Part 9

Part 9 - Exercise 8 Answers

Play the audio and follow along.

Use the 'play time' buttons within the text to navigate the audio.

Start here: 


00:00 / 00:00

Exercise 8 - Answers

Translate into English

Click the Pali to reveal/hide the answers in English or use the buttons:  

ahaṃ tena samayena rājā Mahāsudassano ahosiṃ

At that time, I was King Mahāsudassana.

For this use of the instrumental see Warder p.45. ahaṃ tena samayena is a common expression.

ahosiṃ, first person singular aorist of hoti, see Warder p.26.

Note that proper names also take case endings, like any other nouns.

dānena n' atthi puññaṃ

There is no merit (to be gained) with a gift.

Or 'by giving'. This was one of the (wrong) views of Pūraṇa Kassapa, one of the six non-Buddhist religious leaders famous at the time of the Buddha.

te 'haṃ1 upasaṃkamitvā evaṃ vadāmi

I, having approached them, said thus.

Again, note the historical present tense, here vadāmi. Whether a present tense verb in a given instance is expressing the present or the past - or even the future, see Warder pp.12-13 - must be decided by the context.

Note that ahaṃ is here the agent of both verbs (see Warder p.48). From the sutta context it is also clear the te is the patient of both verbs: 'having approached them, I said to them ...'

maṃ abhivādetvā pakkāmi

He, having bowed to me, left.

Again note that the agent of the gerund and the main verb is the same. abhivādeti means formally paying respect to someone, it is more than doing añjali. pakkāmi is third person singular aorist.

disvā evaṃ avocumha

We, having seen, said this.

disvā here refers back to something previously seen, mentioned just before.

(said) Aorist, see Warder p.32.

evaṃ. The general meaning of evaṃ is 'thus', but here it refers to something just about to be said and therefore is best translated as 'this'.

diṭṭhā bho satta jīvasi

It's wonderful, honourable (bho) being, (that) you live!

bho satta, vocative.

The context is the decline of all morality until there is a 'sword period' when most people are killed. The few 'beings' remaining, not even called 'people', will then meet each other and give the above greeting.

jayaṃ veraṃ pasavati

Winning, he generates hatred.

jayaṃ is the nominative (not accusative) singular of the present participle of jayati, see Warder p.46. It functions as an adjective qualifying 'he' ('he' is not explicitly stated but implied by the verb), which it agrees with grammatically. The context is gambling.

Or 'he who is winning generates hatred', since the present participle functions grammatically as an adjective.

brāhmaṇo brahmunā manteti

The brahmin takes council with Brahmā.

See this table (from pg.42):
steminstrumental
bhagavant
bhagavatā
brahman brahmunā
rājan raññā (j+n assimilated to ññ )

Pali Noun Declension Table (opens in new tab)

evaṃ bho ti

"Yes, Sir."

evaṃ. See Warder's vocabulary at the end of the book.

This is the usual way to express consent. The quotation marks are the equivalent of the ti in the Pali.

handa vata bho gacchāma

Well surely, Sir, we are going!

gacchāma. The English idiom requires 'we are going' rather than 'we go'. gacchāma could also be regarded as imperative, 'we must go', see Warder pp.34-35.

kālaṃ karonto avoca

Dying, he said: ...

i.e. 'when he was dying he said ...'. karonto is the present participle (nominative singular) of karoti, agreeing with 'he', the implied agent of avoca. One could translate: 'he who was dying said: ...'. kālaṃ karoti, lit. 'does time', is an idiomatic expression for dying. The context is Sigāla's father's last words in the opening passages of the Sigālovāda-sutta.

rājā samāno idaṃ labhati

Being a King, he obtains this.

samāno, 'being', is the present participle nominative singular of atthi, agreeing with rājā. Note that the verbs meaning 'to be' (hoti, atthi, bhavati) do not take patients, rather they 'link' words of the same case. Thus we could translate 'he who is being a king obtains this', with both 'he' and 'king' in the nominative, connected by samāno (which is a form of 'to be').

(obtains this) Referring to a list of royal benefits just mentioned.

jhānaṃ jhāyati

He meditates jhāna.

jhāna is a deep state of meditation not really translatable.

mayaṃ bhagavantaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāma, dhammañ ca2

We go for refuge to the Blessed One, and to the Teaching.

gacchāma can here be understood as taking two objects, saraṇaṃ and bhagavantaṃ, see Warder p.18. This was said by the first disciples of the Buddha Vipassī, so there was no sangha yet to take refuge in.

jīvitaṃ demi

I give life.

In context, it means 'I grant (them) (their) life'.

ahaṃ with elision of initial a after another vowel.
2 Assimilation ṃ + c > ñc in junction.

Translate into Pali

Click the English to reveal/hide the answers in Pali or use the buttons:  

They enter by this gate

Te iminā dvārena pavisanti.

Te is optional.

The king, having greeted the fortunate one, sat down

Rājā Bhagavantaṃ abhivādetvā nisīdi.

Having approached (and) greeted the fortunate one, they sat down

Upasaṇkamitvā Bhagavantaṃ abhivādetvā nisīdiṃsu.

Having approached them I ask these questions

Te ahaṃ upasaṇkamitvā ime pañhe pucchāmi.

The PTS text actually has the junction form tyāhaṃ for te ahaṃ, see Warder p.215.

Having dressed, taking a bowl I entered the village

Ahaṃ nivāsetvā pattaṃ ādāya gāmaṃ pāvisiṃ.

Note that ādāya, lit. 'having taken', is rendered by Warder as 'taking'.

ahaṃ is optional.

Gentlemen! do not say thus

Mā bhavanto evaṃ avacuttha.

The honourable Jotipāla went forth

Bhavaṃ Jotipālo pabbaji.

The text actually has bho Mahā Govindo ... pabbaji. Both bho and bhavaṃ can be used for the nominative singular

(As he is) going he sees

Gacchaṃ (or gacchanto) passati.

I do not take counsel with God

N'ahaṃ (or just na) brahmuṇā mantemi.

He entered the house

Agāraṃ (or gehaṃ) pāvisi.

He gives a drink

Pāṇaṃ deti

I do not get food

Ahaṃ bhojanaṃ (or annaṃ) na labhāmi

Ahaṃ is optional.

He sees the garment

Vatthaṃ passati.

He is (hoti) satisfied with the resting place

So senāsanena santuṭṭho hoti

Living beings experience unhappiness

Sattā (or bhūtā) dukkhaṃ paṭisaṃvedenti

The lay disciples come to the place

Upāsakā yena ṭhānaṃ (or padeso) ten'upasaṅkamanti. (or upāsakā padesaṃ/ṭhānaṃ āgacchanti).

Note how both ṭhāna and padesa are in the nominative (ṭhānaṃ /padeso) when used with yena (see Warder p.14), but in the accusative (ṭhānaṃ /padesaṃ) when not.