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Pāli Primer

Lily de Silva, M.A., Ph.D.
University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

 Note: VU-Times font (Viet-Pali Unicode) is used in this document

Lesson 9

1. The Gerund, the Absolutive or the Indeclinable Participle

The suffix -tvā is added to the root of the verb or verbal base* with or sometimes without the connecting vowel -i- to form the gerund, absolutive or the indeclinable participle.

pac + i + tvā = pacitvā = having cooked
khād + i + tvā = khāditvā = having eaten
gam + tvā= gantvā = having gone
han + tvā = hantvā = having killed

* The root is the simplest element of a verb without prefixes, suffixes or terminations. These are normally given in Sanskrit in grammars by Western scholars. The base is formed by adding a suffix to the root before a termination.

For example:

pac is the root paca is the base
khād is the root khāda is the base
bhuj is the root bhuñja is the base
gam is the root gaccha is the base

The suffix -ya is sometimes added to roots with a prefix.

ā + gam + ya = āgamma (with assimilation) = having come
ā + dā + ya = ādāya = having taken
ā + ruh + ya = āruyha (with metathesis) = having climbed
ava + ruh + ya = oruyha (with metathesis) = having descended

2. Attention may be paid to the following forms:

bhuñjati - bhuñjitvā, bhutvā
āgacchati - āgantvā, āgamma
hanati - hanitvā, hantvā
dadāti - daditvā, datvā
nahāyati - nahāyitvā, nahātvā
tiṭṭhati - ṭhatvā
nikkhamati - nikkhamitvā, nikkhamma
pajahati - pajahitvā, pahāya
passati - passitvā; but disvā is more commonly used from the root dṛś to see, instead of passitvā.
uṭṭhahati - uṭṭhahitvā, uṭṭhāya

3. Examples in sentence formation

1. Kassako khettamhā āgantvā bhattaṃ bhuñjati.
The farmer, having come from the field, eats rice.

2. Vānarā rukkhaṃ āruyha phalāni khādanti.
Having climbed the tree, monkeys eat fruits.

3. Dārako bhattaṃ yācitvā rodati.
Having asked for rice, the child cries.

4. Samaṇo Buddhaṃ passitvā vandati.
Having seen the Buddha, the recluse worships (him).

Exercise 9:

4. Translate into English:

1. Upāsako vihāraṃ gantvā samaṇānaṃ dānaṃ dadāti.
2. Sāvako āsanamhi nisīditvā pāde dhovati.
3. Dārakā pupphāni saṃharitvā mātulassa datvā hasanti.
4. Yācakā uyyānamhā āgamma kassakasmā odanaṃ yācanti.
5. Luddako hatthena sare ādāya araññaṃ pavisati.
6. Kumārā kukkurena saddhiṃ kīḷitvā samuddaṃ gantvā nahāyanti.
7. Vāṇijo pāsāṇasmiṃ ṭhatvā kuddālena sappaṃ paharati.
8. Sappuriso yācakassa putte pakkositvā vatthāni dadāti.
9. Dārako āvāṭamhi patitvā rodati.
10. Bhūpālo pāsādamhā nikkhamitvā amaccena saddhiṃ bhāsati.
11. Sunakho udakaṃ pivitvā gehamhā nikkhamma magge sayati.
12. Samaṇā bhūpālassa uyyāne sannipatitvā dhammaṃ bhāsanti.
13. Putto nahātvā bhattaṃ bhutvā mañcaṃ āruyha sayati.
14. Vāṇijā dīpamhā nagaraṃ āgamma ācariyassa gehe vasanti.
15. Rajako vatthāni dhovitvā puttaṃ pakkosati.
16. Vānarā rukkhehi oruyha uyyāne āhiṇḍanti.
17. Migā vanamhi āhiṇḍitvā paṇṇāni khādanti.
18. Kumāro nayanāni dhovitvā suriyaṃ passati.
19. Nāvikassa mittā nagarasmā bhaṇḍāni ādāya gāmaṃ āgacchanti.
20. Dārako khīraṃ pivitvā gehamhā nikkhamma hasati.
21. Sappurisā dānāni datvā sīlāni rakkhitvā saggaṃ gacchanti.
22. Sūkaro udakamhā uttaritvā āvāṭaṃ oruyha sayati.
23. Tāpaso Tathāgatassa sāvakaṃ disvā vanditvā pañhaṃ pucchati.
24. Asappuriso yācakassa pattaṃ bhinditvā akkositvā gehaṃ gacchati.
25. Sakuṇā gāme rukkhehi uppatitvā araññaṃ otaranti.
26. Paṇḍito āsanamhā uṭṭhahitvā tāpasena saddhiṃ bhāsati.
27. Dārako gehā nikkhamma mātulaṃ pakkositvā gehaṃ pavisati.
28. Devā sappurisesu pasīditvā te (them) rakkhanti.
29. Kumārassa sahāyakā pāsādaṃ āruyha āsanesu nisīdanti.
30. Goṇā khettamhi āhiṇḍitvā tiṇaṃ khāditvā sayanti.

5. Translate into Pāli:

1. Having gone out of the house the farmer enters the field.
2. Having preached (deseti)the doctrine, the Buddha enters the monastery.
3. The king having been pleased with the Buddha, abandons the palace and goes to the monastery.
4. Having climbed down from the stairway, the child laughs.
5. Having hit the serpent with a stone the boy runs into the house.
6. Having gone to the forest the man climbs a tree and eats fruits.
7. Having washed the clothes in the water, the washerman brings (them) home.
8. The lion having killed a goat, eats having sat on a rock.
9. The doctor having seen the merchants' goods leaves the city.
10. Having broken (into) the house thieves run to the forest.
11. Having roamed in the field the pig falls into a pit.
12. The fisherman brings fish from the sea for farmers.
13. Having taken goods from the city, the teacher comes home.
14. Having stood on a mountain, the hunter shoots birds with arrows.
15. The oxen having eaten grass in the park, sleep on the road.
16. The king having got down from the chariot speaks with the farmers.
17. The man having given up his house enters the monastery.
18. Fishermen give fish to merchants and receive profits.
19. The lay devotee having asked a question from the monk sits on his seat.
20. The disciples of the Buddha, having seen the wicked men, admonish.
21. The brahmin, having scolded the child, hits (him).
22. The deities, having asked questions from the Buddha, become glad.
23. The dog, having bitten the teacher's foot, runs into the house.
24. The monkey, having played with the goat on the road, climbs a tree.
25. The hermit, having come from the forest, receives a cloth from the good man.
26. Having drunk water, the child breaks the bowl.
27. Having advised the farmers' sons, and having risen from the seats, the monks go to the monastery.
28. The sailor, having crossed the sea, goes to the island.
29. The child calls the uncles and dances in the house.
30. Having washed clothes and bathed, the farmer gets out of water.

-ooOoo-


English: 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | Appendix

Workbook: 01-05 | 06-10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25 | 26-32

Vietnamese: 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | Phụ đính

"The Pāli Primer" is a publication of the Vipassana Research Institute (http://www.vri.dhamma.org).
It aims to provide an elementary understanding of the Pali language.


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last updated: 06-08-2004