Those, who have not led the holy life, and have not obtained wealth while young,
ponder just like old herons in the lake without fish.

acaritvā brahma+cariyaṃ aladdhā yobbane dhanaṃ
|                |             |            |            |            |
V.ger.     Adj.       N.f.      V.ger.     N.n.      N.n.
|                |       Acc.Sg.        |      Loc.Sg.  Acc.Sg.
|                |_______|             |           |_______|
|_____________|                   |__________|
          |________________________|
                              |____________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

jiṇṇa+koñcā    va    jhāyanti  khīṇa+macche va    pallale
|            |          |           |           |           |        |         |
Adj.   N.m.    part.  V.act.in.  Adj.    Adj.m. part.  N.n.
|      Nom.Pl.    |     3.Pl.pres.    |      Loc.Sg.   |    Loc.Sg.
|_______|         |           |           |______|         |         |
      |                |           |                 |________|_____|
      |                |           |                        |____|
      |_________|______|________________|
               |____|           |
                   |________|
_______________|

acaritvā, V.ger.: not having lived. It is the word caritvā, V.ger: having lived (the verb root is car-, to live, to act) with the negative prefix a-.

brahmacariyaṃ: brahmacariyā-, N.f.: holy, pious or pure life. It is a compound of:
    brahma-, Adj.: holy, "Brahmanic", pious.
    cariyā-, Adj.: living, acting. It is derived from the verb car- (to walk, to act).
Acc.Sg. = brahmacariyaṃ.

aladdhā, V.ger.: not having obtained, gotten. It is the word laddhā, V.ger.: having obtained (the verb root is labh-, to get, to obtain) with the negative prefix a-.

yobbane: yobbana-, N.n.: youth, young age. Loc.Sg. = yobbane.

dhanaṃ: dhana-, N.n.: wealth. Here in the meaning of "spiritual wealth". Acc.Sg. = dhanaṃ.

List of Abbreviations

jiṇṇakoñcā: jiṇṇakoñca-, N.m.: old heron. It is a compound of:
    jiṇṇa-, Adj.: old, worn out. It is a p.p. of the verb root ji- (to fade, to get old).
    koñca-, N.m.: heron.
Nom.Pl. = jiṇṇakoñcā.

va, part.: as, like.

jhāyanti, V.: ponder, brood. The verb root is jhe-. 3.Pl.act.in.pres. = jhāyanti.

khīṇamacche: khīṇamaccha-, Adj.: without fish. Lit.: with the fish destroyed. It is a compound of:
    khīṇa-, Adj.: removed, destroyed. It is a p.p. of the verb root khī- (to remove, to destroy).
    maccha-, N.m.: fish.
Loc.Sg.n. = khīṇamacche.

va, part.: as, like.

pallale: pallala-, N.n.: a small lake, pond. Loc.Sg. = pallale.

List of Abbreviations

    The main sentence is in the second line: jiṇṇakoñcā va jhāyanti khīṇamacche va pallale ([they] ponder just like old herons in the lake without fish). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person plural pronoun. The verb is jhāyanti (ponder, 3^rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense). There is a clause, jiṇṇakoñcā va khīṇamacche va pallale (just like old herons in the lake without fish). The subject is the compound jiṇṇakoñcā (old herons, nominative plural). It has an attribute, the noun pallale (in the lake, locative singular). This word has its own attribute, the compound khīṇamacche (without fish, locative singular). There are two particles va (like), connecting this clause to the main sentence.
    In the first line, there are two sentences, subordinate to the main sentence. They are: 1) acaritvā brahmacariyaṃ (not having led the holy life). The subject is omitted; the subject from the main sentence is implied. The verb is in gerund, acaritvā (not having led). The object is the compound brahmacariyaṃ (holy life, accusative singular). 2) aladdhā yobbane dhanaṃ (not having obtained wealth while young). Again, the subject is omitted and the verb is in gerund, aladdhā (not having obtained). The object is the noun dhanaṃ (wealth, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the noun yobbane (in youth, locative singular).

    There was a rich man, named Mahādhana. He had a son. The boy had not studied anything while young, so he remained quite ignorant. Later he married a daughter of another rich man, who had no education at all. When their parents died, the young couple inherited immense riches. But since they knew only how to spend, and not how to earn and look after the money, they became poor very quickly. They lost all of their property and had to become beggars.
    The Buddha saw them and commented the situation with this verse. He further said that had the young people study worldly wisdom, they would learn how to increase their riches, had they renounced the household life, they both could have attained Arahantship. But since they just wasted their youth away, they lost every opportunity - both material and spiritual.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

acaritvā
brahmacariyaṃ
brahma
cariyaṃ
aladdhā
yobbane
dhanaṃ
jiṇṇakoñcā
jiṇṇa
koñcā
va
jhāyanti
khīṇamacche
khīṇa
macche
pallale