Those, who have not led the holy life, and have not obtained wealth while young,
lie just like arrows shot from a bow, moaning over the past.

acaritvā brahma+cariyaṃ aladdhā yobbane dhanaṃ
|                |             |            |            |            |
V.ger.     Adj.       N.f.      V.ger.     N.n.      N.n.
|                |       Acc.Sg.        |      Loc.Sg.  Acc.Sg.
|                |_______|             |           |_______|
|_____________|                   |__________|
          |________________________|
                              |____________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

senti      cāpa+atikhīṇā va  purāṇāni anutthunaṃ
|               |           |        |         |              |
V.act.in. N.m.  Adj.m. part.   N.n.      Adj.m.
3.Pl.pres.  |     Nom.Pl.  |     Acc.Pl.   Nom.Sg.
|               |______|        |         |________|
|                    |________|                 |
|________________|_____________|
              |________|

acaritvā, V.ger.: not having lived. It is the word caritvā, V.ger: having lived (the verb root is car-, to live, to act) with the negative prefix a-.

brahmacariyaṃ: brahmacariyā-, N.f.: holy, pious or pure life. It is a compound of:
    brahma-, Adj.: holy, "Brahmanic", pious.
    cariyā-, Adj.: living, acting. It is derived from the verb car- (to walk, to act).
Acc.Sg. = brahmacariyaṃ.

aladdhā, V.ger.: not having obtained, gotten. It is the word laddhā, V.ger.: having obtained (the verb root is labh-, to get, to obtain) with the negative prefix a-.

yobbane: yobbana-, N.n.: youth, young age. Loc.Sg. = yobbane.

List of Abbreviations

dhanaṃ: dhana-, N.n.: wealth. Here in the meaning of "spiritual wealth". Acc.Sg. = dhanaṃ.

senti, V.: lie, lie down. The verb root is si- (to lay). 3.Pl.act.in.pres. = senti.

cāpātikhīṇā: cāpātikhīṇa-, Adj.: shot from the bow. It is a compound of:
    cāpa-, N.m.: bow.
    atikhīṇa-, Adj.: shot. It is a p.p. of the verb root khī- (to remove), with the prefix ati- (over, out).
Euphonic combination: cāpa- + atikhīṇa- = cāpātikhīṇa-.
Nom.Pl.m. = cāpātikhīṇā.
Another explanation: we take the words separately, and then cāpā would be nominative plural of cāpa-, "bows". The word atikhīṇā we woul take in its different meaning completely (ati-) destroyed, worn out (khīṇa-). Then the simile would read "like worn out bows". But the traditional explanation is "[arrows] shot from the bow" and we follow this explanation here.

List of Abbreviations

va, part.: as, like.

purāṇāni: purāṇa-, Adj.: old. As an N.n.: past, old times. Acc.Pl. = purāṇāni.

anutthunaṃ: anutthunant-, Adj.: wailing, moaning. It is an a.pr.p. of the verb root than- (to moan) with the prefix anu- (to, at). Nom.Pl.m. = anuthunanto, but for the sake of the meter, the Nom.Sg.m. form anutthunaṃ is used here.

List of Abbreviations

    The main sentence is in the second line: senti cāpātikhīṇā va purāṇāni anutthunaṃ (lie just like arrows shot from a bow, moaning over the past). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person plural pronoun. The verb is senti ([they] lie, 3^rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the active present participle anutthunaṃ (moaning over, nominative singular; as stated above, plural would be expected here) and the object is the noun/adjective purāṇāni (past, accusative plural). There is a clause, cāpātikhīṇā va (just like arrows shot from a bow). Here, the compound cāpātikhīṇā (arrows shot from a bow, nominative plural; for another explanation of this compound see above, in the Vocabulary and Grammar section) is the subject and the particle va (like, as) connects the clause to the main sentence.
    In the first line, there are two sentences, subordinate to the main sentence. They are: 1) acaritvā brahmacariyaṃ (not having led the holy life). The subject is omitted; the subject from the main sentence is implied. The verb is in gerund, acaritvā (not having led). The object is the compound brahmacariyaṃ (holy life, accusative singular). 2) aladdhā yobbane dhanaṃ (not having obtained wealth while young). Again, the subject is omitted and the verb is in gerund, aladdhā (not having obtained). The object is the noun dhanaṃ (wealth, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the noun yobbane (in youth, locative singular).

    The story for this verse is identical with the story for the previous one (DhP 155).
    If we want to accomplish something in our lives, we have to start working early, in the young age. Be it material or spiritual goals, we should not waste our time and diligently learn the necessary skills and then apply them on the road to the goal we want to achieve. If we do nothing in our young age, all the opportunities will be lost and we will grow old, without ever accomplishing anything.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

acaritvā
brahmacariyaṃ
brahma
cariyaṃ
aladdhā
yobbane
dhanaṃ
senti
cāpātikhīṇā
cāpa
atikhīṇā
va
purāṇāni
anutthunaṃ