That man who is delighting in his sons and cattle, with an attached mind,
the death will carry away, like a great flood the sleeping village.

taṃ       putta+pasu+sammattaṃ byāsatta+manasaṃ  naraṃ
|               |         |            |                |             |             |
Pron.m. N.m. N.m.     Adj.m.        Adj.       N.m.      N.m.
Acc.Sg.    |_____|        Acc.Sg.          |        Acc.Sg.  Acc.Sg.
|                   |__________|                |_______|             |
|                             |_________________|                    |
|________________________|                                     |
                    |__________________________________|
                                                      |____________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

suttaṃ    gāmaṃ mahā+ogho       va   maccu  ādāya     gacchati
|                  |         |          |            |         |          |              |
Adj.m.     N.m.   Adj.     N.m.    part.   N.m.   V.ger.    V.act.in.
Acc.Sg.  Acc.Sg.    |     Nom.Sg.    |    Nom.Sg.   |        3.Sg.pres.
|__________|         |_____|            |          |          |________|
         |_____________|                 |          |__________|
                     |________________|                    |
____________________|___________________|
                   |_________|

taṃ: tad-, Pron.: that. Acc.Sg.m. = taṃ.

puttapasusammattaṃ: puttapasusammatta-, Adj.: delighting in sons and cattle. It is a compound of:
    putta-, N.m.: son.
    pasu-, N.m.: cattle.
    sammatta-, Adj.: intoxicated, delighted. It is a p.p. of the verb root mad- (to be intoxicated) with the prefix sam- (altogether).
Acc.Sg.m. = puttapasusammattaṃ.

byāsattamanasaṃ: byāsattamanasa-, Adj.: with attached mind. A compound of:
    byāsatta-, Adj.: attached, clinging. It is a p.p. of the verb root sajj- (to be attached) with the prefixes vi- (intensifying) and ā- (towards). Euphonic combination: vi- + ā- = vyā-. The change from v- to b- is common in Pali.
    manas-, N.m.: mind.
Acc.Sg.m. = byāsattamanasaṃ.

List of Abbreviations

naraṃ: nara-, N.m.: man. Acc.Sg. = naraṃ.

suttaṃ: sutta-, Adj.: sleeping. It is a p.p. of the verb root sup- (to sleep). Acc.Sg.m. = suttaṃ.

gāmaṃ: gāma-, N.m.: village. Acc.Sg. = gāmaṃ.

mahogho: mahogha-, N.m.: great flood. A compound of:
    mahant-, Adj.: big, great. The compound form: mahā-.
    ogha-, N.m.: flood.
Euphonic combination: mahā- + ogha- = mahogha-.
Nom.Sg. = mahogho.

List of Abbreviations

va, part.: as, like.

maccu: maccu-, N.m.: death. Nom.Sg. = maccu.

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

gacchati, V.: goes. The verb root is gam- (to go). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = gacchati.
The phrase ādaya gacchati can be literally translated as "goes, having taken", but rather has the meaning of "carries away".

List of Abbreviations

    The subject of this verse is the noun maccu (death, nominative singular). The verbal phrase ādāya gacchati (having taken - goes) serves as the verb in this sentence. The object is the noun naraṃ (man, accusative singular). The object has three attributes, the compounds byāsattamanasaṃ (with an attached mind, accusative singular) and puttapasusammattaṃ (delighting in sons and cattle, accusative singular). The third attribute is the pronoun taṃ (that, accusative singular).
    There is a subordinate clause in this sentence, suttaṃ gāmaṃ mahogho va (like a great flood the sleeping village). The subject here is the compound mahogho (great flood, nominative singular) and the object the noun gāmaṃ (village, accusative singular) with its attribute, the past participle suttaṃ (sleeping, accusative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verbal phrase ādāya gacchati from the main sentence. The particle va (as, like) connects the clause to the main sentence.

    Kisā Gotami came to see the Buddha after her only son died. The Buddha told her this verse in order to calm her down. See DhP 114 for the whole story.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

taṃ
puttapasusammattaṃ
putta
pasu
sammattaṃ
byāsattamanasaṃ
byāsatta
manasaṃ
naraṃ
suttaṃ
gāmaṃ
mahogho
mahā
ogho
va
maccu
ādāya
gacchati