Skip to content
buddhavacana

4.5: kamma (Accusative)

Nearly every sentence has a word for what the action is done to: the teaching that is heard, the umbrella that is made, the village that is gone to. Kaccāyana names that word the kamma (the object): whatever one does, sees or hears {280}, and it takes the ② ending {297}, aṁ in the singular (dhammaṁ) and, for a lemma in a, -e in the plural (dhamme), as chapter 1 tabled. So dhammaṁ suṇāti is “he hears the teaching”: English shows the object by its place after the verb, with no preposition.

The same ending measures a stretch of time or distance that an action fills, sattāhaṁ nisīdi, “he sat for seven days” (3: 2.2) {298}. So ask of a ② word: what does the verb do to this, or where does it get to? If neither, look down the table.

The uses of the ② ending

Section titled “The uses of the ② ending”
what the ② word is doing what you see example rule
the object: what is made, seen or heard a noun in ② beside its verb chattaṁ karoti, he makes an umbrella; dhammaṁ suṇāti, he hears the teaching {280}, {297}
the goal of motion: what a going or entering reaches ② with a verb of movement anagāriyaṁ pabbajati, he goes forth into homelessness {297}
duration: a time or a distance that the action fills from end to end (accantasaṁyoga, unbroken connection) a word of time or length in ②; a meal eaten once in the year does not fill it, so saṁvacchare is ⑦ māsaṁ sajjhāyati, he recites for a month; yojanaṁ dīgho pabbato, the mountain is a league long {298}
the noun a governing particle (kammappavacanīya) stands with ② beside anu after, pati towards, pari around, abhi about pabbajitaṁ anupabbajiṁsu, they went forth after the one who had gone forth {299}
the one made to act by a “makes someone do” verb (kārita {438}) a verb in -eti, -ayati, -āpeti or -āpayati; the person may take ③ or ⑥ instead purisaṁ gāmayati, he makes the man go {300}
standing in for ⑥ maṁ where mama, “of me, to me”, is expected maṁ … upamā paṭibhaṁsu, similes occurred to me {306}
standing in for ③ maṁ where mayā, “with me”, is expected sace maṁ … ālapissati, if he will converse with me {307}
standing in for ⑦: a point of time a time word in ② where -e or -smiṁ is expected ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā, at one time the Blessed One {307}

Every rule number links to the full rule in the Kaccāyana translation; chapter 1 tables the typical meanings of every ending. The last three uses are rare, ekaṁ samayaṁ, the opening of most suttas (5: 1.1, 7: 1.1, 9: 1.1), the one to remember.

Examples

Section titled “Examples”

The ② word is in bold. The object, what is made {280}:

chattaṁ karoti

🚻⨀②(chattaṁ) 🟢⨀🤟▶️(karoti)
an umbrella / [he] makes
He makes an umbrella.

The object, what is heard {297}:

dhammaṁ suṇāti

🚹⨀②(dhammaṁ) 🟢⨀🤟▶️(suṇāti)
the teaching / [he] hears
He hears the teaching.

The goal of motion, what the going forth reaches {297} (Bonus: 26, 12.8):

agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajeyyan”ti

🚻⨀⑤(agāra) 🚻⨀②(anagāriya) 🔵⏯👆⨀(pabbajati) 🔼(ti)
from household life / to homeless state / renounce / quote
[I would] renounce from household life to homeless state.

Duration, the month that the eating fills {298}:

māsaṁ maṁsodanaṁ bhuñjati

🚹⨀②(māsaṁ) 🚹⨀②🆎(maṁsa+odana) 🟢⨀🤟▶️(bhuñjati)
for a month / rice with meat / [he] eats
He eats rice with meat for a month.

Exercises

Section titled “Exercises”

Translate these sentences, all met in the texts of chapters 3, 7 and 9 (each is linked to its sentence). Each has at least one word with the ② ending: find it and say from the table what it is doing.

  1. Yato khayaṁ paccayānaṁ avedī”ti. (3: 9.4)
  2. Attamanā pañcavaggiyā bhikkhū bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinanduṁ. (7: 12.2)
  3. Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi— (9: 1.2)
  4. Atha kho bhagavā bodhirukkhamūle sattāhaṁ ekapallaṅkena nisīdi vimuttisukhapaṭisaṁvedī. (3: 2.2)

Answers

Section titled “Answers”

Note: please do the exercises first before checking the answers.

  1. Yato khayaṁ paccayānaṁ avedī”ti.

⏏️(yato) 🚹⨀②(khaya) 🚹⨂⑥(paccaya) 🟢⨀🤟⏮(vedeti) ⏏️(iti)
since / the destruction / of conditions / knew / (end quote)
Since he has understood the destruction of conditions.

khayaṁ: the object {297}, what he understood; paccayānaṁ, “of conditions”, is ⑥ plural.

  1. Attamanā pañcavaggiyā bhikkhū bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinanduṁ.

🚹⨂①🆎(atta+mana) 🚹⨂①🆎(pañca+vaggiya) 🚹⨂①(bhikkhu) 🚹⨀⑥(bhagavant) 🚻⨀②🔽(ta)(bhāsita) 🟢⨂🤟⏮(abhinandati)
delighted / of the group of five / bhikkhū / of the Bhagavā / what was spoken / rejoiced in
The group of five bhikkhū, delighted, rejoiced in the Bhagavā’s words.

bhāsitaṁ: the object {297}, where English says “rejoiced in”; bhikkhū is ① here, the agent, and bhagavato, the owner of the words, is ⑥.

  1. Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi—

⏏️(tatra) ⏏️(kho) 🚹⨀①(bhagavant) 🚹⨂②(bhikkhu) 🟢⨀🤟⏮(āmanteti)
there / indeed / the Bhagavā / bhikkhū / addressed
There the Bhagavā addressed the bhikkhū:

bhikkhū: the object {297}, in ② plural, the same shape as the ① plural of exercise 2; the agent is bhagavā, in ①, so bhikkhū is what he addressed.

  1. Atha kho bhagavā bodhirukkhamūle sattāhaṁ ekapallaṅkena nisīdi vimuttisukhapaṭisaṁvedī.

⏏️(atha) ⏏️(kho) 🚹⨀①(bhagavant) 🚻⨀⑦🆎(bodhirukkha+mūla) 🚻⨀②🆎(satta+aha) 🚹⨀③🆎(eka+pallaṅka) 🟢⨀🤟⏮(nisīdati) 🚹⨀①🆎(vimuttisukha+paṭisaṁvedī)
then / indeed / the Bhagavā / at the root of the bodhi tree / for seven days / in one cross-legged posture / sat down / experiencing the bliss of liberation
Then the Bhagavā sat at the root of the Bodhi tree for seven days in one cross-legged posture, experiencing the bliss of liberation (vimuttisukhapaṭisaṁvedī).

sattāhaṁ: the time the sitting fills {298}; the place is in ⑦, the manner in ③.