Translation of Sentences from Tipitaka
Let us translate a few sentences adopted from the Suttas, which contain various declined forms of present participles.
Please Note :
Sentences from the Suttas are often long and they often contain more than one adjective for the various nouns in a sentence. Also, a noun and its corresponding adjectives are not always grouped together, and can be found at any location in the sentence. However, we can easily ascertain the adjectives describing any of the nouns, according to their declined forms.
While translating the sentences from the Suttas, we look for words (nouns and adjectives) with the same gender, number and case. All the words with the same gender, number and case indicate one particular person or thing.
1. Atha kho doṇo brāhmaṇo bhagavato padāni anugacchanto addasa bhagavantaṃ aññatarasmiṃ rukkhamūle nisinnaṃ.
bhagavato = of the Buddha,
pāda = foot,
anugacchanto (Pr participle of anugacchati, masc, nom. s) = following,
addasa (PT, third p, s of passati, from √dis, irregular form) = (he) saw,
aññatara = a certain,
rukkhamūla = foot of the tree, under the tree,
nisinna (adj) = seated
Translation : Then the Brahmin Dona, following the feet (footsteps) of the Buddha, saw the Buddha seated under a certain tree.
2. Caraṇavipanno kho, āvuso, yathābhūtaṃ na jānāti na passati. Caraṇasampanno yathābhūtam jānāti passati. Yathābhūtaṃ jānaṃ passaṃ antakaro hoti.
caraṇa = behaviour, conduct;
vipanna = lacking, deficient;
caraṇavipanna = deficient in conduct,
yathābhūtaṃ = as it is,
jānāti = knows,
passati = sees,
sampanna = accomplished, endowed with;
caraṇasampanna = accomplished in conduct,
jānaṃ (Pr participle of jānāti, masc, nom. s) = knowing, one who knows;
passaṃ (Pr participle of passati, masc, nom. s) = seeing, one who sees;
antakara = one who puts an end
Translation : Friend! One who is deficient / lacking in (proper) conduct does not know and see things as they really are. One accomplished in conduct knows and sees things as they are. Knowing and seeing things as they are, he puts an end (to dukkha).
• The adjective antakara (also translated as ‘end-maker’) is frequently used in the Suttas in this context. It applies to a noble one who puts an end to suffering.
Please Note :
• In the first sentence, the masculine nominative form of the present participle – anugacchanto – is used, which is a standard form similar to a-ending masculine noun ‘Buddha’. In the second sentence, however, we have the alternate forms, which are specific to the Present Participles, where the masculine nominative singular ends in ṃ - i.e. jānaṃ, passaṃ.
This variant of present participle is very frequently used in the Suttas.
• The adjective arahanta (present participle from the verb arahati) often comes in similar form - arahaṃ
E.g. Itipi so bhagavā arahaṃ sammāsambuddho ….
3. Vuttaṃ kho etaṃ, mahārāja, tena bhagavatā jānatā passatā arahatā sammāsambuddhena.
vutta (adj) = said,
etaṃ = this
mahārāja (voc.) = O great king!
tena = by him / by that,
bhagavatā = by the Blessed One,
jānatā (Pr participle of jānāti, masc, inst. s) = by the knowing,
passatā (Pr participle of passati, masc, inst. s) = by the seeing,
arahatā (Pr participle of arahati, masc, inst. s) = by the deserving, worthy;
sammāsambuddha = the perfectly enlightened one,
Translation : O great king! This has been said by that Blessed one, (all) knowing, seeing, the worthy one, the perfectly enlightened one.
Please note the adjectives used for the Blessed one (bhagavanta) in the above sentence. bhagavatā being masc. inst. s. form, all the adjectives take up the same gender, number and case – tena, jānatā, passatā, arahatā, sammāsambuddhena.
Note :
The declined forms of present participles which are similar to that of vantu-mantu ending nouns, i.e. the forms ending in tā, to, taṃ are more frequently used in the Suttas.
Thus, rather than jānantena, we frequently come across jānatā (inst. s); instead of passantassa, we often come across the form passato (dat. s), and so on.
4. Atha kho yā tasmiṃ vanasaṇḍe adhivatthā devatā tassa bhikkhuno asuṇantī yena so bhikkhu tenupasaṅkami.
yā = which, who;
vanasaṇḍa = thicket, grove;
adhivattha (adj) = one who resided, inhabited;
devatā = deity,
suṇantī (Pr participle of suṇāti, fem, nom. s) = listening, one who listens;
asuṇantī = one who does not / cannot listen,
yena – tena = where – there,
tenupasaṅkami = tena + upasaṅkami,
upasaṅkami = approached
Translation : Then a deity who dwelt in that thicket, unable to hear that bhikkhu, approached him.
