Who would live for hundred years, not seeing the state of deathlessness,
better is the life for one day of somebody who is seeing the state of deathlessness.

yo              ca vassa+sataṃ       jīve   apassaṃ  amataṃ  padaṃ
|                  |       |        |              |            |             |            |
Rel.Pron.  conj. N.n. Num.n.   V.act.    Adj.m.    Adj.n.    N.n.
Nom.Sg.      |       |    Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.opt. Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg.
|                  |       |        |              |            |             |_______|
|__________|       |____|               |            |__________|
        |____________|__________|____________|
                  |            |__________|
                  |___________|
                           |_______________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

eka+ahaṃ       jīvitaṃ   seyyo     passato amataṃ padaṃ
|           |             |             |              |            |           |
Num. N.n.       N.n.       Adj.n.    Adj.m.   Adj.n.    N.n.
|      Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Gen.Sg. Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg.
|______|             |             |              |            |______|
     |                    |             |              |__________|
     |___________|             |                       |
               |_____________|_____________|
                           |______|
__________________|

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

ca, conj.: and.

vassasataṃ: vassasata-, N.n.: hundred years, century. It is a compound of:
    vassa-, N.n.: year.
    sata-, Num.n.: hundred.
Acc.Sg. = vassasataṃ.

jīve, V.: should live. The verb root is jīv-. 3.Sg.act.opt. = jīve.

apassaṃ: apassant-, Adj.: not seeing. It is the word passant-, Adj.: seeing (it is an a.pr.p. of the verb root pas-, to see) negated by the negative prefix a-. Nom.Sg.m. = apassaṃ.

amataṃ: amata-, N.n.: deathlessness. A negated (by the negative prefix a-) word mata-, Adj.: dead, which is a p.p. of the verb root mar- (to die). Acc.Sg.n. = amataṃ.

padaṃ: pada-, N.n.: state, place. Acc.Sg. = padaṃ.

List of Abbreviations

ekāhaṃ: ekāha-, N.n.: one day. It is a compound of:
    eka-, Num.: one.
    aha-, N.n.: day.
Euphonic combination: eka- + aha- = ekāha-.
Nom.Sg. = ekāhaṃ.

jīvitaṃ: jīvita-, N.n.: life. Originally it is a p.p. of the verb jīv- (to live). Nom.Sg. = jīvitaṃ.

seyyo: seyya-, Adj.: better. Nom.Sg.n. = seyyo.

passato: passant-, Adj.: seeing. It is an a.pr.p. of the verb root pas-, to see. Gen.Sg.m. = passato.

amataṃ: see above.

padaṃ: see above.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of two related sentences. They both form the first and the second lines of this verse respectively.
    In the first sentence, the subject is the relative pronoun yo (who, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the active present participle apassaṃ (not seeing, nominative singular). This word has itself an attribute, the noun padaṃ (state, accusative singular) with its attribute, the adjective amataṃ (deathless, accusative singular). The verb is jīve (should live, 3^rd person, singular, active, optative). It has an attribute, the compound vassasataṃ (hundred years, accusative singular). The conjunction ca (and) serves only for metrical purposes.
    In the second line, the subject is the adjective/noun jīvitaṃ (life, nominative singular). It has two attributes. First of them is the compound ekāhaṃ (one day, nominative singular). The second is the active present participle passato (of the one who is seeing, genitive singular). This word has an attribute, the noun padaṃ (state, accusative singular) with its attribute, the adjective amataṃ (deathless, accusative singular). The object is the adjective seyyo (nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be".

    In Sāvatthi there lived a young woman Kisā Gotami. She married a wealthy young man, became pregnant and delivered a baby. But the baby died shortly after he was born. Kisā Gotami was grieving so much that she went all around the city, carrying her dead baby, and asking if somebody knew a cure that would bring him back to life. One of those people sent her to the Buddha, thinking that maybe he could help her in some way.
    The Buddha told her that indeed he knew a cure. He requested one mustard seed from a house where nobody has died. Kisā Gotami thought it to be an easy task. Full of joy she began running from house to house asking if somebody died there. But she soon found out that there was death in every household in Sāvatthi and she was not the only one who lost somebody. She realized that everybody has to die and was no longer attached to her dead baby. Kisā Gotami buried her son and went back to the monastery, where she requested to be permitted to become a nun.
    The Buddha sent her to the community of the nuns and she was ordained. She was very diligent, always meditating and purifying her mind.
    One evening she was lightning oil lamps. She lighted them and kept looking at the flames. She soon realized that some flames were burning constantly, but other flickered out. She contemplated that it is exactly same with living beings: some flare up but others flicker out - only the Arahants can be seen no more.
    The Buddha saw her thoughts and told her this verse, saying that it is better to live just for one day and see the deathless state (Nirvana) than to live for hundred years without seeing it. After hearing the verse, Kisā Gotami attained Awakenment.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

yo
ca
vassasataṃ
vassa
sataṃ
jīve
apassaṃ
amataṃ
padaṃ
ekāhaṃ
eka
ahaṃ
jīvitaṃ
seyyo
passato