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

ahiṃsakā ye munayo niccaṃ kāyena saṃvutā

te yanti accutaṃ ṭhānaṃ yattha gantvā na socare

(DhP 225)




Sentence Translation:

The wise ones, who are not hurting, always guarding their behavior,
they will go to the Permanent Place (Nirvana), where one does not grieve.




Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

ahiṃsakā     ye         munayo niccaṃ kāyena saṃvutā
|                    |               |             |         |            |
Adj.m.  Rel.Pron.m.   N.m.      Adv.   N.m.     Adj.m.
Nom.Pl.   Nom.Pl.   Nom.Pl.       |     Ins.Sg.  Nom.Pl.
|                    |               |             |         |_______|
|                    |               |             |_________|
|                    |               |____________|
|___________|_______________|
         |______|
               |_________________________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

te            yanti      accutaṃ ṭhānaṃ  yattha   gantvā  na     socare
|                  |              |            |           |             |       |           |
Pron.m. V.act.in.    Adj.n.    N.n.    Rel.Adv. V.ger. neg.  V.med.in.
Nom.Pl. 3.Pl.pres. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg.      |             |       |     3.Pl.pres.
|                  |              |_______|          |             |       |_______|
|                  |____________|                |             |________|
|                             |                           |___________|
|                             |_____________________|
|___________________________|
___________|




Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

ahiṃsakā: ahiṃsaka-, Adj.: not hurting, not injuring. It is derived from the verb root hiṃs- (to hurt), the negative prefix a- and the adjective suffix -ka. Nom.Pl.m. = ahiṃsakā.

ye: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which. Nom.Pl.m. = ye.

munayo: muni-, N.m.: a wise man. Nom.Pl. = munayo.

niccaṃ, Adv.: perpetually, constantly.

kāyena: kāya-, N.m.: body. Here as "bodily action". Ins.Sg. = kāyena.

saṃvutā: saṃvuta-, Adj.: restrained, governed, guarded. It is a p.p. of the verb var- (to obstruct) with the prefix saṃ- (together, completely). Nom.Pl.m. = saṃvutā.

te: tat-, Pron.: that. Masculine form sa. Nom.Pl. = te.

List of Abbreviations

yanti, V.: go. The verb root is yā-. 3.Pl.act.in.pres. = yanti.

accutaṃ: accuta-, Adj.: permanent, everlasting, eternal. It is the word cuta-, Adj. (disappeared, passed away, it is a p.p. pf the verb root cu-) with the negative prefix a-. Used as an epithet for Nirvana. Acc.Sg.n. = accutaṃ.

ṭhānaṃ: ṭhāna-, N.n.: place, condition, state. It is derived from the verb root ṭhā- (to stay).
Acc.Sg. = ṭhānaṃ.

yattha, Rel.Adv.: where.

gantvā, V.ger.: having gone. It is a gerund of the verb root gam- (to go).

na, neg.: not.

socare, V.: mourn, grieve. The verb root is suc-. 3.Pl.med.in.pres. = socare.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of two related sentences. They are:
    1) ahiṃsakā ye munayo niccaṃ kāyena saṃvutā (the wise ones, who are not hurting, always guarding their bodies). There are two subjects, the relative pronoun ye (those, who, nominative plural) and the noun munayo (wise ones, nominative plural). It has two attributes, the adjective ahiṃsakā (not hurting, nominative plural) and the past participle saṃvutā (guarded, nominative plural). This word has its own attribute, the noun kāyena (by body, instrumental singular) with its attribute, the adverb niccaṃ (constantly, always).
    2) te yanti accutaṃ ṭhānaṃ yattha gantvā na socare (they will go to the Permanent Place, where one does not grieve). This can be further analysed into the main sentence a) and the relative clause b):
    a) te yanti accutaṃ ṭhānaṃ (they will go to the Permanent Place). The subject is the pronoun te (they, nominative plural). The verb is yanti (go, 3rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the noun ṭhānaṃ (to place, accusative singular) with its attribute, the adjective accutaṃ (permanent, accusative singular).
    b) yattha gantvā na socare (where, having gone, one does not grieve). This clause consists of the common phrase gerund + verb. The verb socare (grieve, 3rd person, plural, medium, optative) is negated by the negative particle na (not) and is further modified by the gerund gantvā (having gone). The relative adverb yattha (where) connects the clause to its governing word, the noun ṭhānaṃ from the main sentence.




Commentary:

    The Buddha was once in the city of Sāketa for almsfood. While he was passing a certain brahmin’s house, the brahmin welcomed him: "Son, we have not seen you for a long time. Come and visit us again!" When the Buddha entered the house, the brahmin's wife also welcomed him as a long lost son. From that day, they offered almsfood to the Buddha.
    The monks asked why did they call the Buddha their son. The Buddha explained that he had been their son for a great many lives in the past. The Buddha stayed with them for three months and both the brahmin and his wife attained the Awakenment.
    Later the monks asked where were they reborn, since they did not know the couple had already reached the Nirvana. The Buddha replied with this verse, saying that the Arahants are not reborn anywhere, they have attained the Nirvana.




Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

ahiṃsakā
ye
munayo
niccaṃ
kāyena
saṃvutā
te
yanti
accutaṃ
ṭhānaṃ
yattha
gantvā
na
socare