5. Tassā me appamattāya, vicarantiyā yoniso;
Yathābhūtaṃ ayaṃ kāyo, diṭṭho santarabāhiro
tassā me = by that me, (a common way of indicating oneself in the Suttas),
appamatta = heedful,
vicarantiyā (Pr p of vicarati, fem, inst. s) = by the wandering / moving about,
yoniso = properly, judiciously;
ayaṃ = this,
kāya = body,
diṭṭha = seen,
antara = inside,
bāhira = outside,
santarabāhira = sa + antarabāhira = inside and / as well as outside
Translation : By (that) me, who was heedful and moving about properly / judiciously, this body was seen as it is – inside as well as outside.
Note : The translation given above is the literal translation of the verse. We can simply go with the intended meaning of the verse, to avoid such complex sentence construction. Thus we can translate the verse as:
Alternate Translation : Moving about judiciously, and being heedful, I saw this body as it really is – inside and outside.
Adjectives :
Please note the use of adjectives in the above verse.
One of the nouns (pronoun) in the verse is ‘I’ (ahaṃ), which comes in the form ‘me’ (inst. s. of ahaṃ) which means – by me.
The adjectives that describe this noun are – tassā, appamattāya, and vicarantiyā, all of which are feminine, inst. s, the same as ‘me’.
Another noun in the verse is the body (kāya), which comes in the form ‘kāyo’ (masc, nom. s.)
The adjectives that describe this noun are – ayaṃ, diṭṭho, and santarabāhiro, all of which are masculine, nom. s, the same as ‘kāyo’.
6. Idhekacco samaṇo vā brāhmaṇo vā mātugāmassa saddaṃ suṇāti tirokuṭṭaṃ vā tiropākāraṃ vā hasantiyā vā bhaṇantiyā vā gāyantiyā vā rodantiyā vā.
idhekacco = idha + ekacca,
ekacca = a certain, some;
mātugāma = woman,
sadda = sound,
tiro = across,
tirokuṭṭa = across the wall,
tiropākāra = across the rampart / fence,
hasantiyā (Pr p of hasati, fem, gen. s) = of the laughing,
bhaṇantiyā (Pr p of bhaṇati, fem, gen. s) = of the speaking,
gāyantiyā (Pr p of gāyati, fem, gen. s) = of the singing,
rodantiyā (Pr p of rodati, fem, gen. s) = of the crying,
Translation : Here some recluse or brahmin listens to the sound of a woman (who is) laughing, speaking, singing or crying, across / through a wall or a fence.
7. Yāvajīvaṃ arahanto ekabhattikā rattūparatā viratā vikālabhojanā. Ahaṃ pajja imañca rattiṃ imañca divasaṃ ekabhattiko rattūparato virato vikālabhojanā. Imināpaṅgena arahataṃ anukaromi.
yāvajīvaṃ = as long as there is life, as long as one lives;
arahanto (Pr p of arahati, masc, nom. p) = deserving, worthy ones, arahants;
ekabhattika = eating one meal,
rattūparata = abstaining from food at night,
virata = abstaining,
vikālabhojana = eating at improper time (outside of proper time),
pajja = pi + ajja,
ajja = today,
imañca = imaṃ + ca,
ratti = night,
divasa = day,
imināpaṅgena = iminā + pi + aṅgena,
iminā = by this,
aṅga = angle, object, constituent part;
arahataṃ (Pr p of arahati, masc, dat/gen. p) = to/of the worthy ones, arahants;
anukaromi = I follow / imitate / emulate;
Translation : As long as they live the arahants eat once a day, abstaining from eating at night and from food outside the proper time. Today, for this night and day, I too shall eat once a day, abstaining from eating at night and from food outside the proper time. I shall imitate the arahants in this respect.
(By Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi)
8. Upādāniyesu, bhikkhave, dhammesu assādānupassino viharato taṇhā pavaḍḍhati.
upādāna = grasping, attachment, clinging;
upādāniya = which can be clung to, attached to;
dhamma = thing,
assāda = enjoyment, gratification;
anupassati = sees, observes, contemplates;
anupassī = one who contemplates,
assādānupassī = one who contemplates gratification,
viharato (Pr p of viharati, masc, dat/gen. s) = for / of the one dwelling…,
taṇhā = craving,
pavaḍḍhati = increases
Translation : Bhikkhus, the craving increases for one who dwells contemplating gratification in things that can be clung to.
