There is no fire like passion. There is no evil like hatred.
There is no suffering like the Aggregates of existence. There is no happiness higher than tranquility.

na       atthi     rāga+samo        aggi     na       atthi    dosa+samo         kali
|             |           |        |              |         |           |          |          |             |
neg.  V.act.in.  N.m. Adj.m.     N.m.   neg.  V.act.in.  N.m.  Adj.m.    N.m.
|       3.Sg.pres.   |    Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.  |    3.Sg.pres.   |     Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|_______|           |_____|             |          |______|          |______|            |
      |                       |__________|                |                     |__________|
      |__________________|                         |_________________|

List of Abbreviations

na      atthi   khandha+samā   dukkhā  na      atthi    santi+paraṃ    sukhaṃ
|            |          |             |           |         |          |          |         |             |
neg. V.act.in.  N.m.   Adj.m.    N.m.   neg. V.act.in.  N.f.  Adj.n.      N.n.
|      3.Sg.pres.  |       Nom.Pl. Nom.Pl.  |    3.Sg.pres.   |   Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|_______|         |_______|            |         |_____|            |____|              |
      |                       |__________|               |                    |__________|
      |__________________|                        |________________|

na, neg.: not.

atthi, V.: is. The verb root is as- (to be). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = atthi.
Euphonic combination: na + atthi = natthi.

rāgasamo: rāgasama-, Adj.: equal to passion, like passion. It is a compound of:
    rāga-, N.m.: passion, lust. It is derived from the verb raj- (to color).
    sama-, Adj.: same, just like, equal.
Nom.Sg.m. = rāgasamo.

aggi: aggi-, N.m.: fire. Nom.Sg. = aggi.

natthi: see above (na and atthi).

List of Abbreviations

dosasamo: dosasama-, Adj.: equal to hatred, like hatred. It is a compound of:
    dosa-, N.m.: ill-will, hatred, anger.
    sama-, Adj.: same, just like, equal.
Nom.Sg.m. = dosasamo.

kali: kali-, N.m.: evil, wrong deed, demerit. Nom.Sg. = kali.

natthi: see above (na and atthi).

khandhasamā: khandhasama-, Adj.: equal to the Aggregates of existence, like the Aggregates of existence. It is a compound of:
    khandha-, N.m.: aggregate, group. There are five aggregates that constitute any living being. They are: rūpa (form, body, matter), vedanā (feeling), saññā (perception), saṅkhāra (mental formations) and viññāna (consciousness).
    sama-, Adj.: same, just like, equal.
Nom.Pl.m. = khandhasamā.

List of Abbreviations

dukkhā: dukkha-, Adj.: painful, unpleasant, causing suffering. As an N.m.: suffering.
Nom.Pl. = dukkhā.

natthi: see above (na and atthi).

santiparaṃ: santipara-, Adj.: higher than tranquility. It is a compound of:
    santi-, N.f.: tranquility, peace.
    para-, Adj.: beyond, over, higher than.
Nom.Sg.n. = santiparaṃ.

sukhaṃ: sukha-, N.n.: happiness. Nom.Sg. = sukham.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of four syntactically separate sentences. They are:
    1) natthi rāgasamo aggi (there is no fire like passion). The subject is the noun aggi (fire, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the compound rāgasamo (like passion, nominative singular). The verb is atthi (is, 3^rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not).
    2) natthi dosasamo kali (there is no evil like hatred). The subject is the noun kali (evil, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the compound dosasamo (like hatred, nominative singular). The verb is atthi (is, 3^rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not).
    3) natthi khandhasamā dukkhā (there is no suffering like the Aggregates of existence). The subject is the noun dukkhā (sufferings, nominative plural). The word dukkha is usually a neuter and its declension in masculine is highly unusual. It has an attribute, the compound khandhasamā (like the Aggregates of existence, nominative plural). The verb is atthi (is, 3^rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). We would rather expect the plural form here, but for the sake of the meter the singular was used. The verb is negated by the negative particle na (not).
    4) natthi santiparaṃ sukhaṃ (there is no happiness higher than tranquility). The subject is the noun sukhaṃ (happiness, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the compound santiparaṃ (higher than tranquility, nominative singular). The verb is atthi (is, 3^rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not).

    Once the Buddha was invited for almsfood to a house on the day the daughter of the family was getting married. Her bridegroom was very excited when he was observing her bringing almsfood and as a result he was not able to pay any attention to what the Buddha said.
    The Buddha knew both the bride and the bridegroom were very close to realizing the Dharma and so he willed for the bridegroom not to see the bride and vice versa. Both young people then were able to pay attention to the Buddha's words. He told them this verse.
    Reflecting on the meaning of the verse both the bride and the bridegroom realized the Dharma and became lay followers of the Buddha.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

na
atthi
rāgasamo
rāga
samo
aggi
dosasamo
dosa
kali
khandhasamā
khandha
samā
dukkhā
santiparaṃ
santi
paraṃ
sukhaṃ