Non-studying is the stain of sacred texts. Neglect is the stain of houses.
The stain of beauty is idleness. The stain of a guard is negligence.

asajjhāya+malā     mantā anuṭṭhāna+malā     gharā
|                   |            |           |             |            |
N.m.       Adj.m.     N.m.    N.n.       N.n.       N.n.
|             Nom.Pl. Nom.Pl.     |       Nom.Pl. Nom.Pl.
|__________|             |           |_______|             |
        |_____________|                  |___________|

List of Abbreviations

malaṃ   vaṇṇassa kosajjaṃ pamādo rakkhato malaṃ
|                   |             |             |             |           |
N.n.          N.m.      N.n.        N.m.    Adj.m.    N.n.
Nom.Sg. Gen.Sg.  Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Gen.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|___________|            |             |             |______|
         |_____________|             |___________|

asajjhāyamalā: asajjhāyamala-, Adj.: having the non-studying as a stain. It isa compound of:
    asajjhāya-, N.m.: non-study. It is the word sajjhāya-, N.m. (repetition, rehearsal, study) negated by the negative prefix a-.
    mala-, N.n.: impurity, stain, dirt.
Nom.Pl.m. = asajjhāyamalā.

mantā: manta-, N.m.: religious text, sacred text, canon. Nom.Pl. = mantā.

anuṭṭhānamalā: anuṭṭhānamala-, Adj.: having the neglect as a stain. It is a compound of:
    anuṭṭhāna-, N.n.: inactivity, lack of energy, neglect. It is the word uṭṭhāna-, N.n. (exertion, zeal, energy (derived from the verb ṭhā-,to stand, with the prefix ud-, up) negated by the negative prefix an-.
    mala: see above.
Nom.Pl.n. = anuṭṭhānamalā. Usually the plural form for a neuter would be anuṭṭhānamalāni, but here the word follows the subject gharā (see below).

List of Abbreviations

gharā: ghara-, N.n.: house. Nom.Pl. = gharā. Usually the plural form for a neuter would be gharāni, but this word has a special form of nominative plural, gharā.

malaṃ: mala-, N.n.: impurity, stain, dirt. Nom.Sg. = malaṃ.

vaṇṇassa: vaṇṇa-, N.m.: color, complexion. Gen.Sg. = vaṇṇassa.

kosajjaṃ: kosajja-, N.n.: idleness, sloth, indolence. Nom.Sg. = kosajjaṃ.

pamādo: pamāda-, N.m.: negligence. Nom.Sg. = pamādo.

rakkhato: rakkhant-, Adj.: guarding, protecting. It is an a.pr.p. of the verb root rakkh- (to guard, to protect). Gen.Sg.m. = rakkhato.

malaṃ: see above.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of four syntactically separate sentences. They are:
    1) asajjhāyamalā mantā (non-studying is the stain of sacred texts). The subject is the noun mantā (sacred texts, nominative plural). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the compound asajjhāyamalā (having non-study as a dirt, nominative plural).
    2) anuṭṭhānamalā gharā (neglect is the stain of houses). The subject is the noun gharā (houses, nominative plural). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the compound anuṭṭhānamalā (having neglect as a stain, nominative plural).
    3) malaṃ vaṇṇassa kosajjaṃ (the stain of beauty is idleness). The subject is the noun kosajjaṃ (idleness, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the noun malaṃ (stain, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the noun vaṇṇassa (of beauty, genitive singular).
    4) pamādo rakkhato malaṃ (the stain of a guard is negligence). The subject is the noun pamādo (negligence, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the noun malaṃ (stain, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the active present participle rakkhato (of a guarding one, genitive singular).

    Venerable Sāriputta and Mahā Moggallāna used to deliver discourses in the city of Sāvatthi. Many people praised them for speaking clearly and eloquently. There was a monk named Lāludāyi who remarked that if he were invited to speak, people would praise him even more. So people invited him to deliver a discourse. But when Lāludāyi got to the platform, he could not open his mouth. So he asked another monk to speak first and that he would speak next. This happened three times.
    People realized that he was just boasting and laughed at him and reprimanded him. Lāludāyi left in shame.
    When the Buddha learned about this incident, he spoke this verse, saying that Lāludāyi did not study much and what he did study, he already forgot.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

asajjhāyamalā
asajjhāya
malā
mantā
anuṭṭhānamalā
anuṭṭhāna
gharā
malaṃ
vaṇṇassa
kosajjaṃ
pamādo
rakkhato