Pali_Primer+Key.doc

PĀLI PRIMER

Lily de Silva, M.A., Ph.D.

Published by
VIPASSANA RESEARCH INSTITUTE

PREFACE

This is a book long overdue, as my first Pāli teacher, the late Mr. Julius Berugoda wished me to compile such a one, or translate the work he did into English, many years ago. I am sorry I was not able to bring forth this Pāli Primer during his lifetime, but I feel I am discharging a great obligation even at this late stage.

I take no credit for the method used in this book as it was thought out by my revered Guru. When I first met him in 1949, I asked him how many cases there are in Pāli, as I feared that I would have to memorise declensions as in Latin. He very tactfully said that there are no cases. I was surprised and curious, and requested him to start lessons immediately. Straight away we got down to making sentences which, lesson after lesson, became longer, more interesting and complex. These exercises were such fun that I thoroughly enjoyed learning Pāli. Mr. Berugoda compiled a Pāli Grammar in Sinhala called Pāli Subodhinī, to teach me and it was later published in the early 1950's. It has long been out of print and even I do not possess a copy.

In the early 1980s Mr. Berugoda compiled another Pāli Grammar in Sinhala which he said was an improvement on Pāli Subodhinī, and wished me to translate it into English. Though it was translated with the help of Prof. P.B. Meegaskumbura of the Department of Sinhala, I was not satisfied with the arrangement of the lessons. I felt that the improvements he made in his enthusiasm were counter-productive, but I did not have the heart to tell him my frank opinion. The book however could not be published for lack of funds.

The present work is an entirely new effort based on the same principle of teaching grammar through composition, using a gradually expanding controlled vocabulary, selected on the basis of types frequently occurring in the language. Cases are introduced one by one using only masculine nouns ending in -a at the beginning, with exercises in sentence formation with present tense, third person, singular and plural verbs whose bases end in -a. Grammatical forms such as the gerund / absolutive and the infinitive, which are very frequent in the language, are soon introduced to enable the student to form longer and more complex sentences. Once the student has mastered the basic structure, other grammatical and syntactical forms are taught one by one, following the principle of introducing forms which bear a similarity / affinity in morphology to those already learnt. Translations from and into Pāli form an integral part of each lesson.

This book is meant for beginners and gives only an introduction to Pāli grammar. It is designed as a convenient stepping stone to more advanced works such as A.K. Warder's Introduction to Pāli.
I have freely drawn from the vocabulary collected by Ven. A.P. Buddhadatta in The New Pāli Course Part I, for which I acknowledge my indebtedness.
I place on record my sincere thanks to my University Guru Prof. N.A. Jayawickrema for going through the first draft of this text with meticulous care and making valuable suggestions.

Lily de Silva
Department of Pāli and Buddhist Studies
University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
11 December, 1991.

