Verses¶
The Buddha's First Exclamation
Buddha-paṭhama-bhāsita
[Dhp 153]
aneka-jāti-saṃsāraṃ – sandhāvissaṃ anibbisaṃ
gaha-kāraṃ gavesanto – dukkhā jāti punappunaṃ
| Pāli | POS | Grammar | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| aneka-jāti- | adj | with many births; having multiple lives | |
| saṃsāraṃ | noun | masc.acc.sg | cycle of rebirth, round of births |
| sandhāvissaṃ | verb | aor.1.sg | I transmigrated, ran through |
| anibbisaṃ | prp | masc.nom.sg | not understanding, not penetrating, not finding |
| gaha-kāraṃ | noun | masc.acc.sg | house builder, mason, carpenter |
| gavesanto | prp | masc.nom.sg | seeking, searching (for), looking (for) |
| dukkhā | adj | fem.nom.sg | uncomfortable, painful, unpleasant |
| jāti | noun | fem.nom.sg | birth, rebirth, conception |
| punappunaṃ | ind | adv | repeatedly, lit. again and again |
I ran through many cycles of rebirth, looking for the house builder and not finding (him). Painful is repeated rebirth.
[Dhp 154]
gaha-kāraka diṭṭho'si – puna gehaṃ na kāhasi
sabbā te phāsukā bhaggā – gaha-kūṭaṃ visaṅkhataṃ
visaṅkhāra-gataṃ cittaṃ – taṇhānaṃ khayam-ajjhagā
| Pāli | POS | Grammar | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| gaha-kāraka | noun | masc.voc.sg | house builder, mason, carpenter |
| diṭṭho' | pp | masc.nom.sg | seen, found |
| asi | verb | pr.2.sg | you are |
| puna | ind | adv. | again, once more |
| gehaṃ | noun | masc.acc.sg | house, dwelling |
| na | ind | not | |
| kāhasi | verb | fut.2.sg | you will make, you will build |
| sabbā | adj | fem.nom.pl | all |
| te | pron | 2.gen.sg | your, of you |
| phāsukā | noun | fem.nom.pl | ribs; rafter, beam |
| bhaggā | pp | fem.nom.pl | broken, shattered, fractured |
| gaha-kūṭaṃ | noun | nt.nom.sg | ridgepole, top beam, the peak of a house |
| visaṅkhataṃ | pp | nt.nom.sg | destroyed, lit. deconstructed |
| visaṅkhāra- | noun | unconditioned, unconstructed, unfabricated | |
| gataṃ | pp | nt.nom.sg | gone into (a state), become |
| cittaṃ | noun | nt.nom.sg | mind |
| taṇhānaṃ | noun | fem.gen.pl | of cravings, wanting, desires, lit. thirst |
| khayam- | noun | masc.acc.sg | exhaustion (of), extinction (of), depletion (of) annihilation (of), destruction (of) |
| ajjhagā | verb | imper.3.sg | got, obtained, achieved, experienced |
House builder, you are seen! You will not build the house again! All your rafters are broken, the ridgepole is destroyed. Mind has gone into an unconditioned state and achieved the exhaustion of cravings.