Thank you, Yong Peng, for your regular answer key. Like to comment on a few things. Hope you won't mind.


At 10:04 PM 30-10-01, you wrote:

>20. Tva.m giita.m gaayanto rodanta.m daaraka.m rakkhasi.
>Ans: You (sing.), singing a song, protect the crying child.

Rakkhati is translated by Ven. Buddhadatta as:
protects; guards; observes; preserves.

But in the context of the above, I think a better English translation would be "look after".

>22. So paaniiya.m pivitvaa patta.m bhinditvaa maatulamhaa bhaayati.
>Ans: He, having drunk water and broken the bowl, fears the uncle.

This translation is a bit strange. In fact, the Pali sentence itself is strange in the first place. (You have to tolerate quite a number of such strangeness in the book.) Nonetheless, I think it would sound a bit better to translate it as:
After drinking the water, he breaks the bowl and is afraid of his uncle. (Yes, that it still sounds strange. Perhaps it needs a "therefore".)

Again, I'd like to say that the "tvaa" simply gives the idea of something happening before the next (most of the time, at least). So don't feel tied down by the "having (perfect tense)" model. You're free translate it in a way that sounds right.

As many Pali teachers would say:
Translate sentences, not words.

>25. Khetta.m rakkhanto so aavaa.te kha.nante varaahe disvaa
>paasaa.nehi paharati.
>Ans: Protecting the field, he, having seen pigs digging pits, hits
>them with stones.

It would sound better this way:
While looking after (or taking care of) the field, he sees pigs digging pits and hits them with stones.
[This was my teacher's answer.]

>3. Sitting in the park you (plur.) eat fruits with friends.
>Ans: Uyyaanasmi.m nisiidantaa tumhe mittehi saha phalaani bhu~njatha.

Tumhe na "phalaani bhu~njatha".
Tumhe "phalaani khaadatha".

"Khaadati" is for hard (perhaps on the crunchy side) food stuff, such as fruits, nuts, root-food, stem-food, vegetables, flowers, and pastry. (Traditional Indian pastry are usually on the hard side.)

"Bhu~njati" is for solid by not crunchy stuff. In the Vinaya Pitaka, the "bhojana"s are classed the as rice (odana), parched flour (sattu), junket (kummaasa), fish (maccha), meat (ma.msa). These are some of the things that we "bhu~njaama".

>5. Maya.m vane gantvaa carante mige passitu.m gehasmaa nikkhamaama.

From how I see it, this answer is a bit problematic. "Vane gantvaa" is "having gone to the forest", but no where in the English sentence is this idea found. (We set out from home to go and see the deer roaming in the forest.)

Perhaps it's a typo error, and the two words are meant be inverted:
Maya.m gantvaa vane carante mige passitu.m gehasmaa nikkhamaama.

Still it poses an ambiguity. It may be taken as:
We set out from home to see the deer which, having gone, and roam in the forest.

A safer Pali equivalent of the English sentence may be:
Maya.m vane carante mige passitu.m gehasmaa nikkhamitvaa gacchaama.
though they may not be technically parallel.

>6. Aha.m dhamma.m adhigantu.m icchaami.
>7. Pabbatasmi.m .thatvaa maya.m samuddamhi patanta.m candassa
>aaloka.m passaama.

New learners would most probably put the answer as "Pabbatasmi.m ti.t.thantaa..." (English: "Standing on the mountain..."), which is fine.

Based on how the absolutive is used in the Pali scriptures, "Pabbatasmi.m .thatvaa" is also possible. In such a case, it carries the meaning of "while" or "as". (I know; it's not fair. The book doesn't teach that. Wait till you go to the next lesson.)

>16. Sappurisaa paapakammaani bhaayantaa sagge uppajjanti.

The answer given in the key is:
Paaapakammaani (paapaani kaatu.m) bhaayantaa sappurisaa sagge uppajjanti.

Using "paaapakammaani" here is incorrect. It should be "paaapakammehi" as the verb "bhaayantaa" (from "bhaayati") takes the absolutive. "Paapaani kaatu.m" however fits in fine, though is not technically the same.


It's unfortunate that "Key to Paali Primer" contains quite a few mistakes. Perhaps the author should do something about it. This should nonetheless not deter anyone from using the book. To my knowledge, it's the best "first book" available.

That's all for now, everybody. Appamaadena sampaadetha!


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