1.17. Chiggaḷayugasutta Yoke with a Hole (SN 56:47; V 455–56)

Question 1

mahāsamudde

“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, puriso mahāsamudde ekacchiggaḷaṃ yugaṃ pakkhipeyya.”

Answer 1

“in the great ocean”; a kammadhāraya compound of the adjective mahat and samudde, a singular locative.

Question 2

ekacchiggaḷaṃ

“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, puriso mahāsamudde ekacchiggaḷaṃ yugaṃ pakkhipeyya.”

Answer 2

“having one hole”; a numerical bahubbīhi compound (Duroiselle §551; Perniola §138d) describing yugaṃ, based on a numerical kammadhāraya.

Question 3

yugaṃ

“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, puriso mahāsamudde ekacchiggaḷaṃ yugaṃ pakkhipeyya.”

Answer 3

“yoke”; a neuter noun in the accusative case.

Question 4

pakkhipeyya

“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, puriso mahāsamudde ekacchiggaḷaṃ yugaṃ pakkhipeyya.”

Answer 4

“would throw”; a third-person singular optative of pakkhipati, used to describe an imaginary situation.

Question 5

tatrāpi

“Tatrāpi’ssa kāṇo kacchapo.”

Answer 5

“there too,” the vowel being lengthened through sandhi.

Question 6

’ssa

“Tatrāpi’ssa kāṇo kacchapo.”

Answer 6

assa: “would be, might be”; a third-person singular optative of atthi. The initial a- is elided on account of sandhi with preceding pi.

Question 7

kāṇo

“Tatrāpi’ssa kāṇo kacchapo.”

Answer 7

“blind,” in one eye or both; an adjective describing kacchapo, a turtle.

Question 8

vassasatassa

“So vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṃ sakiṃ ummujjeyya.”

Answer 8

“a hundred years”; here a singular genitive. The higher numerals — such as sata, hundred, sahassa, thousand, and satasahassa, a hundred thousand — often occur as neuter substantives following the noun they modify. Compounds of this type are considered genitive tappurisas; in this case it is as if the sense is “a hundred of years.” The repetition of the compound indicates that the event occurs at repeated intervals.

Question 9

accayena

“So vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṃ sakiṃ ummujjeyya.”

Answer 9

“after, with the passage of”; the instrumental used adverbially (see p. 46). It belongs with vassasatassa vassasatassa, in the sense of “with the repeated passage of centuries.”

Question 10

sakiṃ

“So vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṃ sakiṃ ummujjeyya.”

Answer 10

“once”; an indeclinable repeated to show that the event takes place at intervals.

Question 11

ummujjeyya

“So vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṃ sakiṃ ummujjeyya.”

Answer 11

“would emerge”; a third-person singular optative of ummujjati.

Question 12

api nu kho

“Taṃ kiṃ maññatha, bhikkhave, api nu kho kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṃ sakiṃ ummujjanto amusmiṃ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṃ paveseyyā”ti?”

Answer 12

an interrogative expression, not really translatable, indicating that a question is being posed.

Question 13

amusmiṃ

“Taṃ kiṃ maññatha, bhikkhave, api nu kho kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṃ sakiṃ ummujjanto amusmiṃ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṃ paveseyyā”ti?”

Answer 13

“in that”; a neuter locative pronoun agreeing with yuge (Duroiselle §310; Perniola §41).

Question 14

gīvaṃ

“Taṃ kiṃ maññatha, bhikkhave, api nu kho kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṃ sakiṃ ummujjanto amusmiṃ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṃ paveseyyā”ti?”

Answer 14

“neck”; a neuter accusative noun, object of paveseyya.

Question 15

paveseyya

“Taṃ kiṃ maññatha, bhikkhave, api nu kho kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṃ sakiṃ ummujjanto amusmiṃ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṃ paveseyyā”ti?”

Answer 15

“would insert”; an optative of paveseti, causative of pavisati, “enters.”

Question 16

yadi

“Yadi nūna, bhante, kadāci karahaci dīghassa addhuno accayenā”ti.”

Answer 16

“if,” establishing a hypothetical.

Question 17

nūna

“Yadi nūna, bhante, kadāci karahaci dīghassa addhuno accayenā”ti.”

Answer 17

a particle that imbues a statement with a tone either of affirmation or doubt, “surely” or “perhaps.” Here, together with yadi, it suggests certainty.

