Gāthā Sentence Translation Sentence Structure
Vocabulary&Grammar Commentary Pronunciation
                          List of Abbreviations

atthamhi jātamhi sukhā sahāyā

tuṭṭhī sukhā yā itarītarena

puññaṃ sukhaṃ jīvitasaṅkhayamhi

sabbaso dukkhassa sukhaṃ pahānaṃ

(DhP 331)




Sentence Translation:

Good are friends when need arises.
Good is satisfaction with whatever one has.
Good is merit when the life comes an end.
Good is to abandon all suffering completely.




Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

atthamhi jātamhi  sukhā    sahāyā
|                  |            |            |
N.n.        Adj.n.   Adj.m.    N.m.
Loc.Sg.  Loc.Sg. Nom.Pl. Nom.Pl.
|__________|            |            |
         |____________|_______|
                      |_____|

List of Abbreviations

tuṭṭhī         sukhā        yā          itara+itarena
|                    |              |              |         |
N.f.           Adj.f.   Rel.Pron.f.  Adj.   Adv.
Nom.Sg.  Nom.Sg.   Nom.Sg.      |_____|
|                    |              |__________|
|___________|_____________|
         |______|

List of Abbreviations

puññaṃ    sukhaṃ  jīvita+saṅkhayamhi
|                    |           |               |
N.n.          Adj.n.    N.n.        N.m.
Nom.Sg.  Nom.Sg.     |         Loc.Sg.
|                    |           |_________|
|___________|___________|
           |_____|

List of Abbreviations

sabbaso dukkhassa  sukhaṃ pahānaṃ
|                   |              |              |
Adv.         N.m.       Adj.n.      N.n.
|              Gen.Sg.   Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|___________|             |              |
          |_____________|________|
                     |_______|




Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

atthamhi: attha-, N.n.: meaning, sense. Here in the sense of "need". Loc.Sg. = atthamhi.

jātamhi: jāta-, Adj.: born, arisen. It is a p.p. of the verb root jan- (to be born). Loc.Sg. = jātamhi.

sukhā: sukha-, Adj.: pleasant, agreeable, good. Nom.Sg.f. = sukhā.

sahāyā: sahāya-, N.m.: companion, friend. Nom.Pl. = sahāyā.

tuṭṭhī: tuṭṭhi-, N.f.: joy, contentment, satisfaction. Nom.Sg. = tuṭṭhi. The form tuṭṭhī is sometimes used in poetry.

sukhā: see above.

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

itarītarena: itarītara-, Adj.: one or the other, whatsoever. It is the compound of two words itara-, Adj.: other, different. Euphonic combination: itara- + itara- = itarītara-. Ins.Sg. = itarītarena. Here as an Adv. (in every way, always, whatsoever).

List of Abbreviations

puññaṃ: puñña-, N.n.: good deed, meritorious deed, merit. Nom.Sg. = puññaṃ.

sukhaṃ: sukha-, Adj.: pleasant, agreeable, good. Nom.Sg.n. = sukhaṃ.

jīvitasaṅkhayamhi: jīvitasaṅkhaya-, N.m.: end of life, death. It is a compound of:
    jīvita-, N.n.: life. Originally it is a p.p. of the verb jīv- (to live).
    saṅkhaya-, N.m.: destruction, loss. It is derived from the word khaya-, N.m. (destruction) with the prefix sam- (completely).
Loc.Sg. = jīvitasaṅkhayamhi.

sabbaso, Adv.: altogether, thoroughly. It is derived from the word sabba-, Adj.: all.

dukkhassa: dukkha-, N.m.: suffering. Gen.Sg. = dukkhassa.

sukhaṃ: see above.

pahānaṃ: pahāna-, N.n.: giving up, abandoning, rejection. It is derived from the verb root hā- (to leave, to abandon) with the strengthening prefix pa-. Nom.Sg. = pahānaṃ.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of four syntactically separate sentences. They are:
    1) atthamhi jātamhi sukhā sahāyā (good are friends when need arises). The subject is the noun sahāyā (friends, nominative plural). It has an attribute, the noun atthamhi (in need, locative singular) with its attribute, the past participle jātamhi (in arisen, locative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective sukhā (good, nominative plural).
    2) tuṭṭhī sukhā yā itarītarena (good is satisfaction with whatever one has). The subject is the noun tuṭṭhī (satisfaction, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the adverb itarītarena (in every way). It is connected to the subject by the relative pronoun (which, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective sukhā (good, nominative singular).
    3) puññaṃ sukhaṃ jīvitasaṅkhayamhi (good is merit when the life comes an end). The subject is the noun puññaṃ (merit, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the compound jīvitasaṅkhayamhi (at the end of life, locative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective sukhaṃ (good, nominative singular).
    4) sabbaso dukkhassa sukhaṃ pahānaṃ (good is to abandon all suffering completely). The subject is the noun pahānaṃ (abandoning, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the noun dukkhassa (of suffering, genitive singular) with its attribute, the adverb sabbaso (completely). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective sukhaṃ (good, nominative singular).




Commentary:

    The Buddha was once thinking about how so many people were ill-treated by evil rulers. He tried to think up some way to convince the kings to rule wisely. Māra then tried to entice the Buddha to become a king himself. But the Buddha replied him with this verse (and the two following ones, DhP 332 and DhP 333), saying that their teachings were quite different and it was impossible for Māra to influence him to become a king.




Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

atthamhi
jātamhi
sukhā
sahāyā
tuṭṭhī

itarītarena
itara
itarena
puññaṃ
sukhaṃ
jīvitasaṅkhayamhi
jīvita
saṅkhayamhi
sabbaso
dukkhassa
pahānaṃ