Buddha-Carita [sanskrit]

by E. B. Cowell | 2003 | 11,474 words | ISBN-10: 8187418788 | ISBN-13: 9788187418788

The Buddha Carita (Saddharma-pundarika) by Asvaghosa a famous Sanskrit text revolving around the live and exploits of the Buddha. The Buddha Carita (Buddhacarita) is written in the style of a Kavya (or Mahakavya, epic poetry) and extant original Sanskrit text consists of roughly 1,000 metrical verses.

Verse 11.29

तीर्थैः प्रयत्नैर्विविधैरवाप्ताः क्षणेन ये नाशमिह प्रयान्ति ।
स्वप्नोपभोगप्रतिमेषु तेषु कामेषु कस्यात्मवतो रतिः स्यात् ॥ २९ ॥

tīrthaiḥ prayatnairvividhairavāptāḥ kṣaṇena ye nāśamiha prayānti |
svapnopabhogapratimeṣu teṣu kāmeṣu kasyātmavato ratiḥ syāt || 29 ||

'What man of self-control could find satisfaction in those pleasures, which are like snatching up a hot coal,—men never attain happiness, however they pursue them, increase them, or guard them?

English translation by E. B. Cowell (2003) Buy now!

Glossary of Sanskrit terms

Note: This extracts Sanskrit terms and links to English definitions from the glossary, based on an experimental segmentation of verse (11.29). Some terms could be superfluous while some might not be mentioned. Click on the word to show English definitions.

Tirtha, Prayatna, Vividha, Avapta, Kshana, Yah, Yat, Nasha, Iha, Pra, Praya, Anti, Svapnopabhoga, Pratima, Tad, Kama, Kah, Kim, Atmavat, Rati, Syat, Sya,

Analysis of Sanskrit grammar

Note: this is an experimental feature and only shows the first possible analysis of the Sanskrit text (Buddha-carita Verse 11.29). If the system was successful in segmenting the sentence, you will see of which words it is made up of, generally consisting of Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Participles and Indeclinables. Click on the link to show all possible derivations of the word.

  • Line 1: “tīrthaiḥ prayatnairvividhairavāptāḥ kṣaṇena ye nāśamiha prayānti
  • tīrthaiḥ -
  • tīrtha (noun, neuter)
    [instrumental plural]
  • prayatnair -
  • prayatna (noun, masculine)
    [instrumental plural]
  • vividhair -
  • vividha (noun, masculine)
    [instrumental plural]
    vividha (noun, neuter)
    [instrumental plural]
  • avāptāḥ -
  • avāpta (noun, masculine)
    [nominative plural], [vocative plural]
    avāptā (noun, feminine)
    [nominative plural], [vocative plural], [accusative plural]
  • kṣaṇena -
  • kṣaṇa (noun, masculine)
    [instrumental single]
    kṣaṇa (noun, neuter)
    [instrumental single]
  • ye -
  • ya (noun, masculine)
    [nominative plural]
    (noun, feminine)
    [nominative dual], [accusative dual]
    yaḥ (pronoun, masculine)
    [nominative plural]
    yat (pronoun, neuter)
    [nominative dual], [accusative dual]
    (pronoun, feminine)
    [nominative dual], [accusative dual]
  • nāśam -
  • nāśa (noun, masculine)
    [adverb], [accusative single]
    naś -> nāśam (absolutive)
    [absolutive from √naś]
    naś -> nāśam (absolutive)
    [absolutive from √naś]
  • iha -
  • iha (indeclinable adverb)
    [indeclinable adverb]
    iha (indeclinable)
    [indeclinable]
  • prayā -
  • prā (noun, feminine)
    [instrumental single]
    prayā (noun, feminine)
    [nominative single]
  • anti -
  • anti (indeclinable adverb)
    [indeclinable adverb]
    anti (noun, feminine)
    [compound], [adverb]
    antī (noun, feminine)
    [adverb], [vocative single]
  • Line 2: “svapnopabhogapratimeṣu teṣu kāmeṣu kasyātmavato ratiḥ syāt
  • svapnopabhoga -
  • svapnopabhoga (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [vocative single]
  • pratimeṣu -
  • pratima (noun, masculine)
    [locative plural]
    pratima (noun, neuter)
    [locative plural]
  • teṣu -
  • ta (noun, masculine)
    [locative plural]
    ta (noun, neuter)
    [locative plural]
    tad (noun, neuter)
    [locative plural]
    sa (noun, masculine)
    [locative plural]
  • kāmeṣu -
  • kāma (noun, masculine)
    [locative plural]
    kāma (noun, neuter)
    [locative plural]
  • kasyā -
  • kas -> kasya (absolutive)
    [absolutive from √kas]
    ka (noun, masculine)
    [genitive single]
    ka (noun, neuter)
    [genitive single]
    kaḥ (pronoun, masculine)
    [genitive single]
    kim (pronoun, neuter)
    [genitive single]
  • ātmavato* -
  • ātmavat (noun, masculine)
    [accusative plural], [ablative single], [genitive single]
    ātmavat (noun, neuter)
    [ablative single], [genitive single]
  • ratiḥ -
  • rati (noun, feminine)
    [nominative single]
  • syāt -
  • syāt (indeclinable adverb)
    [indeclinable adverb]
    syāt (indeclinable)
    [indeclinable]
    sya (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [ablative single]
    as (verb class 2)
    [optative active third single]

Other editions:

Also see the following editions of the Sanskrit text or (alternative) English translations of the Buddha-carita Verse 11.29

Cover of edition (2003)

The Buddha-Carita By Asvaghosa or Acts of Buddha
by E. B. Cowell (2003)

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Cover of edition (2011)

Buddha Carita of Asvaghosa
by Shanti Lal Nagar (2011)

Sanskrit text, English translation, Index of Verse and Photographs of Archaeological Evidence

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Cover of edition (2016)

Asvaghosa’s Buddhacarita or Acts of the Buddha
by E. H. Johnston (2016)

Sanskrit text with English Translation

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