If you do not find an intelligent companion,
a fellow-traveler of pure actions and wise,
like a king leaves behind the subdued kingdom,
you should travel alone, just like an elephant in the elephant-grove.

no      ce    labhetha nipakaṃ sahāyaṃ
|           |          |             |             |
neg.  part.   V.act.    Adj.m.      N.m.
|           |    2.Pl.opt. Acc.Sg.    Acc.Sg.
|______|______|             |_______|
     |___|                               |________________________________I.
        |_______________________________|
                                 |_____________________________________II.

List of Abbreviations

saddhiṃ+caraṃ sādhu+vihāri+dhīraṃ
|                  |         |          |          |
Adv.        N.m.  Adv.    Adj.   Adj.m.
|             Acc.Sg.   |______|    Acc.Sg.
|__________|              |_________|
         |__________________|
I._____________|
II.________________________________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

rājā         va    raṭṭhaṃ  vijitaṃ  pahāya
|                |          |            |           |
N.m.      part.    N.n.     Adj.n.   V.ger.
Nom.Sg.    |    Acc.Sg.  Acc.Sg.      |
|                |          |_______|           |
|                |                |__________|
|_________|______________|
                 |______|
                       |_________________________________________
________________________________|

List of Abbreviations

eko             care   mātaṅga+araññe   va     nāgo
|                    |            |            |         |         |
Adj.m.     V.act.      N.m.      N.n.   part.   N.m.
Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.opt.      |       Loc.Sg.    |    Nom.Sg.
|___________|            |_______|         |         |
           |                            |_________|_____|
           |                                     |____|
           |_______________________|
__________________|

no, neg.: not.

ce, part.: if.

labhetha, V.: obtains, gets. The verb root is labh-. 2.Pl.act.opt. = labhetha.

nipakaṃ: nipaka-, Adj.: intelligent, prudent, wise. Acc.Sg.m. = nipakaṃ.

sahāyaṃ: sahāya-, N.m.: companion, friend. Acc.Sg. = sahāyaṃ.

saddhiṃcaraṃ: saddhiṃcara-, N.m.: companion; fellow-traveler. It is a compound of:
    saddhiṃ, Adv.: together, with.
    carant-, Adj.: wanderer, wandering. It is an a.pr.p. of the verb root car- (to move, to wander about). Compound form = cara-.
Acc.Sg. = saddhiṃcaraṃ.

List of Abbreviations

sādhuvihāridhīraṃ: sādhuvihāridhīra-, Adj.: who is wise and acts nobly. It is a compound of:
    sādhu, Adv.: well, good.
    vihārin-, Adj.: acting, living. It is the word vihāra-, N.m.: abode, stay, with the possessive suffix -in.
    dhīra-, Adj.: wise, clever. As. an N.m.: wise person.
Acc.Sg.m. = sādhuvihāridhīraṃ.

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

va, part.: as, like.

raṭṭhaṃ: raṭṭha-, N.n.: country, kingdom. Acc.Sg. = raṭṭhaṃ.

vijitaṃ: vijita-, Adj.: conquered, subdued. It is a p.p. of the verb root ji- (to conquer, to win) with the strengthening prefix vi-. Acc.Sg.n. = vijitaṃ.

List of Abbreviations

pahāya, V.ger.: having abandoned. A ger. of the verb hā- (to leave, to give up) with the strengthening prefix pa-.

eko: eka-, Num.: one. As an Adj.: alone. Nom.Sg.m. = eko.

care, V.: should practice. The verb root is car- (to walk). 3.Sg.act.opt. = care.

mātaṅgaraññe: mātaṅgarañña-, N.n.: elephant forest, elephant-grove. It is a compound of:
    mātaṅga-, N.m.: elephant.
    arañña-, N.n.: forest.
Euphonic combination: mātaṅga- + arañña- = mātaṅgarañña-.
Loc.Sg. = mātaṅgaraññe.

va: see above.

nāgo: nāga-, N.m.: elephant. Nom.Sg. = nāgo.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of two syntactically related sentences. They are:
    1) no ce labhetha nipakaṃ sahāyaṃ saddhiṃcaraṃ sādhuvihāridhīraṃ (if you do not find an intelligent companion, a fellow-traveler of pure actions and wise). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the second person plural pronoun. The verb is labhetha (should you get, 2^nd person, plural, active, optative). It is negated by the negative particle no (not) and modified by the particle ce (if). There are two objects, the noun sahāyaṃ (companion, accusative singular) with its attribute, the adjective nipakaṃ (intelligent, accusative singular) and the compound saddhiṃcaraṃ (fellow-traveler, accusative singular) with its attribute, the compound sādhuvihāridhīraṃ (of good deeds and wise, accusative singular).
    2) rājā va raṭṭhaṃ vijitaṃ pahāya eko care mātaṅgaraññe va nāgo (like a king leaves behind the subdued kingdom, you should travel alone, just like an elephant in the elephant-grove). This can be further analysed into two sentences:
    a) rājā va raṭṭhaṃ vijitaṃ pahāya (like a king leaves behind the subdued kingdom). The subject is the noun rājā (king, nominative singular). The verb is in gerund, pahāya (having abandoned). The object is the noun raṭṭhaṃ (country, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the past participle vijitaṃ (subdued, accusative singular). The particle va (as, like) connects this sentence to the following one.
    b) eko care mātaṅgaraññe va nāgo (you should travel alone, just like an elephant in the elephant-grove). This can be further analysed into the main sentence I) and the dependent clause II):
    I) eko care (you should travel alone). The subject is the numeral/adjective eko (one, alone, nominative singular). The verb is care (should travel, 3^rd person, singular, active, optative).
    II) mātaṅgaraññe va nāgo (just like an elephant in the elephant-grove). The subject is the noun nāgo (elephant, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the compound mātaṅgaraññe (in the elephant-grove). The particle va (as, like) connects the clause to the main sentence.

    The story for this verse is identical with the one for the previous verse (DhP 328) and for the following verse (DhP 330).
    If one does not find a good and worthy friend, it is better to be alone than to associate with bad people. Good friends are very important, because they can teach and guide us and set a good example worthy of following.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

no
ce
labhetha
nipakaṃ
sahāyaṃ
saddhiṃcaraṃ
saddhiṃ
caraṃ
sādhuvihāridhīraṃ
sādhu
vihāri
dhīraṃ
rājā
va
raṭṭhaṃ
vijitaṃ
pahāya
eko
care
mātaṅgaraññe
mātaṅga
araññe
nāgo