Please Note : In the above translation, we have considered viharato as dative singular. We can also take it as a genitive singular and translate the sentence as – … such a person’s desire increases….
We frequently come across such words in the Suttas which can be interpreted as belonging to either dative or genitive case.
9. Bahutaraṃ yaṃ vo iminā dīghena addhunā sandhāvataṃ saṃsarataṃ amanāpasampayogā manāpavippayogā kandantānaṃ rodantānaṃ assu passannaṃ paggharitaṃ, na tveva catūsu mahāsamuddesu udakaṃ.
bahutara = more,
yaṃ = that,
vo = your
dīgha = long,
addhā (addhan) = stretch, distance;
dīghena addhunā = through this long stretch / period;
sandhāvataṃ (Pr p of sandhāvati, masc, gen. p) = of the running ones,
saṃsarataṃ (Pr p of saṃsarati, masc, gen. p) = of the transmigrating / moving about continuously,
amanāpa = unpleasant, undesirable;
sampayoga = association,
manāpa = pleasing, desirable;
vippayoga = separation,
kandantānaṃ (Pr p of kandati, masc, gen. p) = of the weeping/wailing,
rodantānaṃ (Pr p of rodati, masc, gen. p) = of the weeping/wailing,
assu = tear,
passanna = shed, streamed;
paggharita = shed, streamed;
tveva = tu + eva,
catūsu = in four,
mahāsamudda = great ocean,
udaka = water
Translation : The stream of tears that you have shed as you roamed and wandered through this long course, weeping and wailing because of being united with the disagreeable and separated from the agreeable—this alone is more than the water in the four great oceans.
(By Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi)
Please Note : The adjectives of ‘vo’ (masc. gen. p of tvaṃ = your ) in the above sentence. There are four adjectives of which kandantānaṃ and rodantānaṃ take up the standard declined forms similar to the a-ending masc. noun ‘buddha’, whereas the adjectives sandhāvataṃ and saṃsarataṃ take up the variant form, which is similar to vantu-mantu ending nouns.
10. Addasā kho āyasmā ānando āyasmantaṃ udāyiṃ mahatiyā gihiparisāya parivutaṃ dhammaṃ desentaṃ nisinnaṃ.
addasā = (he) saw,
mahatī = large,
parisā = retinue, assembly;
gihiparisā = assembly of lay people,
parivuta = surrounded,
desentaṃ (Pr p of deseti, masc, acc. s) = (to) teaching / one who is teaching,
nisinna = seated
Translation : Then venerable Ananda saw Venerable Udāyī, surrounded by a large assembly of laypeople, sitting and teaching the Dhamma (to them).
11. Atha kho bhagavā anupubbena cārikaṃ caramāno yena pālileyyakaṃ tadavasari.
anupubba = in stages, gradually;
cārikā = wandering, journey;
caramāno (Pr p of carati, masc, nom. s) = wandering,
yena = where,
tadavasari = taṃ + avasari
avasari = (he) arrived
Translation : Then the Blessed One, wandering by stages, arrived at Pārileyyaka.
12. Sā kho panesā, bhikkhave, taṇhā kattha uppajjamānā uppajjati, kattha nivisamānā nivisati? Yaṃ loke piyarūpaṃ sātarūpaṃ, etthesā taṇhā uppajjamānā uppajjati, etthā nivisamānā nivisati.
sā = that,
panesā = pana + esā
kattha = where,
uppajjamānā (Pr p of uppajjati, fem, nom. s) = arising,
uppajjati = arises,
nivisamānā (Pr p of nivisati, fem, nom. s) = settling;
nivisati = settles,
yaṃ = that,
loka = world,
piyarūpa = dear, object of desire;
sātarūpa = dear, pleasing, object of desire;
etthesā = ettha + esā
ettha = here
Translation : “And where does this craving, when arising, arise? And where, when dwelling, does it dwell? Whatever is endearing & alluring in terms of the world: that is where this craving, when arising, arises. That is where, when dwelling, it dwells.
(By Ven Thanissaro)
[The above sentence is from Samudayasaccanidddeso (the second noble truth – the arising of dukkha) of Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasutta.]