CONTENTS

The Alphabet
1 Lesson 1 Declension of masculine nouns ending in -a.
Nominative case, singular and plural.
Present, third, singular and plural verbs.
4 Lesson 2 Declension of masculine nouns ending in -a, continued.
Accusative case, singular and plural .
7 Lesson 3 Declension of masculine nouns ending in -a, continued.
Instrumental case, singular and plural.
11 Lesson 4 Declension of masculine nouns ending in -a, continued.
Ablative case, singular and plural.
15 Lesson 5 Declension of masculine nouns ending in -a, continued.
Dative case, singular and plural.
19 Lesson 6 Declension of masculine nouns ending in -a, continued.
Genitive case, singular and plural.
23 Lesson 7 Declension of masculine nouns ending in -a, continued.
Locative case, singular and plural.
27 Lesson 8 Declension of masculine nouns ending in -a, continued.
Vocative case, singular and plural.
Declension of neuter nouns ending in -a.
32 Lesson 9 The Gerund / Absolutive.
37 Lesson 10 The Infinitive.
41 Lesson 11 The present participle, masculine and neuter genders.
46 Lesson 12 Conjugation of Verbs - Present Tense, Active Voice.
49 Lesson 13 Conjugation of Verbs - Present Tense, Active Voice, continued.
55 Lesson 14 The Further Tense.
59 Lesson 15 The Optative / Potential Mood.
63 Lesson 16 The Imperative Mood.
66 Lesson 17 The Past Tense.
70 Lesson 18 Declension of feminine nouns ending in -ā.
73 Lesson 19 The Past Participle.
79 Lesson 20 Declension of feminine nouns ending in -i and 2.
82 Lesson 21 The Present Participle, feminine gender.
87 Lesson 22 The Future Passive Participle.
90 Lesson 23 The Causative.
93 Lesson 24 Declension of feminine nouns ending in -u.
96 Lesson 25 Declension of masculine nouns ending in -i.
101 Lesson 26 Declension of masculine nouns ending in -2.
104 Lesson 27 Declension of masculine nouns ending in -u and -3.
107 Lesson 28 Declension of agent nouns and nouns indicating relationships.
111 Lesson 29 Declension of neuter nouns ending in -i and -u.
115 Lesson 30 Declension of adjectives ending in -vantu and -mantu.
119 Lesson 31 Declension of personal pronouns.
123 Lesson 32 Declension of personal pronouns, relative, demonstrative and interrogative.
131 List of Pāli Verbs
137 Pāli Vocabulary (other than verbs)
145 Glossary (English - Pāli)

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammā-Sambuddhassa.

Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, The Fully Self-enlightened One.

PĀLI PRIMER

The Alphabet:

Pāli is not known to have a special script of its own. In countries where Pāli is studied, the scripts used in those countries are used to write Pāli: in India the Nāgari, in Sri Lanka the Sinhalese, in Burma the Burmese and in Thailand the Kamboja script. The Pali Text Society, London, uses the Roman script and now it has gained international currency.

The Pāli alphabet consists of 41 letters, 8 vowels and 33 consonants.

Vowels
a, ā, i, ī, u, ū, e, o

Consonants

Gutturals k kh g gh l
Palatals c ch j jh ñ
Cerebrals t th d dh n
Dentals t th d dh n
Labials p ph b bh m
Miscellaneous y, r, l, v, s, h, l, m

The vowels a, i, u are short; ā, ī, ū are long; e, o are of middle length. They are pronounced short before double consonants, e.g. mettā, khetta, kottha, sotthi; and long before single consonants, e.g. deva, senā, loka, odana.

Pronunciation

a is pronounced like u in cut

ā " " " a in father
i " " " i in mill
ī " " " ee in bee
u " " " u in put
ū " " " oo in cool
k " " " k in kite
g " " " g in good
ń " " " ng in singer
c " " " ch in church
j " " " j in jam
ñ " " " gn in signor
t " " " t in hat
d " " " d in good
n " " " n in now
t is pronounced like th in thumb
d " " " th in they
n " " " n in now
p " " " p in put
b " " " b in but
m " " " m in mind

y " " " y in yes
r " " " r in right
l " " " l in light
v " " " v in vine
s " " " s in sing
h " " " h in hot
l " " " l in light
m " " " ng in sing
kh, gh, ch, jh, th, dh, th, dh, ph, bh are aspirate consonants which have to be pronounced with an audible breath.

Lesson 1

1. Vocabulary

Masculine nouns ending in -a

Buddha / Tathāgata /
Sugata - the Buddha

manussa - man, human
being
nara / purisa - man, person
kassaka - farmer
brāhmana - brahmin
putta - son
mātula - uncle
kumāra - boy
vānija - merchant
bhūpāla - king
sahāya / sahāyaka /
mitta - friend

Verbs

bhāsati - speaks
pacati - cooks
kasati - ploughs
bhuñjati - eats
sayati - sleeps
passati - sees
chindati - cuts
gacchati - goes
āgacchati - comes
dhāvati - runs

2. Declension of masculine nouns ending in -a

Nominative case: The case ending -o is added to the nominal base to form the nominative case singular number. The case ending -ā is added to the nominal base to form the nominative case plural number. A noun thus inflected is used as the subject of a sentence.

