Gāthā | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
Hard to find is a noble person. He is not born everywhere.
Where is such a wise one born, that family prospers happily.
dullabho purisa+ājañño
na so
sabbattha jāyati
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Adj.m. N.m. Adj.m.
neg. Pron.m. Adv. V.pas.in.
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List of Abbreviations
yattha
so jāyati
dhīro
taṃ
kulaṃ sukham edhati
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Rel.Adv. Pron.m. V.pas.in. Adj.m.
Pron.n. N.n. Adv.
V.act.in.
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Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. |
3.Sg.pres.
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dullabho: dullabha-, Adj.: hard to get, difficult to obtain. It is the word labha-, Adj.: receiving, with the prefix du(l)- (difficult, bad, hard). Nom.Sg.m. = dullabho.
purisājañño:
purisājañña-,
N.m.: noble man. It is a compound of:
purisa-, N.m.: person.
ājañña-,
Adj.: of good birth, of good breed, noble.
Euphonic combination: purisa- + ājañña-
= purisājañña-.
Nom.Sg. = purisājañño.
na, neg.: not.
so: tad-, Pron.n.: it. Nom.Sg.m. = so.
sabbattha, Adv.: everywhere, in every place.
jāyati, V.: is born. The verb root is jan- (to be born). 3.Sg.med.in.pres. = jāyati.
List of Abbreviations
yattha, Rel.Adv.: where.
so: se above.
jāyati: see above.
dhīro: dhīra-, Adj.: wise, clever. Nom.Sg.m. = dhīro.
taṃ: tad-, Pron.: that. Nom.Sg.n. = taṃ.
kulaṃ: kula-, N.n.: clan, family. Nom.Sg. = kulaṃ.
sukham, Adv.: happily. It is derived from the word sukha-, N.n.: happiness. Acc.Sg. = sukhaṃ. Here as an adverb.
edhati, V.: prospers, increases, succeeds. The verb root is edh-. 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = edhati.
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of three syntactically
separate sentences. They are:
1) dullabho purisājañño
(hard to find is a noble person). The subject of this sentence is the compound
purisājañño
(noble person, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the
verb "to be". The object is the adjective dullabho (hard to find,
nominative singular).
2) na so sabbattha jāyati
(he is not born everywhere). The subject is the personal pronoun so
(he, nominative singular). The verb is jāyati
(is born, 3rd person, singular, passive, indicative, present
tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The verb
has an attribute, the adverb sabbattha (everywhere).
3) yattha so jāyati
dhīro taṃ kulaṃ
sukham edhati (where is such a wise one born, that family prospers
happily). This can be further analysed into two segments:
a) yattha so jāyati
dhīro (where is such a wise one born).
There are two subjects, the pronoun so (he, nominative singular)
and the adjective dhīro (wise one,
nominative singular). The verb is jāyati
(is born, 3rd person, singular, passive, indicative, present
tense). It has an attribute, the relative adverb yattha (where).
b) taṃ
kulaṃ sukham edhati (that family prospers
happily). The subject is the noun kulaṃ
(family, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the pronoun taṃ
(that, nominative singular). The verb is edhati (prospers, 3rd
person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute,
the adverb sukham (happily).
Venerable Ānanda
was once pondering about what the Buddha said. Thoroughbreds of elephants
are born only amongst Chaddanta and Uposatha breeds, thoroughbred horses
amongst Sindh breed, and thoroughbreds of cattle amongst Usabha breed.
But the Buddha said nothing about thoroughbreds of people.
So Ānanda
decided to ask the Buddha. The Buddha told him that noble people are not
born in any particular family. But wherever they are born, that family
is very lucky indeed.
Word pronunciation:
dullabho
purisājañño
purisa
ājañño
na
so
sabbattha
jāyati
yattha
dhīro
taṃ
kulaṃ
sukham
edhati