A lax action, an impure vow,
a doubtful monk's life - all this does not bring much fruit.

yaṃ             kiñci     sithilaṃ  kammaṃ saṅkiliṭṭhaṃ  ca       yaṃ         vataṃ
|                      |             |              |                |           |           |                |
Rel.Pron.n. Pron.n.    Adj.n.      N.n.         Adj.n.    conj. Rel.Pron.n.    N.n.
Nom.Sg.    Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.    Nom.Sg.     |      Nom.Sg.    Nom.Sg.
|____________|              |________|               |______|______|_________|
           |__________________|                                              |____|
                           |_____________________________________|
                                                           |__________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

saṅkassaraṃ brahma+cariyaṃ  na      taṃ         hoti     maha+phalaṃ
|                        |            |         |          |              |           |           |
Adj.n.             Adj.      N.n.    neg.  Pron.n.   V.act.in.  Adj.    Adj.n.
Nom.Sg.            |      Nom.Sg.   |    Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres.    |     Nom.Sg.
|                        |_______|         |_____|________|           |______|
|_________________|                         |        |_____________|
_________|                                        |                     |
        |___________________________|                     |
                                |__________________________|

yaṃ: yat-, Rel.Pron.: that, which. Nom.Sg.n.: yaṃ.

kiñci: kiñci-, Pron.: whatever. Nom.Sg.n. = kiñci.

sithilaṃ: sithila-, Adj.: loose, lax. Nom.Sg.n. = sithilaṃ.

kammaṃ: kamma-, N.n.: deed, action. Derived from the verb kar- (to do).
Nom.Sg. = kammaṃ.

saṅkiliṭṭhaṃ: saṅkiliṭṭha-, Adj.: bad, impure, unclean. It is a p.p. of the verb kilis- (to go bad, to get stained, to be impure) with the prefix saṅ- (altogether). Nom.Sg.n. = saṅkiliṭṭhaṃ.

ca, conj.: and.

yaṃ: yat-, Rel.Pron.: that, which. Nom.Sg.n.: yaṃ.

vataṃ: vata-, N.n.: vow, religious observance. Nom.Sg.n. = vataṃ.

List of Abbreviations

saṅkassaraṃ: saṅkassara-, Adj.: doubtful, wicked. Nom.Sg.n. = saṅkassaraṃ.

brahmacariyaṃ: brahmacariya-, N.n.: 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).
Nom.Sg. = brahmacariyaṃ.

na, neg.: not.

taṃ: tad-, Pron.: that. Nom.Sg.n.: taṃ.

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

mahapphalaṃ: mahapphala-, Adj.: bearing much fruit. It is a compound of:
    mahant-, Adj.: big, great, much. The compound form used here: maha-.
    phala-, N.n.: fruit.
Euphonic combination: maha- + phala- = mahapphala-.
Nom.Sg.n. = mahapphalaṃ.

List of Abbreviations

    The subject of this sentence is the pronoun taṃ (that, nominative singular). It has three attributes:
    1) the noun kammaṃ (action, nominative singular), with two attributes: the adjective sithilaṃ (lax, nominative singular) and the phrase yaṃ kiñci (whatever). It consists of the relative pronoun yaṃ (what, nominative singular) and the pronoun kiñci (whatever, nominative singular).
    2) the noun vataṃ (vow, nominative singular), with two attributes: the past participle saṅkiliṭṭhaṃ (impure, nominative singular) and the relative pronoun yaṃ (whatever, nominative singular). The conjunction ca (and) connects this subject to the previous one.
    3) the compound brahmacariyaṃ (holy life, monk's life; nominative singular) with its attribute, the adjective saṅkassaraṃ (doubtful, 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 object is the adjective compound mahapphalaṃ (having much fruit, nominative singular).

    The story for this verse is identical with the one for the previous verse (DhP 311) and the following one (DhP 313).
    Again, we are reminded, that the life of a monk is not easy. We should not think it to be very undemanding. This life is very difficult and full of hardships. A monk must endure them all, without trying to bend the rules of monastic conduct. Only then will the monastic life bear the ultimate fruit - the attainment of Arahantship.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

yaṃ
kiñci
sithilaṃ
kammaṃ
saṅkiliṭṭhaṃ
ca
vataṃ
saṅkassaraṃ
brahmacariyaṃ
brahma
cariyaṃ
na
taṃ
hoti
mahapphalaṃ
maha
phalaṃ