Singular

1. nara + o = naro
2. mātula + o = mātulo
3. kassaka + o = kassako

Plural

nara + ā = narā
mātula + ā = mātulā
kassaka + ā = kassakā

3. In the verbs listed above bhāsa, paca, kasa etc. are verbal bases and -ti is the present tense, third person, singular termination.

The present tense, third person, plural is formed by adding the termination -nti to the base.

Singular

bhāsati - He speaks
pacati - He cooks
kasati - He ploughs

Plural

bhāsanti - They speak
pacanti - They cook
kasanti - They plough

4. Examples in sentence formation

Singular
1. Naro bhāsati - The man speaks.
2. Mātulo pacati - The uncle cooks.
3. Kassako kasati - The farmer ploughs.
Plural
1. Narā bhāsanti - Men speak.
2. Mātulā pacanti - Uncles cook.
3. Kassakā kasanti - Farmers plough.

Exercise 1

Translate into English

1. Bhūpālo bhuñjati.
2. Puttā sayanti.
3. Vānijā sayanti.
4. Buddho passati.
5. Kumāro dhāvati.
6. Mātulo kasati.
7. Brāhmanā bhāsanti.
8. Mittā gacchanti.
9. Kassakā pacanti.
10. Manusso chindati.
11. Purisā dhāvanti.
12. Sahāyako bhuñjati.
13. Tathāgato bhāsati.
14. Naro pacati.
15. Sahāyā kasanti.
16. Sugato āgacchati.

6. Translate into Pāli

1. Sons run.
2. The uncle sees.
3. The Buddha comes.
4. Boys eat.
5. Merchants go.
6. The man sleeps.
7. Kings go.
8. The brahmin cuts.
9. Friends speak.
10. The farmer ploughs.
11. The merchant comes.
12. Sons cut.
13. Uncles speak.
14. The boy runs.
15. The friend speaks.
16. The Buddha sees.

Lesson 2

1. Vocabulary

Masculine nouns ending in -a

dhamma - the doctrine, truth
bhatta - rice
odana - cooked rice
gāma - village
suriya - sun
canda - moon
kukkura/sunakha/sona - dog
vihāra - monastery
patta - bowl
āvāta - pit
pabbata - mountain
yācaka - beggar
sigāla - jackal
rukkha - tree

Verbs

harati - carries, takes
away
āharati - brings
āruhati - climbs,
ascends
oruhati - descends
yācati - begs
khanati - digs
vijjhati - shoots
paharati - hits, strikes
rakkhati - protects
vandati - worships,
salutes

2. Declension of masculine nouns ending in -a (contd.)

Accusative case - The case ending -m is added to the nominal base to form the accusative singular number. The case ending -e is added to the nominal base to form the accusative case plural number. A noun thus inflected is used as the object of a sentence. The goal of motion is also expressed by the accusative case.

Singular

1. nara + m = naram
2. mātula + m = mātulam
3. kassaka + m = kassakam

Plural

nara + e = nare
mātula + e = mātule
kassaka + e = kassake

3. Examples in sentence formation

Singular

1. Putto naram passati - The son sees the man.
2. Brāhmano mātulam rakkhati -The brahmin protects the uncle.
3. Vānijo kassakam paharati - The merchant hits the farmer.

Plural

1. Puttā nare passanti - Sons see men.
2. Brāhmanā mātule rakkhanti - Brahmins protect uncles.
3. Vānijā kassake paharanti - Merchants hit farmers.

Exercise 2

4. Translate into English

1. Tathāgato dhammam bhāsati.
2. Brāhmanā odanam bhuñjanti.
3. Manusso suriyam passati.
4. Kumārā sigāle paharanti.
5. Yācakā bhattaṃ yācanti.
6. Kassakā āvāṭe khaṇanti.
7. Mitto gāmaṃ āgacchati.
8. Bhūpālo manusse rakkhati.
9. Puttā pabbataṃ gacchanti.
10. Kumāro Buddhaṃ vandati.
11. Vāṇijā patte āharanti.
12. Puriso vihāraṃ gacchati.
13. Kukkurā pabbataṃ dhāvanti.
14. Sigālā gāmaṃ āgacchanti.
15. Brāhmaṇā sahāyake āharanti.
16. Bhūpālā sugataṃ vandanti.
17. Yācakā sayanti.

