I do not call one a Brahmin only because on account of birth, because he is born from [a Brahmin] mother.
If he has attachments, he is to be called only "self-important".
One who is without attachments and without clinging - him do I call a Brahmin.

na       ca    ahaṃ brāhmaṇaṃ brūmi    yoni+jaṃ    matti+sambhavaṃ
|           |         |             |              |          |        |         |             |
neg.  conj.   Pron.     N.m.     V.act.in.  N.f. Adj.m. N.f.     Adj.m.
|           |    Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. 1.Sg.pres.    |   Acc.Sg.   |       Acc.Sg.
|______|_____|________|_______|           |____|         |________|
                     |               |                            |___________|
                     |               |______________________|
                     |____________________|

List of Abbreviations

bho+vādī       nāma      so           hoti       sace      hoti     sakiñcano
|          |              |           |               |            |           |              |
Ind. Adj.m.     N.n.    Pron.m.   V.act.in.   part.  V.act.in.    Adj.m.
|     Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. Nom.Sg.  3.Sg.pres.     |    3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg.
|______|              |          |                |            |           |________|
     |___________|           |                |            |__________|
               |____________|_________|                     |
                            |_____|                                     |
                                 |_______________________|

List of Abbreviations

akiñcanaṃ anādānaṃ   tam     ahaṃ       brūmi brāhmaṇaṃ
|                       |             |           |               |            |
Adj.m.         Adj.m.  Pron.m.   Pron.     V.act.in.   N.m.
Acc.Sg.       Acc.Sg.  Acc.Sg. Nom.Sg. 1.Sg.pres. Acc.Sg.
|_____________|             |           |               |            |
            |______________|           |               |            |
                        |______________|________|_______|
                                                  |       |____|
                                                  |______|

na, neg.: not.

ca, conj.: and.

ahaṃ, Pron.: I. Nom.Sg. = ahaṃ.
Euphonic combination: ca + ahaṃ = cahaṃ.

brāhmaṇaṃ: brāhmaṇa-, Nṃ.: Brahmin, a holy man. Acc.Sg. = brāhmaṇaṃ.

brūmi, V.: [I] say, proclaim. The verb root is brū-. 1.Sg.act.in.pres. = brūmi.

yonijaṃ: yonija-, Adj.: born from the womb, on account of birth. It is a compound of:
    yoni-, N.f.: origin, womb.
    -ja-, Adj.suf.: born, proceeding. It is derived from the verb root jan- (to give birth, to produce).
Acc.Sg.m. = yonijaṃ.

List of Abbreviations

mattisambhavaṃ: mattisambhava-, Adj.: born from a mother. It is a compound of:
    mātar-, N.f.: mother.
    sambhava-, N.m.: origin, production. It is derived from the verb root bhū- (to be) with the prefix sam- (together).
    Euphonic combination: mātar- + sambhava- = mattisambhava-.
Acc.Sg. = mattisambhavaṃ.

bhovādī: bhovādin-, Adj.: a Brahmin, self-important, one who addresses other with the word bho (implying supposed superiority of the speaker). It is a compound of:
    bho, Ind.: sir, friend, a familiar term of address.
    vādin-, Adj.: speaking. It is derived from the verb root vad- (to say).
Nom.Sg.m. = bhovādī.

nāma: nāma-, N.n.: name. Acc.Sg. = nāma (named, called).

so: tad-, Pron.n.: it. Nom.Sg.m. = so.

List of Abbreviations

hoti, V. is. The verb root is bhū- (to be). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = bhavati or hoti.

sace, part.: if.

sakiñcano: sakiñcana-, Adj.: having something [i.e. having attachments]. It is the word kiñcana-, N.n.: something, anything with the possessive prefix sa- (with). Nom.Sg.m. = sakiñcano.

akiñcanaṃ: akiñcana-, Adj.: having nothing [i.e. having no attachments]. It is the word kiñcana-, N.n.: something, anything with the negative prefix a-. Acc.Sg.m. = akiñcanaṃ.

anādānaṃ: anādāna-, Adj.: free from clinging. It is the word ādāna-, N.n.: attachment, clinging (this word is derived from the verb dā-, to give with the prefix ā-, towards; the meaning of the verb is "to take, to grasp") negated by the negative prefix an-. Acc.Sg.m. = anādānaṃ.

tam: tad-, Pron.: it. Masculine form: so, he. Acc.Sg. = tam (him).

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of three syntactically separate sentences. They are:
    1) na cahaṃ brāhmaṇaṃ brūmi yonijaṃ mattisambhavaṃ (I do not call one a Brahmin only because on account of birth, because he is born from [a Brahmin] mother). The subject is the pronoun ahaṃ (I, nominative singular). The verb is brūmi ([I] say, 1^st person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the noun brāhmaṇaṃ (Brahmin, accusative singular). There are two objects, the compounds yonijaṃ (born from the womb, accusative singular) and mattisambhavaṃ (born from a mother, accusative singular). The conjunction ca (and) serves mainly for metrical purposes.
    2) bhovādī nāma so hoti sace hoti sakiñcano (if he has attachments, he is to be called only "self-important"). This can be further analyzed into two parts:
    a) bhovādī nāma so hoti (he is to be called only "self-important"). The subject is the personal pronoun so (he, nominative singular). The verb is hoti (is, 3^rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the adjective bhovādī (self-important, nominative singular) with its attribute, the noun nāma (named, accusative singular).
    b) sace hoti sakiñcano (if he has attachments). The subject is omitted, implying the subject of the previous sentence. The verb is hoti (is, 3^rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the adjective sakiñcano (with attachments, nominative singular). The particle sace (if) connects the sentence to the previous one.
    3) akiñcanaṃ anādānaṃ tam ahaṃ brūmi brāhmaṇaṃ (one who is without attachments and without clinging - him do I call a Brahmin). The subject is the pronoun ahaṃ (I, nominative singular). The verb is brūmi ([I] say, 1^st person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the noun brāhmaṇaṃ (Brahmin, accusative singular). It has three attributes, the pronoun tam (him, accusative singular) and the adjectives akiñcanaṃ (without attachments, accusative singular) and anādānaṃ (without clinging, accusative singular).

A certain Brahmin once asked Buddha why he called his disciples "Brahmins". Was it then not proper that he should be called "a Brahmin" too, since he was born from Brahmin parents? The Buddha replied with this verse, saying that a true Brahmin is one who overcame all his attachments, not the one who was born from Brahmin parents.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

na
ca
ahaṃ
brāhmaṇaṃ
brūmi
yonijaṃ
yoni
jaṃ
mattisambhavaṃ
matti
sambhavaṃ
bhovādī
bho
vādī
nāma
so
hoti
sace
sakiñcano
akiñcanaṃ
anādānaṃ
tam