| Gāthā | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
| Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
That fetter is not really strong, say the wise,
that is made of iron, wood or grass.
Strong infatuation with gems and ornaments,
whatever longing there is for sons and wives,
[continued in DhP 346]
na taṃ
daḷhaṃ bandhanam
āhu
dhīrā
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neg. Pron.n. Adj.n.
N.n. V.act.
Adj.m.
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3.Pl.perf. Nom.Pl.
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List of Abbreviations
yad
āyasaṃ dārujaṃ
babbajaṃ ca
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Pron.n. Adj.n.
Adj.n. Adj.n. conj.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. |
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List of Abbreviations
sāratta+rattā
maṇi+kuṇḍalesu
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Adj. N.f. N.m.
N.m.
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List of Abbreviations
puttesu dāresu
ca yā
apekkhā
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N.m. N.m. conj. Rel.Pron.f.
N.f.
Loc.Pl. Loc.Pl. |
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.
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|___________________________________[continued in DhP 346]
na, neg.: not.
taṃ: tad-, Pron.: that. Nom.Sg.n. = taṃ.
daḷhaṃ: daḷha-, Adj.: strong, resolute, firm. Nom.Sg.n. = daḷhaṃ.
bandhanam: bandhana-, N.n.: bond, fetter. Derived from the verb bandh- (to bind, to fasten). Nom.Sg. = bandhanam.
āhu, V.: said, proclaimed. The verb root is ah- (to speak). 3.Pl.act.perf. = āhu.
dhīrā: dhīra-, Adj.: wise, clever. Nom.Pl.m. = dhīrā.
yad: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which. Nom.Sg.n. = yad.
List of Abbreviations
āyasaṃ: āyasa-, Adj.: made of iron. It is derived from the word ayo-, N.n.: iron. Nom.Sg.n. = āyasaṃ.
dārujaṃ: made of wood, wooden. It is derived from the word dāru-, N.n.: wood with the suffix -ja. This suffix is derived from the verb root jan- (to give birth, to produce). Nom.Sg.n. = dārujaṃ.
babbajaṃ: babbaja-, Adj.: made of the babbaja grass. It is derived from the word babbaja- N.m.: a sort of coarse grass or reed. Nom.Sg.n. = babbajaṃ.
ca, conj.: and.
sārattarattā:
sārattarattā-,
N.f.: strong infatuation with, attachment to. It is a compound of:
sāratta-,
Adj.: devoted, attached. It is a p.p. of the verb root raj- (to
color) with the prefix saṃ- (together).
ratta-, Adj.: excited, infatuated.
It is a p.p. of the verb root raj- (to color).
Nom.Sg. = sārattarattā.
List of Abbreviations
maṇikuṇḍalesu:
maṇikuṇḍala-,
N.m.: gems and ornaments. It is a compound of:
maṇi-,
N.m.: gem, crystal.
kuṇḍala-,
N.m.: earring, ornament.
Loc.Pl. = maṇikuṇḍalesu.
puttesu: putta-, N.m.: son. Loc.Pl. = puttesu.
dāresu: dāra-, N.m.: wife. Loc.Pl. = dāresu.
ca: see above.
yā: yad-, Rel.Pron.: that which. Nom.Sg.f. = yā.
apekkhā: apekkhā-, N.f.: affection, desire, longing for. It is derived from the verb root īkh- (to look) with the prefix apa- (down, on). Nom.Sg. = apekkhā.
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of two separate
sentences. They are:
1) na taṃ
daḷhaṃ bandhanam
āhu dhīrā
yad āyasaṃ dārujaṃ
babbajaṃ ca (that fetter is not really
strong, say the wise, that is made of iron, wood or grass). This can be
analysed into two segments:
a) āhu
dhīrā (say
the wise). The subject is the adjective dhīrā
(wise ones, nominative plural). The verb is āhu
(said, 3rd person, plural, active, perfect tense).
b) na taṃ
daḷhaṃ bandhanam
yad āyasaṃ dārujaṃ
babbajaṃ ca (that fetter is not really
strong, that is made of iron, wood or grass). This can be further analysed
into two sentences:
I) na taṃ
daḷhaṃ bandhanam
(that fetter is not really strong). The subject is the noun bandhanam
(fetter, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the pronoun taṃ
(that, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to
be". It is negated by the negated by the negative particle na (not).
The object is the adjective daḷhaṃ
(strong, nominative singular).
II) yad āyasaṃ
dārujaṃ babbajaṃ
ca (that is made of iron, wood or grass). There are three subjects,
the adjectives āyasaṃ
(made of iron, nominative singular), dārujaṃ
(wooden, nominative singular) and babbajaṃ
(made of babbaja grass, nomaitnvie singular). They are connected by the
conjunction ca (and). The relative adverb yad (that which,
nominative singular) connects this sentence to the previous one.
2) sārattarattā
maṇikuṇḍalesu
puttesu dāresu ca yā
apekkhā (strong infatuation with gems
and ornaments, whatever longing there is for sons and wives). There are
two subjects in this sentence: a) the compound sārattarattā
(strong infatuation, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the compound
maṇikuṇḍalesu
(with gems and ornaments, locative plural). b) the noun apekkhā
(longing, nominative singular). This word has two attributes, the nouns
puttesu (for sons, locative plural) and dāresu
(to wives, locative plural). They are connected by the conjunction ca
(and). The relative pronoun yā (that
which, nominative singular) connects the sentence to the following one
(DhP 346).
A group of monks once went to the city
of Sāvatthi for almsfood. On their way they
observed some prisoners being led with their hands and legs chained in
bonds. When they returned to the monastery they related the matter to the
Buddha.
The Buddha spoke this verse (and the
following one, DhP 346) and explained that passion and craving were much
stronger fetters than all the chains and handcuffs.
Word pronunciation:
na
taṃ
daḷhaṃ
bandhanam
āhu
dhīrā
yad
āyasaṃ
dārujaṃ
babbajaṃ
ca
sārattarattā
sāratta
rattā
maṇikuṇḍalesu
maṇi
kuṇḍalesu
puttesu
dāresu
yā
apekkhā