Gāthā | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
Whatever person should worship fire in the forest for
hundred years,
and if one should even for a moment pay respects to somebody,
who has developed himself,
then such a devotion is better than hundred years of
sacrifice.
yo
ca vassa+sataṃ
jantu aggiṃ
paricare vane
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List of Abbreviations
ekaṃ
ca bhāvita+attānaṃ
muhuttam api pūjaye
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List of Abbreviations
sā
yeva pūjanā
seyyo yaṃ
ce vassa+sataṃ
hutaṃ
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Pron.f. part. N.f.
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yo: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which. Nom.Sg.m. = yo.
ca, conj.: and.
vassasataṃ: vassasata-,
N.n.: hundred years, century. It is a compound of:
vassa-, N.n.: year.
sata-, Num.n.: hundred.
Nom.Sg. = vassasataṃ.
jantu: jantu-, N.m.: creature, living being, person. Nom.Sg. = jantu.
aggiṃ: aggi-, N.m.: fire. Acc.Sg. = aggiṃ.
paricare, V.: to worship (fire). Literally: to tend to, to look after. The verb root is car- (to walk, to move, with the prefix pari- (around). 3.Sg.act.opt. = paricare.
vane: vana-, N.n.: forest. Loc.Sg. = vane.
List of Abbreviations
ekaṃ: eka-, Num.: one. Acc.Sg.m. = ekaṃ.
ca, conj.: and.
bhāvit'attānaṃ:
bhāvit'attan-, Adj.: having developed
oneself. It is a compound of:
bhāvita-,
Adj.: developed. It is a p.p. of the verb bhāveti
(to develop, to meditate).
attan-, N.m.: self, oneself.
Euphonic combination: bhāvita-
+ attan- = bhāvit'attan-.
Acc.Sg.m. = bhāvit'attānaṃ.
muhuttam: muhutta-, N.m.: a moment, a second. Acc.Sg. = muhuttam: for a moment.
api, part.: also, as well, even (often spelled pi).
pūjaye,
V.: should worship, should pay respects to. The verb root is pūj-
(to worship).
3.Sg.act.opt. = pūjaye.
sā: tad-, Pron.n.: it. Nom.Sg.f. = sā.
List of Abbreviations
yeva, part.: just, only. It is more often spelled as eva.
pūjanā:
pūjanā-,
N.f.: worship, devotion. It is derived from the verb root pūj-
(to worship).
Nom.Sg. = pūjanā.
seyyo: seyya-, Adj.: better. Nom.Sg.n. = seyyo.
yaṃ: yat-, Rel.Pron.: that, which. Nom.Sg.n. = yaṃ.
ce, part.: if.
vassasataṃ: vassasata-, N.n.: see above. Nom.Sg. = vassasataṃ.
hutaṃ: huta-, Adj.: sacrificed. It is a p.p. of the verb root hu- (to sacrifice). Nom.Sg.n. = hutaṃ.
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of two sentences.
They are:
1) yo ca vassasataṃ
jantu aggiṃ paricare vane ekaṃ
ca bhāvit'attānaṃ
muhuttam api pūjaye (whatever person should
worship fire in the forest for hundred years, and if one should even for
a moment pay respects to somebody, who has developed himself). This can
be further subdivided into two segments:
a) yo ca vassasataṃ
jantu aggiṃ paricare vane (whatever person
should worship fire in the forest for hundred years). The subject is the
relative pronoun yo (whoever, nominative singular) with its attribute,
the noun jantu (being, nominative singular). The verb is paricare
(should worship, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). It
has two attributes, the compound vassasataṃ
(for a century, accusative singular) and the noun vane (in the forest,
locative singular). The object is the noun aggiṃ
(fire, accusative singular). The conjunction ca (and) serves only
for metrical purposes.
b) ekaṃ
ca bhāvit'attānaṃ
muhuttam api pūjaye (and if one should
even for a moment pay respects to somebody, who has developed himself).
The subject is still the word yo from the previous sentence. The
object is the compound bhāvit'attānaṃ
(one who has developd himself, accusative singular) with its attribute,
the numeral ekaṃ (one, accusative singular).
The verb is pūjaye (should pay respects,
3rd person, singular, active, optative). It has an attribute,
the word muhuttam (for a moment, accusative singular) with its attribute,
the particle api (also, just). The conjunction ca (and) serves
mainly for metrical purposes, but it also connects this sentence to the
previous one.
2) sā
yeva pūjanā seyyo
yaṃ ce vassasataṃ
hutaṃ (then such a devotion is better
than hundred years of sacrifice). This can be further subdivided into two
parts:
a) sā
yeva pūjanā seyyo
(such a devotion is better). The subject is double, the pronoun sā
(she, nominative singular) and pūjanā
(devotion, nominative singular). They are stressed by the particle yeva
(just). The adjective seyyo (better, nominative singular) is an
object of this sentence. The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be".
b) yaṃ
ce vassasataṃ hutaṃ
(than hundred years of sacrifice). The subject is the compound vassasataṃ
(century, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the past participle
hutaṃ (sacrificed, nominative singular).
The relative pronoun yaṃ (that, what;
nominative singular) and the particle ce (if) form two parts of
the phrase yaṃ ce (than). The verb
is again omitted, as above implying the verb "to be".
Venerable Sāriputta
once asked his cousin if he was following any beneficial religious practices.
His cousin told him that he sacrifices one goat every month in the fire
and thus he will reach a heavenly world in his next existence. Sāriputta
explained to him, that this was not the way to the heavenly world and took
him to see the Buddha.
The Buddha taught him the Dharma and
further explained to him that to pay respects to an Arahant is far better
than to sacrifice to the fire for hundred years.
Word pronunciation:
yo
ca
vassasataṃ
vassa
sataṃ
jantu
aggiṃ
paricare
vane
ekaṃ
bhāvit'attānaṃ
bhāvita
attānaṃ
muhuttam
api
pūjaye
sā
yeva
pūjanā
seyyo
yaṃ
ce
hutaṃ