The wise man restrained by virtue, knowing this reasoning,
should quickly purify the path leading to Nirvana.

etam     attha+vasaṃ  ñatvā  paṇḍito  sīla+saṃvuto
|               |         |          |          |          |           |
Pron.m. N.n.   N.m.   V.ger.  N.m.    N.n.   Adj.m.
Acc.Sg.     |    Acc.Sg.    |     Nom.Sg.   |     Nom.Sg.
|                |_____|         |           |          |______|
|____________|             |           |_________|
            |_____________|                   |
                         |_________________|
                                         |_________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

nibbāna+gamanaṃ maggaṃ khippam  eva   visodhaye
|                   |              |            |           |           |
N.n.         Adj.m.     N.m.     Adv.      part.   V.act.
|              Acc.Sg.   Acc.Sg.       |______|     3.Sg.opt.
|___________|             |                   |_________|
          |_____________|                            |
                       |______________________|
________________________|

etam: etad-, Pron.: this. Neuter: etam-. Acc.Sg.m. = etam.

atthavasaṃ: atthavasa-, N.m.: cause, reason. Lit. "control over the sense". It is a compound of:
    attha-, N.n.: meaning, worth, sense.
    vasa-, N.m.: power, will, authority, control.
Acc.Sg. = atthavasaṃ.

ñatvā, V.ger.: having known. It is a ger. of the verb ñā- (to know).

paṇḍito: paṇḍita-, N.m.: wise man, learned man. Nom.Sg. = paṇḍito.

sīlasaṃvuto: sīlasaṃvuta-, Adj.: restrained by virtue. It is a compound of:
    sīla-, N.n.: virtue.
    saṃvuta-, Adj.: restrained, governed, guarded. It is a p.p. of the verb var- (to obstruct) with the prefix saṃ- (together, completely).
Nom.Sg.m. = sīlasaṃvuto.

List of Abbreviations

nibbānagamanaṃ: nibbānagamana-, Adj.: leading to Nirvana. It is a compound of:
    nibbāna-, N.n.: Nirvana, the goal of Buddhism.
    gamana-, N.n.: going. It is derived from the verb root gam- (to go).
Acc.Sg.m. = nibbānagamanaṃ.

maggaṃ: magga-, N.m.: road, path. Acc.Sg. = maggaṃ.

khippam, Adv.: quickly. It is derived from the word khippa-, Adj.: quick, fast.

eva, part.: just.

visodhaye, V.: should clean, can purify. The verb root is sudh- (to be clean) with the prefix vi- (intensifying sense). 3.Sg.act.caus.opt. = visodhaye.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of two related sentences. They are:
    1) etam atthavasaṃ ñatvā paṇḍito sīlasaṃvuto (the wise man restrained by virtue, knowing this reasoning). The subject is the noun paṇḍito (wise man, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the compound sīlasaṃvuto (restrained by virtue, nominative singular). The verb is in gerund, ñatvā (having known). The object is the compound atthavasaṃ (reasoning, accusative singular) with its attribute, the pronoun etam (this, accusative singular).
    2) nibbānagamanaṃ maggaṃ khippam eva visodhaye (should quickly purify the path leading to Nirvana). The subject is omitted; the noun paṇḍito from the first sentence is implied. The noun is visodhaye (should purify, 3^rd person, singular, active, optative). It has an attribute, the adverb khippam (quickly). It is stressed by the particle eva (just). The object is the noun maggaṃ (path, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the compound nibbānagamanaṃ (leading to Nirvana, accusative singular).

    The story for this verse is identical with the one for the previous verse (DhP 288).
    The only help and protection against the death is constant and intensive practice of the Buddha’s teaching. No external help from relatives, friends or gods of any kind is possible when we have to face the death. Only by following the path of meditation and awareness, can we overcome death and face it without any fear.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

etaṃ
atthavasaṃ
attha
vasaṃ
ñatvā
paṇḍito
sīlasaṃvuto
sīla
saṃvuto
nibbānagamanaṃ
nibbāna
gamanaṃ
maggaṃ
khippam
eva
visodhaye