Who covers his evil deeds with good ones,
illuminates this world like a moon freed from cloud.

yassa        pāpaṃ    kataṃ   kammaṃ kusalena  pithīyati
|                   |              |             |             |               |
Rel.Pron.  Adj.n.     Adj.n.      N.n.        N.n.     V.pas.in.
Gen.Sg.   Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.   Ins.Sg.   3.Sg.pres.
|                   |________|             |             |________|
|                           |___________|                     |
|_____________________|                               |
                 |_____________________________|
                                          |________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

so            imaṃ   lokaṃ  pabhāseti   abbhā   mutto     va   candimā
|                  |           |            |              |            |          |          |
Pron.m.  Pron.m.  N.m.  V.act.caus.  N.n.    Adj.m.   part.   N.m.
Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. Abl.Sg. Nom.Sg.   |    Nom.Sg.
|                  |______|            |              |_______|          |          |
|                       |__________|                     |_________|______|
|__________________|                                      |_____|
               |__________________________________|
________________________|

yassa: yat-, Rel.Pron.: that, which. Gen.Sg.m. = yassa (whose).

pāpaṃ: pāpa-, Adj.: evil, wrong. Nom.Sg.n. = pāpaṃ.

kataṃ: kata-, Adj.: done. P.p. of the verb kar- (to do). Nom.Sg.n. = kataṃ.

kammaṃ: kamma-, N.n.: deed, action. Derived from the verb kar- (to do).
Nom.Sg. = kammaṃ.

kusalena: kusala-, Adj.: good, right, meritorious. As an N.n.: meritorious deed, good deed, merit.
Ins.Sg. = kusalena.

pithīyati, V.: stops, obstructs, covers. This word is very obscure, it is probably a passive form derived from the verb root dhā- (to put) with the prefix api- (on, onto). 3.Sg.pas.in.pres. = pithīyati.

List of Abbreviations

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

imaṃ: idaṃ, Pron.: this. Acc.Sg.m. = imaṃ.

lokaṃ: loka-, N.m.; world.

pabhāseti, V.: illumines, enlighten. The verb root is bhās- (to shine) with the strengthening prefix pa-. 3.Sg.act.caus.pres. = pabhāseti.

abbhā: abbha-, N.n.: cloud. Abl.Sg. = abbhā.

mutto: mutta-, Adj.: freed, released. It is a p.p. of the verb muc- (to release). Nom.Sg.m. = mutto.

va: a contracted form of eva, part.: just, only.

candimā: candimā-, N.m.: moon. Nom.Sg. = candimā.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of two sentences. They are:
    1) yassa pāpaṃ kataṃ kammaṃ kusalena pithīyati (who covers his evil deeds with good ones). This sentence is in the passive voice. The subject is the noun kammaṃ (deed, nominative singular). It has the past participle kataṃ (done, nominative singular) as the main attribute. This word has the adjective pāpaṃ (evil, nominative singular) as an attribute. The relative pronoun yassa (whose, genitive singular) forms an attribute to this whole subject. The verb is pithīyati (is covered, 3^rd person, singular, passive, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the noun kusalena (by good deed, instrumental singular).
    2) so imaṃ lokaṃ pabhāseti abbhā mutto va candimā (illuminates this world like a moon freed from cloud). This contains the main sentence a) and the clause b):
    a) so imaṃ lokaṃ pabhāseti (illuminates this world). The subject is the pronoun so (he, nominative singular). The verb is pabhāseti (illuminates, 3^rd person, singular, active, causative, present tense). The object is the noun lokaṃ (world, accusative singular) with its attribute, the pronoun imaṃ (this, accusative singular).
    b) abbhā mutto va candimā (like a moon freed from cloud). The subject is the noun candimā (moon, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the past participle mutto (freed, nominative singular) with its attribute, the noun abbhā (from cloud, ablative singular). The particle va (as, like) connects the clause to the main sentence.

    In Kosala there lived a Brahmin, who was in the court of King Pasenadi. He had a son Ahimsaka. His father sent him to the famous city of Taksasilā for studies. He was very intelligent and obedient and so his teacher and his wife liked him very much. But other students were jealous of him and so accused him of having an affair with teacher's wife. The teacher, being told the same story from number of people, started to believe it. But he did not want to kill Ahimsaka. He came up with another idea.
    At the end of the studies, it was a custom for the students to give presents to teachers and thank them for their effort. Ahimsaka's teacher told him to kill one thousand people and bring him a garland made of one thousand fingers. Ahimsaka had no other choice, but to start killing. He started to wear the garland around his neck to keep track of the number of fingers. He therefore became known as Angulimāla ("Finger-garland").
    The king dispatched some soldiers to catch him. When his mother heard about this, she went into the forest in search of her son. By that time, Angulimāla's garland had nine hundred and ninety-nine fingers on it; just one finger was missing.
    The Buddha realized that if he did not intervene, Angulimāla would kill his own mother in his desperation to make up the one thousand. So he went to the forest himself.
    When Angulimāla saw the Buddha, he ran after him with his knife. But no matter ho quickly he ran, the Buddha always stayed ahead of him. Finally, he cried, "O monk, stop!" The Buddha replied, "I have stopped, it is you who has to stop!"
    Angulimāla was confused and asked him what he meant. The Buddha explained, that he himself has stopped killing and hurting all living beings whereas Angulimāla has not and should therefore stop. Angulimāla realized his mistake and asked the Buddha to admit him into the Order of monks. The Buddha did so.
    When the king heard that Angulimāla has given up his evil deeds and was now living as a monk, he decided not to prosecute him. Angulimāla practiced meditation diligently and in the due course he attained Arahantship.
    But his past evil deeds were always hunting him. Whenever he went on an almsround, he became a target of stones and sticks and returned to the monastery with broken head and bleeding. The Buddha always told him to realize what suffering would await him in his future lives had he not reached the Awakenment.
    One day, Angulimāla saw a pregnant woman giving birth and in great pains. He recited, "Sister, since the day I became an Arahant, I have not consciously killed any living being. By the power of this truth, may you and your child be well." The woman delivered instantly and her pain ceased. This verse became known as Angulimāla-paritta and is used in similar cases to this day.
    When Angulimāla died, other monks asked about his future life. When the Buddha declared, that Angulimāla has attained Arahantship and therefore there were no future lives for him, some monks were surprises, how was it possible for somebody who killed so many people to have reached the goal so quickly? The Buddha replied with this verse, saying that Angulimāla's evil deeds were negated by his diligent and mindful practice of meditation and highly moral life.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

yassa
pāpaṃ
kataṃ
kammaṃ
kusalena
pithīyati
so
imaṃ
lokaṃ
pabhāseti
abbhā
mutto
va
candimā