| Gāthā | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
| Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
Being filial towards one's mother and father is good in
this world.
Good is to be a monk in this world. It is also good to
be a true Brahmin.
sukhā matteyyatā
loke atho petteyyatā
sukhā
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Adj.f. N.f.
N.m. part. N.f.
Adj.f.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Loc.Sg. |
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
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List of Abbreviations
sukhā sāmaññatā
loke atho brahmaññatā
sukhā
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Adj.f. N.f.
N.m. part. N.f.
Adj.f.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Loc.Sg. |
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|___________|______|
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|_________|
|______|
|____________|
sukhā: sukha-, Adj.: pleasant, agreeable, good. Nom.Sg.f. = sukhā.
matteyyatā: matteyyatā-, N.f.: filial love towards one's mother. It is an abstract from the word matteyya-, Adj.: reverential towards one's mother. This word is derived from the word mātar-, N.f.: mother. Nom.Sg. = matteyyatā.
loke: loka-, N.m.: world. Loc.Sg. = loke.
atho, part.: and, also, further.
petteyyatā: petteyyatā-,
N.f.: filial love towards one's father. It is an abstract from the word
petteyya-, Adj.: reverential towards one's father. This word is
derived from the word pitar-, N.m.: father.
Nom.Sg. = petteyyatā.
List of Abbreviations
sukhā: see above.
sāmaññatā: sāmaññatā-, N.f.: monkshood. It is an abstract from the word samaṇa-, N.m.: monk, recluse. Nom.Sg. = sāmaññatā.
loke: see above.
atho: see above.
brahmaññatā: brahmaññatā-, N.f.: Brahminship, the state of a Brahmin. The meaning of this word is not "a member of the Brahmin caste", but rather "a true Brahmin", a spiritual person. It is an abstract from the word brāhmaṇa-, N.m.: Brahmin. Nom.Sg. = brahmaññatā.
sukhā: see above.
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of four syntactically
separate sentences. They are:
1) sukhā
matteyyatā loke (being filial towards
one's mother is good in this world). The subject is the noun matteyyatā
(filial love towards one's mother, nominative singular). The verb is omitted,
implying the verb "to be". It has an attribute, the noun loke (in
[this] world, locative singular). The object is the adjective sukhā
(good, nominative singular).
2) atho petteyyatā
sukhā (being filial towards one's father
is good in this world). The subject is the noun petteyyatā
(filial love towards one's father, nominative singular). The verb is omitted,
implying the verb "to be". The object is the adjective sukhā
(good, nominative singular). Sentence is introduced by the particle atho
(then, also).
3) sukhā
sāmaññatā
loke (good is to be a monk in this world). The subject is the noun
sāmaññatā
(monkshood, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb
"to be". It has an attribute, the noun loke (in [this] world, locative
singular). The object is the adjective sukhā
(good, nominative singular).
4) atho brahmaññatā
sukhā (it is also good to be a true Brahmin).
The subject is the noun brahmaññatā
(Brahminship, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb
"to be". The object is the adjective sukhā
(good, nominative singular). Sentence is introduced by the particle atho
(then, also).
The story for this verse is identical
with the one for the previous verse (DhP 331) and the following one (DhP
333).
Filial love towards one's parents
is (or should be) one of the basic foundations of our society even now,
not to speak of the Buddha's times, when it was actually a crime not to
look after one's parents (see the story for the verse in DhP 324). In this
verse, the Buddha says that being a monk and reaching the state of a true
Brahmin (which equals attaining the Awakenment) is as important as to love
one’s parents. Maybe even more important - if we are able to reach Awakenment
while our parents are still alive, we can teach them and help them on their
own way towards this goal.
Word pronunciation:
sukhā
matteyyatā
loke
atho
petteyyatā
sāmaññatā
brahmaññatā