Evaṃ me sutaṃ

Now let us translate a few sentences from the Suttas, which contain various declined forms of the pronouns ‘ta’ and ‘eta’.

Please note that the pronouns have the same gender as that of the nouns they replace or describe.

1. Sā devatā maṃ etadavoca –

sā (fem. nom. s) = that,
devatā = deity,
maṃ (acc. s) = to me,
etadavoca = said thus

Translation : That deity said thus to me –

2. Ahaṃ, bhante, taṃ devataṃ etadavocaṃ.

taṃ (fem. acc. s) = to that,
taṃ devataṃ = to that deity,
avocaṃ (PT, first p, s) = I said,
etadavocaṃ = I said thus

Translation : Venerable Sir! I said thus to that deity –

3. Tasmiṃ kho pana saṅgāme rājā māgadho ajātasattu vedehiputto rājānaṃ pasenadiṃ kosalaṃ parājesi.

tasmiṃ (masc. loc. s) = in that,
saṅgāma = battle,
tasmiṃ saṅgāme = in that battle,
rājā māgadho ajātasattu vedehiputto = Ajātasattu Vedehiputta, the king of Magadha (all these words are masc. nom. s)
rājānaṃ pasenadiṃ kosalaṃ = (to) Pasenadi, the King of Kosala (all these words are masc. acc. s)
parājesi (PT, third p, s of parājeti) = (he) defeated

Translation : And in that battle Ajātasattu Vedehiputta, the king of Magadha defeated Pasenadi, the King of Kosala.

4. Ye appamattā viharanti, namo tesaṃ karomahaṃ

ye = those who,
appamatta = heedful, diligent;
viharati = dwells
namo = homage, veneration;
tesaṃ (masc. dat. p) = to them,
karomahaṃ = karomi + ahaṃ

Translation : Those who dwell diligently, I pay homage to them.

5. Etāni, bhikkhave, rukkhamūlāni etāni suññāgārāni

etāni (neut. nom. p) = these,
rukkhamūla = foot of the tree,
suññāgāra = empty hut, secluded dwelling

Translation : Bhikkhus, these are the feet of the trees, these are the empty dwellings.

Please Note :
• The nouns rukkhamūla and suññāgāra are both neuter nouns. Hence the pronoun eta takes up neuter gender.
• The verb – honti or santi – is missing from the sentence and we need to assume it while translating.

This is a common exhortation given by the Buddha to his bhikkhus. After giving some dhamma teaching, he points to the places of meditation – the feet of the trees or empty huts – and encourages the bhikkhus to practise.

6. Ye dakkhiṇeyyā idha jīvaloke
Etesu dinnāni mahapphalāni
Bījāni vuttāni yathā sukhette

dakkhiṇeyya = worthy of offering,
idha = here,
jīvaloka = the world of living beings,
etesu (loc. p) = among them, (translated as ‘to them’ as it refers to offering, dāna)
dinna = given, offered
mahapphala = of great fruit, that which bears great fruit,
bīja = seed,
vutta = sown,
yathā = just as,
sukhetta = a good field, a fertile field

Translation :
Those who are worthy of offering,
Here in the world of living beings;
What(ever) is offered to them bears great fruit,
Just as seeds sown in a fertile field.

(Just as the seeds sown in a fertile field (yield a good harvest), the offerings made to those who are worthy of offering, in this world of living beings, bear great fruit.)

7. Atha kho so bhikkhu tāya devatāya saṃvejito saṃvegamāpādi.

atha = then,
so (masc. nom. s) = that,
tāya (fem. inst. s) = by that,
tāya devatāya = by that deity,
saṃvejita = stirred up, moved, inspired;
saṃvegamāpādi = saṃvegaṃ + āpādi
saṃvega = sense of urgency,
saṃvegaṃ āpādi (PT, third p, s of saṃvegaṃ āpajjati) = acquires a sense of urgency

Translation : Then that bhikkhu stirred up (inspired) by that deity, acquired a sense of urgency.

8. Atha kho bhagavā tāyaṃ velāyaṃ imaṃ gāthaṃ abhāsi –

bhagavā = the Blessed One
tāyaṃ (fem. loc. s) = in / on / upon / at that,
velā = time,
tāyaṃ velāyaṃ = at that time,
imaṃ gāthaṃ (acc. s) = this verse,
abhāsi = said

Translation : Then the Blessed One said this verse at that time –

9. “Atthi kho, āvuso, maggo atthi paṭipadā etissā avijjāya pahānāyā”ti.

atthi = is,
āvuso = O friend,
magga = path,
paṭipadā = way,
etissā (fem. gen. s) = of this,
avijjā = ignorance,
etissā avijjāya = of this ignorance,
pahānāyā”ti = pahānāya + (i)ti,
pahāna = abandonment

Translation : “O friend, there is a path, there is a way for the abandonment of this ignorance.”

10. “Yaṃ panāniccaṃ dukkhaṃ vipariṇāmadhammaṃ kallaṃ nu taṃ samanupassituṃ — etaṃ mama, esohamasmi, eso me attā”ti?

yaṃ = that which, whatever;
panāniccaṃ = pana + aniccaṃ,
anicca = impermanent,
dukkha = unsatisfactory,
vipariṇāmadhamma = subject to change, of the nature of undergoing change,
kalla (adj.) = proper, sound, clever, well;
nu = interrogative particle,
taṃ = that,
samanupassati = perceives, regards;
samanupassituṃ (infinitive of samanupassati) = to regard,
etaṃ (neut. nom. s) = this,
mama = my, mine;
esohamasmi = eso + ahaṃ + asmi
eso (masc. nom. s) = this,
me = my, mine;
attā = self

Translation : “That which is impermanent, unsatisfactory, subject to change – is it proper to consider / regard it thus : ‘This is mine, this is me, this is my self’?”