Gāthā | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
Beautiful king's chariots wear out. And also the body
gets old.
But the teaching of the good ones does not get old. The
good ones teach it to each other.
jīranti
ve rāja+rathā
sucittā atho sarīram
pi jaraṃ
upeti
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V.act. part. N.m. N.m.
Adj.m. part. N.n. part. N.f.
V.act.in.
3.Pl.caus. |
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List of Abbreviations
sataṃ ca
dhammo na jaraṃ
upeti santo have
sabbhi pavedayanti
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Adj.m. conj. N.m. neg.
N.f. V.act.in. Adj.m. part. Adj.m.
V.act.
Gen.Pl. | Nom.Sg.
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Ins.Pl. 3.Pl.caus.
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jīranti, V.: get old, to decay. It is a causative of the verb root jar- (to crush). 3.Pl.act.caus. = jīranti.
ve, part.: indeed.
rājarathā:
rājaratha-, N.m.: king's chariots.
It is a compound of:
rājan-,
N.m.: king. The compound form of rājan
is rāja-.
ratha-, N.m.: chariot.
Nom.Pl. = rājarathā.
sucittā: sucitta-, Adj.: well-colored, beautiful, bright. It is the word citta-, Adj.: bright, with the prefix su- (good, well). Nom.Pl.m. = sucittā.
atho, part.: and, also, further.
sarīram: sarīra-, N.n.: body. Nom.Sg. = sarīram.
List of Abbreviations
pi, part.: also.
jaraṃ: jarā-, N.f.: old age. Acc.Sg. = jaraṃ.
upeti, V.: undergo, come to, approach. The verb root is i- (to go) with the prefix upa- (near). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = upeti.
sataṃ: sant-, Adj.: real, good, true. It is an a.pr.p. of the verb root as- (to be). Thus sant- literally means "existing", "being". Gen.Pl. = sataṃ.
ca, conj.: and.
dhammo: dhamma-, N.m.: Buddha's Teaching. The Law. Derived from the verb dha-, to hold. Thus dhamma "holds the world together". Nom.Sg. = dhammo.
na, neg.: not.
List of Abbreviations
jaraṃ: see above.
upeti: see above.
santo: sant-, Adj.: see above. Nom.Pl. = santo.
have, part.: indeed, truly.
sabbhi: sant-, Adj.: see above. Ins.Pl. = sabbhi.
pavedayanti, V.: declare, make known, teach. It is a causative of the verb root vid- (to know), with the strengthening prefix pa-. 3.Pl.act.caus. = pavedayanti.
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of four syntactically
separate sentences. They are:
1) jīranti
ve rājarathā
sucittā (beautiful king's chariots wear
out). The subject is the compound noun rājarathā
(king's chariots, nominative plural). It has an attribute, the adjective
sucittā (beautiful, nominative plural).
The verb is jīranti (wera out, decay;
3rd person, plural, active, causative). The particle ve
(indeed) serves mainly for metrical purposes.
2) atho sarīram
pi jaraṃ upeti (and also the body gets
old). The subject is the noun sarīraṃ
(body, nominative singular). It is modified by the particle pi (also).
The verb is upeti (goes to, 3rd person, singular, active,
indicative, present tense). The object is the noun jaraṃ
(to the old age, accusative singular). The particle atho (and, further)
introduces the sentence and connects it to the previous one.
3) sataṃ
ca dhammo na jaraṃ upeti (but the teaching
of the good ones does not get old). The subject is the noun dhammo
(teaching, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the adjective sataṃ
(of the good ones, genitive plural). The verb is upeti (goes to,
3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It
is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the
noun jaraṃ (to the old age, accusative
singular). The conjunction ca (and) connects this sentence to the
previous one.
4) santo have sabbhi pavedayanti
(the good ones teach it to each other). The subject is the adjective santo
(good ones, nominative plural). The verb is pavedayanti (teach,
make known; 3rd person, plural, active, causative). The object
is the noun sabbhi (to the good ones [lit. "with the good ones"],
instrumental plural). The particle have (indeed) serves only for
metrical purposes.
Queen Mallikā
was the wife of King Pasenadi. Once she went to the bathroom to wash herself
and her dog entered with her. While she bent over to wash her feet, the
dog started to misbehave with her and the queen did not stop it. When she
came out, the king told her he saw everything through the window and scolded
her for her behavior. But Mallikā denied doing
anything and suggested that the bathroom was enchanted - whoever went inside
could be seen doing strange things through the window. She sent the king
inside and when he came out, she told him she saw him misbehaving with
a goat. The king, not being very smart accepted this as an explanation.
But the queen felt very bad about
lying to the king for many years. When she was dying, this moment kept
coming to her consciousness over and over again. Because our dying thoughts
determine our next birth, she was born in a state of suffering. The king
wanted to ask the Buddha where Mallikā was
reborn, but Buddha was not willing to tell him, because he did not want
to hurt Pasenadi's feelings.
Only after seven days in the state
of suffering, the queen was reborn in Tusita heaven as a result of her
great meritorious deeds. Only then did the Buddha reply to the king's question.
The king was happy to hear that, but at the same time he felt sad for her
death. The Buddha replied with this verse, saying that everything is subject
to old age and death; therefore we must practice the Dhamma diligently.
Word pronunciation:
jīranti
ve
rājarathā
rāja
rathā
sucittā
atho
sarīram
pi
jaraṃ
upeti
sataṃ
ca
dhammo
na
santo
have
sabbhi
pavedayanti