I'm having a problem with these two Pali words - ahu,
ahaayi - in the following snippets from Warder Ch 21,
Passage for Reading 2, which comes from paragraph xv
of DN 27 (Aga~n~na Sutta, D.iii.88).
Below is my attempt at a trilinear translation of
these two lines, but I don't really understand these
two words. The Warder glossary for Ch 21 shows "aho"
= "ah!" (expressing approving surprise and delight),
but I'm not sure how "ahu" comes from that, or how
that fits the sense with "vata" (alas!).
badaalataaya antarahitaaya sannipati.msu,
sannipatitvaa anutthuni.msu, ahu vata no, ahaayi vata
no badaalataa ti.
of the creeper / of the earth / by the disappearance /
they assembled / having assembled / they lamented / ??
/ alas / for us / ?? / alas / for us / creeper /
(end-quote)
On account of the disappearance of the creeper, they
assembled together, and lamented, Oh, woe is us! Oh,
woe is us! The creeper!
tad etarahi pi manussaa kena cid eva dukkha-dhammena
phu.t.thaa evam aaha.msu: ahu vata no, ahaayi vata no
ti.
so / now / too / people / whoever / surely / by
bad-thing / touched / thus / they say / ?? / alas /
not / ?? / alas / not / (end-quote)
So even now, people say on experiencing something bad,
Oh, woe is us! Oh, woe is us