Like water to a lotus leaf, like a mustard seed to the point of an arrow,
who doesn't cling to sense-pleasures - him do I call a Brahmin.

vāri    pokkhara+patte    va   āragge+r+iva  sāsapo
|               |            |         |        |            |        |
N.n.      N.n.      N.n.   part.   N.n.      part.  N.m.
Nom.Sg.   |      Loc.Sg.    |    Loc.Sg.      |   Nom.Sg.
|               |_______|        |        |_______|_____|
|____________|               |               |___|
            |______________|                  |
                         |_________________|
                                          |___________________________________

List of Abbreviations

yo                na    limpati   kāmesu     tam     ahaṃ       brūmi  brāhmaṇaṃ
|                     |          |             |            |           |               |             |
Rel.Pron.m. neg.  V.act.in.    N.m.   Pron.m.  Pron.     V.act.in.    N.m.
Nom.Sg.         |    3.Sg.pres. Loc.Pl. Acc.Sg. Nom.Sg. 1.Sg.pres. Acc.Sg.
|                     |______|             |            |           |               |             |
|                           |__________|            |           |               |             |
|____________________|                      |______|________|________|
__________|                                                    |       |____|
         |                                                             |______|
         |_____________________________________|

vāri: vāri-, N.n.: water. Nom.Sg. = vāri.

pokkharapatte: lotus-leaf. It is a compound of:
    pokkhara-, N.n.: lotus.
    patta-, N.n.: leaf.
Loc.Sg. = pokkharapatte.

va, part.: as, like.

āragge: āragga-, N.n.: the head of an arrow. Loc.Sg. = āragge.

iva, part.: like, as (another, more often used form of this word is va).
Euphonic combination: āragge + iva = āraggeriva.

sāsapo: sāsapa-, N.m.: mustard seed. Nom.Sg. = sāsapo.

List of Abbreviations

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

na, neg.: not.

limpati, V.: clings to, stains. The verb root is lip-. 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = limpati.

kāmesu: kāma-, N.m.: sense-pleasure, sense desire. Loc.Pl. = kāmesu.

tam: tad-, Pron.: it. Masculine form: so-, he. Acc.Sg. = tam (him).

ahaṃ, Pron.: I. Nom.Sg. = ahaṃ.

brūmi, V.: [I] say, proclaim. The verb root is brū-. 1.Sg.act.in.pres. = brūmi.

brāhmaṇaṃ: brāhmaṇa-, N.m.: Brahmin, a holy man. Acc.Sg. = brāhmaṇaṃ.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of two syntactically connected sentences. They are:
    1) vāri pokkharapatte va āraggeriva sāsapo yo na limpati kāmesu (like water to a lotus leaf, like a mustard seed to the point of an arrow, who doesn't cling to sense-pleasures). The subject is the relative pronoun yo (who, nominative singular). The verb is limpati (clings, 3^rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the noun kāmesu (to sense-pleasures, locative plural). There are two dependent clauses:
    a) vāri pokkharapatte va (like water to a lotus leaf). The subject is the noun vāri (water, nominative singular) and the object is the compound pokkharapatte (to a lotus leaf, locative singular). The particle va (like) connects the clause to the main sentence.
    b) āraggeriva sāsapo (like a mustard seed to the point of an arrow). The subject is the noun sāsapo (mustard seed, nominative singular) and the object is the noun āragge (to the point of an arrow, locative singular). The particle iva (like) connects the clause to the main sentence.
    2) tam ahaṃ brūmi brāhmaṇaṃ (him do I call a Brahmin). The subject is the pronoun ahaṃ (I, nominative singular). The verb is brūmi ([I] say, 1^st person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). The object is the noun brāhmaṇaṃ (Brahmin, accusative singular). It has one attribute, the pronoun tam (him, accusative singular).

    Once some monks were discussing the story of the Arahant nun Uppalavaṇṇā who was raped in the forest (see DhP 69). In this connection they asked the Buddha if Arahants enjoy sensual pleasures or do not. The Buddha replied with this verse, saying that the Arahants do not enjoy sensual pleasures, because the do not cling to anything at all.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

vāri
pokkharapatte
pokkhara
patte
va
āragge
iva
sāsapo
yo
na
limpati
kāmesu
tam
ahaṃ
brūmi
brāhmaṇaṃ