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

yo             ca   vassa+sataṃ      jīve   apassaṃ dhammam uttamaṃ
|                  |       |         |             |            |             |              |
Rel.Pron.  conj. N.n. Num.n.   V.act.    Adj.m.    N.m.      Adj.m.
Nom.Sg.      |       |    Acc.Sg. 3.Sg.opt. Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg.   Acc.Sg.
|                  |       |         |             |            |             |________|
|__________|       |_____|             |            |___________|
        |____________|__________|____________|
                   |           |__________|
                   |___________|
                             |_______________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

eka+ahaṃ      jīvitaṃ     seyyo    passato dhammam uttamaṃ
|           |             |              |             |             |              |
Num. N.n.       N.n.       Adj.n.    Adj.m.     N.m.      Adj.m.
|      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.

dhammam: dhamma-, N.m.: Dharma, Law, Buddha's teaching. Acc.Sg. = dhammaṃ.

uttamaṃ: uttama-, Adj.: highest, supreme. Acc.Sg.m. = uttamaṃ.

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.

dhammam: see above.

uttamaṃ: 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 dhammaṃ (law, accusative singular) with its attribute, the adjective uttamaṃ (highest, 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 dhammaṃ (law, accusative singular) with its attribute, the adjective uttamaṃ (highest, accusative singular). The object is the adjective seyyo (nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be".

    In Sāvatthi there lived a husband and wife. They had many children and when they grew up, they got married and lived a nice life. The husband then died and the wife, Bahu Puttika, kept all the property to herself. The children asked her many timed to give them their inheritance and promised to look after her well. So at the end she agreed and divided up everything to her children and left nothing for herself.
    She went to stay with her eldest son. But after few days his wife started complaining that she did not give them two shares so how she dares to come to stay with them. Bahu Puttika went to the second son, where the same happened. So she went from one child to another but she was not welcome anywhere.
    She realized that nobody would give her proper care, so she decided to become a nun. Now because she left the home very old, she knew she did not have much time. Therefore she was extremely diligent and practiced meditation with a strong energy. The Buddha saw her effort and praised her with this verse, saying that it was better to live just for a short time but be able to realize the Dharma. A life, which lasts for many years, but is without understanding the Law, is useless. After hearing the verse, Bahu Puttika attained Awakenment.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

yo
ca
vassasataṃ
vassa
sataṃ
jīve
apassaṃ
dhammam
uttamaṃ
ekāhaṃ
eka
ahaṃ
jīvitaṃ
seyyo
passato