| Gāthā | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
| Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
One is indeed one's own lord.
One is indeed one's own destiny.
Therefore restrain yourself,
just like a merchant restrains a good horse.
attā
hi attano nātho
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| |
|
N.m. part.
N.m. N.m.
Nom.Sg. | Gen.Sg.
Nom.Sg.
|
| |_______|
|_________|_________|
|____|
List of Abbreviations
attā
hi attano gati
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| |
|
N.m. part.
N.m. N.f.
Nom.Sg. | Gen.Sg.
Nom.Sg.
|
| |_______|
|_________|_________|
|____|
List of Abbreviations
tasmā saññamaya
attānaṃ
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|
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Pron. V.act.caus. N.m.
Abl.Sg. 2.Sg.imp. Acc.Sg.
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|________|
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|___________________________
|_________________________|
List of Abbreviations
assaṃ bhadraṃ
va vāṇijo
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|
N.m. Adj.m. part.
N.m.
Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. |
Nom.Sg.
|_________|
| |
|__________|_____|
|_____|
_____________|
āttā: attan-, N.m.: self. Nom.Sg. = attā.
hi, part.: indeed.
attano: attan-, N.m./Pron.: self, oneself. Gen.Sg. = attano.
nātho: nātha-, N.m.: lord, protector. Nom.Sg. = nātho.
attā: see above.
hi: see above.
attano: see above.
List of Abbreviations
gati: gati-, N.f.: direction, course. It is derived from the verb gam- (to go). Nom.Sg. = gati.
tasmā: tad-, Pron.: that. Abl.Sg. = tasmā (therefore, lit. "from that").
saññamaya, V.: restrain, control. The verb root is yam- (to restrain) with the prefix saṃ- (together). 2.Sg.act.caus.imp. = saññamaya.
attānaṃ: attan-, N.m.: self. Acc.Sg. = attānaṃ.
assaṃ: assa-, N.m.: horse. Acc.Sg. = assaṃ.
bhadraṃ: bhadra-, Adj.: good. Acc.Sg.m. = bhadraṃ.
va, part.: as, like.
vāṇijo: vāṇija-, N.m.: merchant, trader. Nom.Sg. = vāṇijo.
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of three syntactically
separate sentences. They are:
1) attā
hi attano nātho (one is indeed one's own
lord). The subject is the noun attā
(one, self; nominative singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb
"to be". The object is the noun nātho
(lord, nominative singular) with its attribute, the noun/pronoun attano
(one's own, genitive singular). The particle hi (indeed) serves
mainly for metrical purposes.
2) attā
hi attano gati (one is indeed one's own destiny). The subject is the
noun attā (one, self; nominative singular).
The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the noun
gati (course, direction, nominative singular) with its attribute,
the noun/pronoun attano (one's own, genitive singular). The particle
hi (indeed) serves mainly for metrical purposes.
3) tasmā
saññamayattānaṃ
assaṃ bhadraṃ
va vāṇijo (therefore restrain yourself,
just like a merchant restrains a good horse). This can be further analysed
into the main sentence a) and the dependent clause b):
a) tasmā
saññamayattānaṃ
(therefore restrain yourself). The subject is omitted; the verb implies
the second person singular pronoun. The verb is saññamaya
(restrain, 2nd person, singular, active, causative, imperative).
The object is the noun attānaṃ
(oneself, accusative singular). The pronoun tasmā
(from that, therefore, ablative singular) introduces the sentence and connects
it to the previous one.
b) assaṃ
bhadraṃ va vāṇijo
(just like a merchant restrains a good horse). The subject is the noun
vāṇijo (merchant, nominative singular).
The object is the noun assaṃ (horse,
accusative singular). It has an attribute, the adjective bhadraṃ
(good, accusative singular). The particle va (as, like) connects
the clause to the main sentence.
The story for this verse is identical
with the one for the previous verse (DhP 379).
We are makers of our own destiny and
we should not wait for any higher power to interfere in our lives and bring
us happiness. By our actions, words and thoughts we every moment create
our future. Therefore we must control our minds and tame it, just like
if it was a horse. Only then our mind will "behave" and we will attain
happiness.
Word pronunciation:
attā
hi
attano
nātho
gati
tasmā
saññamaya
attānaṃ
assaṃ
bhadraṃ
va
vāṇijo