From whom you learned the Dharma, that is taught by the truly and completely Awakened One,
you should duly pay your respects to him, like a Brahmin at the fire sacrifice.

yamhā       dhammaṃ  vijāneyya sammā+sambuddha+desitaṃ
|                       |                  |           |              |                 |
Rel.Pron.m.   N.m.          V.act.    Adv.        N.m.        Adj.m.
Abl.Sg.        Acc.Sg.      3.Sg.opt.     |________|           Acc.Sg.
|                       |                  |                   |_____________|
|                       |__________|_________________|
|                                          |________|
|____________________________|
                       |______________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

sakkaccaṃ taṃ  namasseyya aggi+hutaṃ   va  brāhmaṇo
|                   |             |            |        |         |          |
Adv.       Pron.m.   V.act.     N.m.  N.n.   part.    N.m.
|              Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.opt.      |   Acc.Sg.    |    Nom.Sg.
|___________|_______|            |____|          |          |
           |_____|                             |________|_____|
                |                                         |____|
                |_________________________|
____________________|

yamhā: yat-, Rel.Pron.: that, which. Abl.Sg.m. = yamhā.

dhammaṃ: dhamma-, N.m.: Dharma, The Law, the teaching of the Buddha. Acc.Sg. = dhammaṃ.

vijāneyya, V.: [one would] learn, know, become aware of. The verb root is ñā- or jā- (to know) with the prefix vi- (intensifying prefix). 3.Sg.act.opt. = vijāneyya.

sammāsambuddhadesitaṃ: sammādambuddhadesita-, Adj.: taught by the truly and completely Awakened One. It is a compound of:
    sammāsambuddha-, N.m.: truly and completely Awakened One. This denotes the Buddha Shakyamuni. It can be further analyzed as:
        sammā, Adv.: properly, rightly, as it should be, truly.
        sambuddha-, Adj.: completely awakened. It is a p.p. of the verb root budh-, to wake up with the prefix sam- (completely).
   desita-, Adj.: taught. It is a p.p. of the verb root dis-, to teach.
Acc.Sg.m. = sammasambuddhadesitaṃ.

List of Abbreviations

sakkaccaṃ, Adv.: respectfully, duly, thoroughly.

taṃ: tad-, Pron.: that. Acc.Sg.m.: taṃ.

namasseyya, V.: [one should] honor, pay homage to. This verb is a denominative of the noun namo-, N.n.: prayer, honor, homage. 3.Sg.act.opt. = namasseyya.

aggihutaṃ: aggihuta-, N.n.: fire-sacrifice. It is a compound of:
    aggi-, N.m.: fire.
    huta-, Adj.: sacrificed. It is a p.p. of the verb root hu- (to sacrifice). As an N.n.: oblation, sacrifice.
Acc.Sg. = aggihutaṃ.

va, part.: as, like.

brāhmaṇo: brāhmaṇa-, N.m.: Brahmin, a holy man. Nom.Sg. = brāhmaṇo.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of two syntactically related sentences. They are:
    1) yamhā dhammaṃ vijāneyya sammāsambuddhadesitaṃ (from whom one learned the Dharma, that is taught by the truly and completely Awakened One). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is vijāneyya (one would learn, 3^rd person, singular, active, optative). The object is the noun dhammaṃ (the Dharma, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the compound sammāsambuddhadesitaṃ (taught by the truly and completely Awakened One, accusative singular). The relative pronoun yamhā (from whom, ablative singular) connects this sentence to the following one.
    2) sakkaccaṃ taṃ namasseyya aggihutaṃ va brāhmaṇo (one should duly pay respects to him, like a Brahmin at the fire sacrifice). This can be further analyzes into the main sentence a) and the dependent clause b):
    a) sakkaccaṃ taṃ namasseyya (one should duly pay respects to him). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is namasseya (one should pay respects, 3^rd person, singular, active, optative). It has an attribute, the adverb sakkaccaṃ (duly). The object is the pronoun taṃ (him, accusative singular).
    b) aggihutaṃ va brāhmaṇo (like a Brahmin at the fire sacrifice). The subject is the noun brāhmaṇo (Brahmin, nominative singular). The object is the noun aggihutaṃ (fire sacrifice, accusative singular). The particle va (as, like) connects the clause to the main sentence.

    Sāriputta and Moggallāna were friends ever since they were born. They grew up in one village, where their parents were Brahmins. Both youths searched for the teaching of Awakenment. They went to various teachers and performed various religious practices, but they were not satisfied.
    When they were at Rājagaha, the Buddha also came there together with his monks. One of them was Venerable Assaji, one of the first five disciples of the Buddha. Sāriputta met Assaji while the later was on his almsround. Sāriputta was impressed with Assaji's calmness and serenity and asked him who was his teacher and what was his teaching. Assaji spoke a short verse:
    "The Tathāgata (the Buddha) declared the cause and the cessation of all things that arise from a cause. This is what the Great Ascetic (The Buddha) says."
    Sāriputta immediately attained the first level of Awakenment. He then went to inform Moggallāna about this and told him the verse. Moggallāna also attained the first stage of Awakenment. Together they went to see the Buddha and became monks. Soon they attained the Arahantship. Later they became the Buddha's chief disciples.
    Venerable Sāriputta always remembered that it was Assaji who taught him the Dharma and used to pay his respect in the direction, where his teacher was. The other monks misunderstood this and reported to the Buddha that Sāriputta was still worshipping the directions as he had done before as a Brahmin. Sāriputta then explained that he only honored his teacher. The Buddha then spoke this verse, saying that we should always honor the person, who taught us the Dharma in the first place.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

yamhā
dhammaṃ
vijāneyya
sammāsambuddhadesitaṃ
sammāsambuddha
sammā
sambuddha
desitaṃ
sakkaccaṃ
taṃ
namasseyya
aggihutaṃ
aggi
hutaṃ
va
brāhmaṇo