Gāthā Sentence Translation Sentence Structure
Vocabulary&Grammar Commentary Pronunciation
                          List of Abbreviations

etaṃ daḷhaṃ bandhanam āhu dhīrā

ohārinaṃ sithilaṃ duppamuñcaṃ

etam pi chetvāna paribbajanti

anapekkhino kāmasukhaṃ pahāya

(DhP 346)




Sentence Translation:

That fetter is really strong, say the wise,
it seems loose, but it leads you astray and is difficult to be freed from.
Having cut off this fetter, those without desire wander about as monks,
having abandoned all sensual pleasures.




Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

etaṃ       daḷhaṃ bandhanam    āhu       dhīrā
|                   |              |              |             |
Pron.n.    Adj.n.       N.n.       V.act.     Adj.m.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.  Nom.Sg. 3.Pl.perf. Nom.Pl.
|__________|________|               |_______|
          |        |____________________|______________________
          |______________|                   |
                      |__________________|
[continued from DhP 345]_____|

List of Abbreviations

ohārinaṃ sithilaṃ duppamuñcaṃ
|                   |                 |
Adj.n.      Adj.n.        Adj.n.
Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg.    Nom.Sg.
|___________|_________|
______|

etam       pi   chetvāna paribbajanti
|               |         |                |
Pron.n. part.  V.ger.       V.act.in.
Acc.Sg.    |         |          3.Pl.pres.
|________|         |                 |
        |_________|                 |_______________________
                |_________________________|

List of Abbreviations

anapekkhino kāma+sukhaṃ pahāya
      |                |           |           |
 Adj.m.         N.m.     N.n.    V.ger.
Nom.Pl.          |      Acc.Sg.      |
     |                 |______|            |
___|                       |_________|
   |___________________|




Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

etaṃ: etad-, Pron.: this. Nom.Sg.n. = etaṃ.

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.

ohārinaṃ: ohārin-, Adj.: dragging down, leading astray. It is derived from the verb root har- (to bring, to carry) with the prefix o-/ava- (down, under). Nom.Sg.n. = ohārinaṃ.

List of Abbreviations

sithilaṃ: sithila-, Adj.: loose, lax, yielding. Nom.Sg.n. = sithilaṃ.

duppamuñcaṃ: duppamuñca-, Adj.: difficult to be freed from. It is the word pamuñca-, Adj.: freeing, loosening (it is derived from the verb root muc-, to free, with the strengthening prefix pa-) with the prefix du- (difficult, bad). Euphonic combination: du- + pamuñca- = duppamuñca-.
Nom.Sg.n. = duppamuñcaṃ.

etam: etad-, Pron.: this. Acc.Sg.n. = etam.

pi, part.: also.

chetvāna, V.ger.: having destroyed, having cut off. The verb root is chid- (to cut off).

List of Abbreviations

paribbajanti, V.: wander about [as monks; not necessarily Buddhist]. The verb root is vaj- (to go) with the prefix pari- (around). 3.Pl.act.in.pres. = paribbajanti.

anapekkhino: anapekkhin-, Adj.: without affection, desire, longing. It is the word apekkhin-, Adj.: longing, with affection (this is derived from the verb root īkh-, to look with the prefix apa-, down, on). negated by the negative prefix an-. Nom.Pl.m. = anapekkhino.

kāmasukhaṃ: kāmasukha-, N.n.: sensual pleasure. It is a compound of:
    kāma-, N.m.: pleasure, enjoyment, sense-desire.
    sukha-, N.n.: happiness, ease, well-being.
Acc.Sg. = kāmasukhaṃ.

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

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of two syntactically separate sentences. They are:
    1) etaṃ daḷhaṃ bandhanam āhu dhīrā ohārinaṃ sithilaṃ duppamuñcaṃ (that fetter is really strong, say the wise, it seems loose, but it leads you astray and is difficult to be freed from). 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) etaṃ daḷhaṃ bandhanam ohārinaṃ sithilaṃ duppamuñcaṃ (that fetter is really strong, it seems loose, but it leads you astray and is difficult to be freed from). The subject is the noun bandhanam (fetter, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the pronoun etaṃ (this, nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". There are four objects, the adjectives daḷhaṃ (strong, nominative singular), ohārinaṃ (leading astray, nominative singular), sithilaṃ (loose, nominative singular) and duppamuñcaṃ (difficult to be freed from, nominative singular).
    2) etam pi chetvāna paribbajanti anapekkhino kāmasukhaṃ pahāya (having cut off this fetter, those without desire wander about as monks, having abandoned all sensual pleasures). This can be further analysed into the main sentence a) and two dependent clauses b) and c):
    a) paribbajanti anapekkhino (those without desire wander about as monks). The subject is the adjective anapekkhino (those without desire, nominative plural). The verb is paribbajanti (wander about [as monks], 3rd person, plural, active, indicative, present tense).
    b) etam pi chetvāna (having cut off this fetter). The subject is omitted; the subject of the main sentence is implied. The verb is in gerund, chetvāna (having cut off). The object is the pronoun etam (this, accusative singular). It is stressed by the particle pi (also).
    c) kāmasukhaṃ pahāya (having abandoned all sensual pleasures). The subject is omitted; the subject of the main sentence is implied. The verb is in gerund, pahāya (having abandoned). The object is the compound kāmasukhaṃ (sensual pleasure, accusative singular).




Commentary:

    The story for this verse is identical with the one for the previous verse (DhP 345).
    All the man-made fetters like iron handcuffs, ropes and wooden bonds can not equal craving and longing for beautiful things and loved persons. Bond by these fetters, all beings crawl from existence to existence, unable to break free. Only through abandoning this craving can we be free from the fetters of Samsara.




Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

etaṃ
daḷhaṃ
bandhanam
āhu
dhīrā
ohārinaṃ
sithilaṃ
duppamuñcaṃ
pi
chetvāna
paribbajanti
anapekkhino
kāmasukhaṃ
kāma
sukhaṃ
pahāya