Question 18

kadāci karahaci

“Yadi nūna, bhante, kadāci karahaci dīghassa addhuno accayenā”ti.”

Answer 18

the two words jointly express the idea of “at some time.”

Question 19

dīghassa addhuno

“Yadi nūna, bhante, kadāci karahaci dīghassa addhuno accayenā”ti.”

Answer 19

“of a long extent of time”; an adjective and a noun (genitive of addhan) in a genitive construction with accayena, “with the passage of.”

Question 20

khippataraṃ

“Khippataraṃ kho so, bhikkhave, kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṃ sakiṃ ummujjanto amusmiṃ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṃ paveseyya, na tvevāhaṃ, bhikkhave, sakiṃ vinipātagatena bālena manussattaṃ vadāmi.”

Answer 20

the comparative of khippa, “quickly,” here the adverb “more quickly.” The suffix -tara gives an adjective or adverb the comparative sense.

Question 21

tvevāhaṃ (= tu eva ahaṃ)

“Khippataraṃ kho so, bhikkhave, kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṃ sakiṃ ummujjanto amusmiṃ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṃ paveseyya, na tvevāhaṃ, bhikkhave, sakiṃ vinipātagatena bālena manussattaṃ vadāmi.”

Answer 21

Tu is an enclitic particle, “however, but, rather,” sometimes used as a mere expletive. The personal pronoun ahaṃ, the subject of this clause, is completed by the verb vadāmi at the end.

Question 22

vinipātagatena

“Khippataraṃ kho so, bhikkhave, kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṃ sakiṃ ummujjanto amusmiṃ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṃ paveseyya, na tvevāhaṃ, bhikkhave, sakiṃ vinipātagatena bālena manussattaṃ vadāmi.”

Answer 22

“gone to the lower world”; a tappurisa compound qualifying bālena. Vinipāta is a designation for the lower realms of rebirth.

Question 23

bālena

“Khippataraṃ kho so, bhikkhave, kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṃ sakiṃ ummujjanto amusmiṃ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṃ paveseyya, na tvevāhaṃ, bhikkhave, sakiṃ vinipātagatena bālena manussattaṃ vadāmi.”

Answer 23

“a fool”; a masculine noun in the instrumental case.

Question 24

manussattaṃ

“Khippataraṃ kho so, bhikkhave, kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṃ sakiṃ ummujjanto amusmiṃ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṃ paveseyya, na tvevāhaṃ, bhikkhave, sakiṃ vinipātagatena bālena manussattaṃ vadāmi.”

Answer 24

“human status.” Manussa is a human being; the neuter suffix -tta creates an abstract noun “human-ness” (see p. 116). Manussattaṃ is the accusative object of vadāmi.

Question 25

vadāmi

“Khippataraṃ kho so, bhikkhave, kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṃ sakiṃ ummujjanto amusmiṃ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṃ paveseyya, na tvevāhaṃ, bhikkhave, sakiṃ vinipātagatena bālena manussattaṃ vadāmi.”

Answer 25

“I say.” This first-person present indicative verb is connected syntactically with the pronoun ahaṃ occurring just above; it is negated by the na at the beginning of this clause.

Question 26

h’ettha (= hi ettha)

“Taṃ kissa hetu? Na h’ettha, bhikkhave, atthi dhammacariyā samacariyā kusalakiriyā puññakiriyā.”

Answer 26

“because here.”

Question 27

dhammacariyā, etc.

“Taṃ kissa hetu? Na h’ettha, bhikkhave, atthi dhammacariyā samacariyā kusalakiriyā puññakiriyā.”

Answer 27

“Dhamma conduct.” These four compounds, all feminine singulars, are nominative subjects of atthi, which is negated by the na at the beginning of the sentence.

Question 28

aññamaññakhādikā

“Aññamaññakhādikā ettha, bhikkhave, vattati dubbalakhādikā.”

Answer 28

“the eating of one another”; a tappurisa compound, feminine singular, functioning as the nominative subject of the verb vattati.

Question 29

dubbalakhādikā

“Aññamaññakhādikā ettha, bhikkhave, vattati dubbalakhādikā.”

Answer 29

“the eating of the weak”; a tappurisa compound parallel to aññamaññakhādikā. The first noun, functioning as subject, precedes the verb, while the second noun, again as subject, follows the verb.