Gāthā | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
O Wise Ones, you should protect the
mind, which is very difficult to see, very subtle
and jumping at whatever it desires. Protected mind brings happiness.
sududdasaṃ sunipuṇaṃ yattha+kāma+nipātinaṃ
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Adj.n. Adj.n. Rel.Adv. N.m. Adj.n.
Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. |_____| Acc.Sg.
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List of Abbreviations
cittaṃ rakkhetha medhāvī cittaṃ
guttaṃ sukha+āvahaṃ
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N.n. V.act. N.m. N.n. Adj.n. N.m. Adj.n.
Acc.Sg. 2.Pl.opt. Voc.Pl. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg.
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sududdasaṃ: sududdasa-, Adj.: very difficult to see. The word duddasa-, Adj. difficult to see with the prefix su-. This prefix usually means "well", "good" etc., but here it further strengthens the adjective. The word duddasa- itself is derived from the verb root das- (to see) with the prefix du- (bad, difficult). Acc.Sg.n. = sududdasaṃ.
sunipuṇaṃ: sunipuṇa-, Adj.: very subtle. The word nipuṇa-, Adj.: subtle, fine, with the prefix su- (well, very; strengthening prefix). Acc.Sg.n. = sunipuṇaṃ.
List of Abbreviations
yatthakāmanipātinaṃ:
yatthakāmanipātin-, Adj: jumping at whatever it desires. It is a complex
compound of:
yatthakāmaṃ, Adv.: according to one's desire. The disappearance
of the final -ṃ is
only an omission, perhaps due to the metrical requirements.
It can be further analyzed as:
yattha, Rel.Adv.: where.
kāma-, N.m.: desire, pleasure.
nipātin-, Adj.: falling down, chancing upon. It is derived
(by the way of adding
the possessive suffix -in) from the verb root pat-
(fall) with the prefix ni- (down).
Acc.Sg.n. = yatthakāmanipātinaṃ.
cittaṃ: citta-, N.n.: mind. Acc.Sg. = cittaṃ.
List of Abbreviations
rakkhetha, V.: should protect. The verb root rakkh-. 2.Pl.act.imp. = rakkhetha.
medhāvī: medhāvin-, N.m.: intelligent person, wise one. Voc.Pl. = medhāvī.
cittaṃ: citta-, N.n.: mind (see also above). Nom.Sg. = cittaṃ.
guttaṃ: gutta-, Adj.:
protected. It is a p.p. of the verb root gup- (to protect).
Nom.Sg.n. = guttaṃ.
sukhāvahaṃ:
sukhāvaha-, Adj.: bringing happiness. A compound of:
sukha-, N.n.: happiness.
āvaha-, Adj.: bringing, causing. Derived from the verb
root vah- (to carry) with
the prefix ā- (towards, to).
Nom.Sg.n. = sukhāvahaṃ.
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of two grammatically
separated sentences. One is: sududdasaṃ sunipuṇaṃ yatthakāmanipātinaṃ cittaṃ
rakkhetha medhāvī (o Wise Ones, you should protect the mind, which is very
difficult to see, very subtle and jumping at whatever it desires). Here the
subject is the word medhāvī (o Wise Ones, vocative plural). The verb
is rakkhetha (you should protect, 2nd person plural, active, optative).
The object is cittaṃ (mind, accusative singular) with three attributes:
1) sududdasaṃ (very difficult to see), 2) sunipuṇaṃ (very subtle),
3) yatthakāmanipātinaṃ (jumping at whatever it desires). They all have
to agree with the object and are therefore in accusative singular.
The second sentence is cittaṃ guttaṃ sukhāvahaṃ (restrained
mind brings happiness). Here the subject is the word cittaṃ (mind, nominative
singular). It has an attribute, the past participle guttaṃ (protected,
nominative singular). The verb is omitted, the verb "to be" again
being implied. The word sukhāvahaṃ (happiness-bringing, nominative singular)
forms an attribute to this verb.
Once in the city of Sāvatthi, there
lived a son of a banker. He asked a monk who came to his house for alms food,
how to be liberated from the ills of life. The monk instructed him to divide
his property into three parts. One he was to do business with, one to support
his family, one for charity. The man did so and then asked what to do next.
He was instructed to take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and to observe
five precepts. But the man was still not satisfied. So the monk told him to
renounce the world and to become a monk too.
As a monk he was taught Dharma by one teacher and Vinaya by
another. Thus he felt that there was too much to learn, the rules were too strict
and there was no freedom. He wanted to return to lay life. He began to have
doubts, was discontent and unhappy, neglected his meditation. The Buddha told
him that if he only could control his mind, he had nothing else to control.
Then he told him this verse. The monk attained arahantship.
Word pronunciation:
sududdasaṃ
sunipuṇaṃ
yatthakāmanipātinaṃ
yatthakāma
nipātinaṃ
cittaṃ
rakkhetha
medhāvī
guttaṃ
sukhāvahaṃ
sukha
āvahaṃ