From sole sovereignty over the earth, or from going to heaven,
from lordship over the whole world, the fruit of Entering the Stream is the best.

pathavyā eka+rajjena saggassa gamanena vā
|                |         |           |             |          |
N.f.       Num.  N.n.     N.m.       N.n.    conj.
Gen.Sg.     |    Ins.Sg. Gen.Sg.   Ins.Sg.     |
|                |_____|           |_______|          |
|____________|                      |_________|
           |_______________________|_______________________________

List of Abbreviations

sabba+loka+ādhipaccena sota+āpatti+phalaṃ   varaṃ
|            |              |            |         |         |             |
Adj.   N.m.        N.n.      N.n.   N.f.    N.n.      Adj.n.
|_______|         Ins.Sg.       |_____|   Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
       |___________|                |________|             |
_________|                                   |                    |
        |________________________|___________|
                            |_____________|

pathavyā: pathavī-, N.f.: earth, world. Gen.Sg. = pathavyā.

ekarajjena: ekarajja-, N.n.: sole sovereignty. It is a compound of:
    eka-, Num.: one.
    rajja-, N.n.: sovereignty, kingship, reign.
Ins.Sg. = ekarajjena.

saggassa: sagga-, N.m.: heaven. Gen.Sg. = saggassa.

gamanena: gamana-, N.n.: going. It is derived from the verb root gam- (to go). Ins.Sg. = gamanena.

vā, conj.: or.

List of Abbreviations

sabbalokādhipaccena: sabbalokādhipacca-, N.n.: lordship over the whole world. It is a compound of:
    sabba-, Adj.: all.
    loka-, N.m.: world.
   ādhipacca-, N.n.: supreme rule, lordship.
Ins.Sg. = sabbalokādhipaccena.

sotāpattiphalaṃ: sotāpattiphala-, N.n.; the fruit of Entering the Stream. It is a compound of:
    sotāpatti-, N.f.: Entering the Stream, the first level of Awakenment. It is a compound of:
        sota-, N.n.: stream.
        āpatti-, N.f.: entering. It is derived from the verb root pat- (to fall, to go) with the prefix ā- (to, towards).
    phala-, N.n.: fruit.
Nom.Sg. = sotāpattiphalaṃ.

varaṃ: vara-, Adj.: best. Nom.Sg.n. = varaṃ.

List of Abbreviations

    The subject of this sentence is the compound sotāpattiphalaṃ (the fruit of Entering the Stream, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective varaṃ (the best, nominative singular). The object has three attributes:
    1) the compound ekarajjena (from sole sovereignty, instrumental singular) with its attribute, the noun pathavyā (of the earth, genitive singular),
    2) the noun gamanena (from going, instrumental singular) with its attribute, the noun saggassa (of heaven, genitive singular), which is connected to the previous attribute by the conjunction vā (or),
    3) the compound sabbalokādhipaccena (from lordship over the whole world, instrumental singular).

    Anāthapindika was a very famous benefactor of the Buddha and his followers. But his son Kāla did not have any interest in the teaching of the Buddha and would never come to attend the almsgiving ceremonies. His father was afraid that Kāla would never be able to understand the Dharma. So he promised his son one hundred pieces of gold if he went to the monastery for one day. The young man did so, but did not pay any attention to what was being said there.
    At another time Anāthapindika promised Kāla one thousand pieces of gold if he could recite one verse of the Buddha's teaching. Because the Buddha knew Kāla was interested only in the money, he made it impossible for him to memorize anything. Thus Kāla went to the monastery very often and gradually he was able to understand the Dharma and attained the first level of Awakenment, called Entering the Stream.
    In the morning of that day, he accompanied the Buddha and some monks to his father's house for the almsgiving. When his father offered him the money he earned, Kāla refused. The Buddha then explained that since Kāla attained the first level of Awakenment, he was on longer interested in the money. He further added this verse, saying that Entering the Stream was the best thing one could attain, far better than any worldly power or even attainment of a rebirth in heavens.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

pathavyā
ekarajjena
eka
rajjena
saggassa
gamanena
vā
sabbalokādhipaccena
sabba
loka
ādhipaccena
sotāpattiphalaṃ
sota
āpatti
phalaṃ
varaṃ