Sons cannot protect you, or father, or other relatives.
When you are seized by the death, all relatives are of no help to you.

na      santi       puttā    tāṇāya     na    pitā      na   api  bandhavā
|            |             |             |          |        |          |       |         |
neg. V.act.in.    N.m.      N.n.     neg.  N.m.    neg. part.   N.m.
|      3.Pl.pres. Nom.Pl. Dat.Sg.     |   Nom.Sg.   |____|    Nom.Pl.
|_______|            |              |         |____|                |_______|
       |                  |________|_______|_______________|
       |__________________|       |
                        |_____________|

List of Abbreviations

antakena adhipannassa na     atthi      ñātīsu    tāṇatā
|                       |           |          |            |             |
N.m.            Adj.m.   neg.  V.act.in.   N.m.      N.f.
Ins.Sg.         Gen.Sg.     |   3.Sg.pres. Loc.Pl. Nom.Sg.
|_____________|           |______|           |_______|
           |_________________|                      |
                         |______________________|

na, neg.: not.

santi, V.: are. The verb root is as-. 3.Pl.act.in.pres. = santi.

puttā: putta-, N.m.: son. Nom.Pl. = puttā.

tāṇāya: tāṇa-, N.n.: protection, shelter, help. Dat.Sg. = tāṇāya.

na: see above.

pitā: pitar-. N.m.: father. Nom.Sg. = pitā.

na: see above.

api, part.: also, as well, even (often spelled pi).
Euphonic combination: na + api = nāpi.

List of Abbreviations

bandhavā: bandhu-, N.m.: relative. Nom.Pl. = bandhavā.

antakena: antaka-, N.m.: "the ender", end-maker, death. Derived from the word anta-, N.n.: end. Ins.Sg. = antakena.

adhipannassa: adhipanna-, Adj.: affected by, seized by, gone into. It is a p.p. of the verb root pad- (to fall) with the prefix adhi- (to, into). Gen.Sg.m. = adhipannassa.
Euphonic combination: antakena + adhipannassa = antakenādhipannassa.

na: see above.

atthi, V.: is. The verb root is as- (to be). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = atthi.
Euphonic combination: na + atthi = natthi.

ñātīsu: ñāti-, N.m.: relative. Loc.Pl. = ñātīsu.

tāṇatā: tāṇatā-, N.f.: protection, sheltering. It is derived from the word tāṇa- (see above).
Nom.Sg. = tāṇatā.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
    1) na santi puttā tāṇāya na pitā nāpi bandhavā (sons cannot protect you, or father, or other relatives). There are three subjects in this sentence: the nouns puttā (sons, nominative plural), pitā (father, nominative singular) and bandhavā (relatives, nominative plural). The verb is santi (are, 3^rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by three negative particles na (not). In one case, this particle is stressed by the particle api (even). The verb has an attribute, the noun tāṇāya (for protection, dative singular).
    2) antakenādhipannassa natthi ñātīsu tāṇatā (when you are seized by the death, all relatives are of no help to you). The subject is the noun tāṇatā (help, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the noun ñātīsu (amongst relatives, locative plural). The verb is atthi (is, 3^rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The verb has an attribute, the past participle adhipannassa (of the one who is seized, genitive singular). It has an attribute, the noun antakena (by the end-maker, instrumental singular).

    Paṭācārā lost her husband, two sons, parents and the only brother almost at the same time. She grieved so much that she went almost crazy. When she came to see the Buddha, he told her this verse (and the following one, DhP 289) to calm her down. For the whole story see DhP 113.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

na
santi
puttā
tāṇāya
pitā
api
bandhavā
antakena
adhipannassa
atthi
ñātīsu
tāṇatā