One is not a sage by keeping a vow of silence, if he is deluded and ignorant.
Who accepts only the best, as if holding a scale, is a wise man.

na   monena  munī          hoti   mūḷha+rūpo    aviddasu
|           |           |                |          |         |             |
neg.   N.n.     N.m.      V.act.in.  Adj. Adj.m.    Adj.m.
|       Ins.Sg. Nom.Sg.  3.Sg.pres.   |   Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|______|______|_________|           |_____|             |
      |___|          |                                 |__________|
         |_______|                                           |
               |____________________________|

List of Abbreviations

yo                ca     tulaṃ    va  paggayha varam ādāya  paṇḍito
|                     |          |         |         |            |         |           |
Rel.Pron.m. conj.   N.f.    part.  V.ger.    Adj.n. V.ger.   N.m.
Nom.Sg.         |    Acc.Sg.    |         |       Acc.Sg.    |     Nom.Sg.
|____________|         |_____|_____|             |_____|           |
           |                          |__|                           |                |
           |                            |________________|                 |
           |________________________|                               |
                              |_______________________________|

na, neg.: not.

monena: mona-, N.n.: silence, a vow of silence (as kept by some ascetics). Ins.Sg. = monena.

munī: muni-, N.m.: sage, a wise man (originally one who keeps the vow of silence). Nom.Sg. = muni. The form munī is sometimes used in poetry.

hoti, V. is. The verb root is bhū- (to be). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = bhavati or hoti.

mūḷharūpo: mūḷharūpa-, Adj.: foolish, deluded. It is a compound of:
    mūḷha-, Adj.: foolish, deluded. It is a p.p. of the verb root muh- (to be deluded).
    rūpa-, N.n.: form, appearance, figure.
Nom.Sg.m. = mūḷharūpo.

aviddasu: aviddasu-, Adj.: ignorant, foolish. It is the word viddasu-, Adj.: skilled, wise (this word is derived from the verb root vid-, to know), negated by the negative prefix a-. Nom.Sg.m. = aviddasu.

List of Abbreviations

yo: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which. Nom.Sg.m. = yo.

ca, conj.: and.

tulaṃ: tulā-, N.f.: weigh, scale. Acc.Sg. = tulaṃ.

va, part.: as, like.

paggayha, V.ger.: having taken, holding. The verb root is gah- (to hold) with the strengthening prefix pa-.

varam: vara-, Adj.: best. Nom.Sg.n. = varam.

ādāya, V.ger.: having taken. The verb root is dā- (to give), with the prefix ā- (from). Thus ā- + dā- (to take).

paṇḍito: paṇḍita-, N.m.: wise man, learned man. Nom.Sg. = paṇḍito.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
    1) na monena munī hoti mūḷharūpo aviddasu (one is not a sage by keeping a vow of silence, if he is deluded and ignorant). There are two subjects, the adjectives mūḷharūpo (deluded, nominative singular) and aviddasu (ignorant, nominative singular). The verb is hoti (is, 3^rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The verb has an attribute, the noun monena (by silence, instrumental singular). The object is the noun munī (sage, nominative singular).
    2) yo ca tulaṃ va paggayha varam ādāya paṇḍito (who accepts only the best, as if holding a scale, is a wise man). This can be analysed into two sentences:
    a) yo ca tulaṃ va paggayha varam ādāya (who accepts only the best, as if holding a scale). This can be further analysed into the main sentence I) and the clause II):
    I) yo ca varam ādāya (who accepts only the best). The subject is the relative pronoun yo (who, nominative singular). The verb is in gerund, ādāya (having taken). The object is the adjective varam (the best, accusative singular). The conjunction ca (and) serves mainly for metrical purposes.
    II) tulaṃ va paggayha (as if holding a scale). The subject is omitted, implying the word yo from the main sentence. The verb is in gerund, paggayha (having taken). The object is the noun tulaṃ (scale, accusative singular). The particle va (as) connects the clause to the main sentence.
    b) paṇḍito (he is a wise man). The subject is omitted; the third person singular pronoun is implied. Also the verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the noun paṇḍito (wise man, nominative singular).

    At the Buddha's times there were many ascetic orders. Some of them went for almsfood just like the Buddha's monks. After being offered food, some of them would say a few words of blessing; such as "May you be well and happy, may you live long." The Buddha's monks were at first instructed to keep silent.
    Some followers of the Buddha began to complain about that and wanted to hear some blessing also from the Buddha's monks. The Buddha then instructed his monks to do so, in order to keep lay followers happy.
    Then some other ascetics, who kept silence after being offered food, said that the Buddha's monks were not true sages (muni) because they did not keep the vow of silence in public (mona).
    The Buddha reacted with this verse (and the following one, DhP 269).

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

na
monena
munī
hoti
mūḷharūpo
mūḷha
rūpo
aviddasu
yo
ca
tulaṃ
va
paggayha
varam
ādāya
paṇḍito