|              |_______|_________________________
        |        |__________________|      |
        |                        |_____________|
        |____________________|

List of Abbreviations

yena+icchakaṃ yattha+kāmaṃ yathā+sukhaṃ
|                |           |           |          |           |
Rel.Pron. Adv. Rel.Adv. Adv. Rel.Adv. Adv.
|_________|           |______|          |______|
_____|______________|____________|

List of Abbreviations

tad        ajja    ahaṃ niggahessāmi yoniso
|              |          |              |               |
Pron.n. Adv.   Pron.     V.act.        Adv.
Acc.Sg.   |     Nom.Sg. 1.Sg.fut.         |
|              |______|_______|               |
|                         |     |_____________|
|______________|_________|
            |_______|
                   |________________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

hatthi+ppabhinnaṃ viya aṅkusa+ggaho
|                  |            |        |           |
N.m.        N.m.     part.  N.m.    N.m.
|             Acc.Sg.      |         |    Nom.Sg.
|__________|            |         |______|
         |____________|________|
                    |______|
_______________|

idaṃ: idaṃ-, Pron.: this. Nom.Sg.n. = idaṃ.

pure, Adv.: before, formerly.

cittam: citta-, N.n.: mind. Nom.Sg. = cittam.

acāri, V.: went, wandered, roamed about. The verb root is car-. 3.Sg.act.aor. = acāri.

cārikaṃ: cārikā-, N.f.: journey, wandering. It is derived from the verb root car- (see above under acāri). Acc.Sg. = cārikaṃ.

yenicchakaṃ, Adv.: after its liking, according to its wish. It is a compound of:
    yena: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which. Ins.Sg.n. = yena. Here as an Adv.
    icchaka-, Adj.: wishing, desiring. It is derived from the verb root icch- (to want).
Euphonic combination: yena- + icchaka- = yenicchaka-.
Acc.Sg.n. = yenicchakaṃ. Here as an Adv.

List of Abbreviations

yatthakāmaṃ, Adv.: according to one's desire, wherever one wishes. It is a compound of:
    yattha, Rel.Adv.: where.
    kāma-, N.m.: desire, pleasure.
Acc.Sg.n. = yatthakāmaṃ. Here as an Adv.

yathāsukhaṃ, Adv.: at will, according to one's pleasure. It is a compound of:
    yathā, Rel.Adv.: as, just like.
    sukha-, N.n.: happiness.
Acc.Sg.n. = yathāsukhaṃ. Here as an Adv.

List of Abbreviations

tad: tad-, Pron.: that. Acc.Sg.n. = tad.

ajja, Adv.: today, now.

ahaṃ, Pron.: I. Nom.Sg. = ahaṃ.
Euphonic combination: ajja + ahaṃ = ajjahaṃ.

niggahessāmi, V.: [I will] hold back, restrain. The verb root is gah- (to hold) with the prefix ni- (down). 1.Sg.act.fut. = niggahessāmi.

yoniso, Adv.: properly, thoroughly. Lit. "down to its origin". It is the word yoni-, N.f.: origin, womb. Abl.Sg. = yoniso. Here as an Adv.

List of Abbreviations

hatthippabhinnaṃ: hatthippabhinna-, N.m.: elephant in rut. It is a compound of:
    hatthin-, N.m.: elephant. Lit. "endowed with a hand". It is derived from the word hattha-, N.m.: hand, with the possessive suffix -in. The compound form is hatthi-.
    pabhinna-, Adj.: broken, burst open, with juice flowing (of elephants in rut). It is a p.p. of the verb root bhid- (to break) with the strengthening prefix pa-.
Euphonic combination: hatthi- + pabhinna- = hatthippabhinna-.
Acc.Sg. = hatthippabhinnaṃ.

viya, part.: as, like.

aṅkusaggaho: aṅkusaggaha-, N.m.: elephant driver. It is a compound of:
    aṅkusa-, N.m.: an elephant driver's hook.
    gaha-, N.m.: seizing, grasping. It is derived from the verb root gah- (to grasp).
Euphonic combination: aṅkusa- + gaha- = aṅkusaggaha-.
Nom.Sg. = aṅkusaggaho.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
    1) idaṃ pure cittam acāri cārikaṃ yenicchakaṃ yatthakāmaṃ yathāsukhaṃ (this mind of mine used to wander around aimlessly, as it liked, wherever it wanted, as was its pleasure). The subject is the noun cittaṃ (mind, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the pronoun idaṃ (this, nominative singular). The verb is acāri (wandered, 3^rd person, singular, active, aorist). It has four attributes, the adverbs pure (formerly), yenicchakaṃ (as it liked), yatthakāmaṃ (wherever it wanted) and yathāsukhaṃ (as was its pleasure). The object is the noun cārikaṃ (on journey, accusative singular).
    2) tad ajjahaṃ niggahessāmi yoniso hatthippabhinnaṃ viya aṅkusaggaho (today, I will restrain it thoroughly, just as the elephant driver subdues an elephant in rut). This can be further analysed into the main sentence a) and the dependent clause b):
    a) tad ajjahaṃ niggahessāmi yoniso (today, I will restrain it thoroughly). The subject is the pronoun ahaṃ (I, nominative singular). The verb is niggahessāmi (I will restrain, 3^rd person, singular, active, future). It has two attributes, the adverbs ajja (today) and yoniso (thoroughly). The object is the pronoun tad (it, accusative singular).
    b) hatthippabhinnaṃ viya aṅkusaggaho (just as the elephant driver subdues an elephant in rut). The subject is the compound aṅkusaggaho (elephant driver, nominative singular). The object is the compound hatthippabhinnaṃ (elephant in rut, accusative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb niggahessāmi from the main sentence. The particle viya (as, like) connects the clause to the main sentence.

    Sānu was a young sāmanera (novice). Once he recited the teaching and at the end he made dedication of merit to his parents. A spirit, who had been his mother in a previous existence, heard that and shared his merit. As a result, she was much respected amongst other spirits and gods.
    But Sānu grew up and was dissatisfied with his life as a monk. He went to see his mother (in the present existence) and told her he decided to leave the Order. His mother tried to persuade him not to do so, but he was firm. The spirit also overheard this; possessed the young man's body so that he started rolling on the floor. People gathered and then spoke out about the advantages of the life of a monk. If Sānu were to disrobe, he would not reach the Awakenment. Then the spirit left.
    After this experience Sānu decided to continue in the quest for the ultimate goal. He went back to the monastery and was fully ordained as a bhikkhu (monk).
    The Buddha wanted to help him and so he spoke this verse, guiding Sānu to control his mind. Sānu reflected on the message and later attained the Arahantship. He even became a very famous and revered teacher.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

idaṃ
pure
cittam
acāri
cārikaṃ
yenicchakaṃ
yena
icchakaṃ
yatthakāmaṃ
yattha
kāmaṃ
yathāsukhaṃ
yathā
sukhaṃ
tad
ajja
ahaṃ
niggahessāmi
yoniso
hatthippabhinnaṃ
hatthi
pabhinnaṃ
viya
aṅkusaggaho
aṅkusa
gaho