Gāthā Sentence Translation Sentence Structure
Vocabulary&Grammar Commentary Pronunciation
                          List of Abbreviations

dantaṃ nayanti samitiṃ dantaṃ rājābhirūhati

danto seṭṭho manussesu yo'tivākyaṃ titikkhati

(DhP 321)




Sentence Translation:

A tamed elephant is led into the assembly. The king mounts a tamed elephant.
The tamed one, who endures abuses, is the best amongst people.




Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

dantaṃ    nayanti samitiṃ dantaṃ    rājā      abhirūhati
|                   |            |           |            |              |
Adj.m.   V.act.in.    N.f.     Adj.m.   N.m.     V.act.in.
Acc.Sg. 3.Pl.pres. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres.
|                   |_______|          |_______|________|
|______________|                        |___|

List of Abbreviations

danto        seṭṭho manussesu     yo      ativākyaṃ  titikkhati
|                   |            |               |              |                |
Adj.m.     Adj.m.    N.m.   Rel.pron.m.   N.n.       V.act.in.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Loc.Pl.   Nom.Sg.    Acc.Sg.   3.Sg.pres.
|                   |_______|               |              |_________|
|                          |                     |_____________|
|______________|___________________|
           |________|




Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

dantaṃ: danta-, Adj.: restrained, tamed, controlled. It is a p.p. of the verb dam- (to restrain, to control, to tame). Acc.Sg.m. = dantaṃ.

nayanti, V.: lead. The verb root is nī-. 3.Pl.act.in.pres. = nayanti.

samitiṃ: samiti-, N.f.: assembly. Acc.Sg. = samitiṃ.

dantaṃ: see above.

rājā: rājan-, N.m.: king. Nom.Sg. = rājā.

abhirūhati, V.: mounts, ascends, climbs. The verb is ruh- (to grow) with the prefix abhi- (up, over). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = abhirūhati.
Euphonic combination: rājā + abhirūhati = rājābhirūhati.

List of Abbreviations

danto: danta-, Adj.: restrained, tamed, controlled. It is a p.p. of the verb dam- (to restrain, to control, to tame). Nom.Sg.m. = danto.

seṭṭho: seṭṭha-, Adj.: best. Nom.Sg.m. = seṭṭho.

manussesu: manussa-, N.m.: human, person, man. Loc.Pl. = manussesu.

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

ativākyaṃ: ativākya-, N.n.: abuse, blame, reproach. It is derived from the verb root vac- (to speak) with the prefix ati- (extremely, in excess). Acc.Sg. = ativākyaṃ.
Euphonic combination: yo + ativākyaṃ = yo'tivākyaṃ.

titikkhati, V.: endures, bears, tolerates. The verb root is tij- (to sharpen). The desiderative form (expressing a desire to do an action) is titikkhati. 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = titikkhati.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of three syntactically separate sentences. They are:
    1) dantaṃ nayanti samitiṃ (a tamed elephant is led into the assembly). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person plural pronoun. The verb is nayanti ([they] lead, 3rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the noun samitiṃ (to the assembly, accusative singular). The object is the past participle dantaṃ (a tamed [elephant], accusative singular).
    2) dantaṃ rājābhirūhati (the king mounts a tamed elephant). The subject is the noun rājā (king, nominative singular). The verb is abhirūhati (mounts, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the past participle dantaṃ (a tamed [elephant], accusative singular).
    3) danto seṭṭho manussesu yotivākyaṃ titikkhati (the tamed one, who endures abuses, is the best amongst people). This can be further analysed into the main sentence a) and the dependent clause b):
    a) danto seṭṭho manussesu (the tamed one is the best amongst people). The subject is the past participle danto (a tamed [elephant], nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". It has an attribute, the noun manussesu (amongst people, locative plural). The object is the adjective seṭṭho (best, nominative singular).
    b) yotivākyaṃ titikkhati (who endures abuses). The subject is the relative pronoun yo (who, nominative singular). It also connects the clause to the subject of the main sentence. The verb is titikkhati (endures, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the noun ativākyaṃ (abuse, accusative singular).




Commentary:

    The story for this verse is identical with the one for the previous verse (DhP 320) and the following one (DhP 322).
    A tamed elephant is very valuable: it is an important symbol of the king. The king is driven all around the city on a tamed elephant. The tamed elephant is the best of all elephants.
    In the same way, one who "tamed" oneself is always the best of people. From the self-control begins the way to the Awakenment. Therefore, to show constraint when being abused is a very good training for those aspiring to the highest goal.




Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

dantaṃ
nayanti
samitiṃ
rājā
abhirūhati
danto
seṭṭho
manussesu
yo
ativākyaṃ
titikkhati