18. Mittā sunakhe haranti.
19. Putto candaṃ passati.
20. Kassako gāmaṃ dhāvati.
21. Vāṇijā rukkhe chindanti.
22. Naro sigālaṃ vijjhati.
23. Kumāro odanaṃ bhuñjati.
24. Yācako soṇaṃ paharati.
25. Sahāyakā pabbate āruhanti.

5. Translate into Pāli

1. Men go to the monastery.
2. Farmers climb mountains.
3. The brahmin eats rice.
4. The Buddha sees the boys.
5. Uncles take away bowls.
6. The son protects the dog.
7. The king worships the Buddha.
8. The merchant brings a boy.
9. Friends salute the brahmin.
10. Beggars beg rice.
11. Merchants shoot jackals.
12. Boys climb the mountain.
13. The farmer runs to the village.
14. The merchant cooks rice.
15. Sons worship the uncle.
16. Kings protect men.
17. The Buddha comes to the monastery.
18. The men descend.
19. Farmers dig pits.
20. The merchant runs.
21. The dog sees the moon.
22. Boys climb trees.
23. The brahmin brings the bowl.
24. The beggar sleeps.
25. The king sees the Buddha.

Lesson 3

1. Vocabulary

Masculine nouns ending in -a

ratha - vehicle, chariot
sakaṭa - cart
hattha - hand
pāda - foot
magga - path
dīpa - island, lamp
sāvaka - disciple
samaṇa - recluse, monk
sagga - heaven
assa - horse
miga - deer
sara - arrow
pāsāṇa - rock, stone
kakaca - saw
khagga - sword
cora - thief
paṇḍita - wise man

2. Declension of masculine nouns ending in -a (contd.)

Instrumental case - The case ending -ena is added to the nominal base to form the instrumental singular. The case ending -ehi is added to form the instrumental plural; -ebhi is another archaic case ending that is sometimes added. A noun thus inflected expresses the idea 'by', 'with' or 'through'.

Singular
nara + ena = narena (by means of the man)
mātula + ena = mātulena (with the uncle)
kassaka + ena = kassakena (through the farmer)
Plural
nara + ehi = narehi (narebhi)
mātula + ehi = mātulehi (mātulebhi)
kassaka + ehi = kassakehi (kassakebhi)
Saddhiṃ / saha meaning 'with' is also used with the instrumental case. They are not normally used with nouns denoting things.

3. Examples in sentence formation

Singular
1. Samaṇo narena saddhiṃ gāmaṃ gacchati.
The monk goes to the village with the man.
2. Putto mātulena saha candaṃ passati.
The son sees the moon with his uncle.
3. Kassako kakacena rukkhaṃ chindati.
The farmer cuts the tree with a saw.
Plural
1. Samaṇā narehi saddhiṃ gāmaṃ gacchanti.
Monks go to the village with men.
2. Puttā mātulehi saha candaṃ passanti.
Sons see the moon with uncles.
3. Kassakā kakacehi rukkhe chindanti.
Farmers cut trees with saws.

Exercise 3

4. Translate into English

1. Buddho sāvakehi saddhiṃ vihāraṃ gacchati.
2. Puriso puttena saha dīpaṃ dhāvati.
3. Kassako sarena sigālaṃ vijjhati.
4. Brāhmaṇā mātulena saha pabbataṃ āruhanti.
5. Puttā pādehi kukkure paharanti.
6. Mātulo puttehi saddhiṃ rathena gāmaṃ āgacchati.
7. Kumārā hatthehi patte āharanti.
8. Coro maggena assaṃ harati.
9. Kassako āvāṭaṃ oruhati.
10. Bhūpālā paṇḍitehi saha samaṇe passanti.
11. Paṇḍito bhūpālena saha Tathāgataṃ vandati.
12. Puttā sahāyena saddhiṃ odanaṃ bh