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Homage to the Blessed One, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One. The Ornament of Good Understanding 1. First Chapter: Understanding Faults Salutation to the Triple Gem 1. The beautiful speech born from the lotus-like mouth of the Sage; May that speech, the refuge of beings, delight my mind. The Occasion 2. There are, indeed, excellent and ancient works on poetics; Yet they do not purify the pure Magadhi language. The Reason for the Work 3. Therefore, may this work, though lacking in ornaments, be pleasing; My effort is only to adorn it with fitting ornaments. 4. Those whose wisdom is not accumulated, not gathered from various scriptures; They, overwhelmed by the darkness of delusion, understand nothing at all. 5. What is the use of serving the feet of those who have no teachers here? Only those who are covered with the dust of their feet are truly discerning. 6. Poets who create poems, dramas, and captivating works; Whatever they compose is not supremely astonishing. 7. Only that shines forth, only that composition is wondrous; By which the wise are pleased, and in which care has been taken. 8. Composition is the union of sound and meaning, free from faults; It is threefold, distinguished by prose, verse, and mixed forms. 9. It is further divided into bound and unbound; That is what the ornaments bring to the most desirable state. 10. A flawless lotus-like face [the word "ambhoja" is not in the Pali, it means water-born, brought from Sanskrit texts], and flawless speech; They shine only when adorned, what then of those without adornment? 11. Without the guidance of a teacher, a fool wishes to adorn it; How can he not become an object of laughter to the wise? 12. Even a collection of poetic words, not revealing ornaments; Attains the state of being unspeakable, due to the absence of usage. 13. Ornaments are of two kinds, distinguished by sound and meaning; Sound and meaning are called composition, their arrangement is a series of them. 14. Though endowed with virtues and ornaments, but marked with a trace of faults; It is not praised by the wise, like such a maiden. 15. Therefore, the removal of faults Like a sword, with great effort, attainable; Faultless in every way, virtuous, why wouldn't she be? 16. Even without ornaments, full of virtues, delightful; Faultless, without defects, full of virtues, like a bride. 17. In words, sentences, and their meanings, faults are considered various; I will tell their examples and characteristics. Word Faults - Enumeration 18. Contradictory meaning, obscure, difficult, conflicting; Requiring interpretation, needing specification, inferior meaning, meaningless. Sentence Faults - Enumeration 19. Faults of words in sentences, one meaning, broken style; Also, scattered, rustic, lacking pause, misplaced order; Excessive, deviating from meaning, harsh in connection. Sentence Meaning Faults - Enumeration 20. Inconsistency, lack of elegance, broken style, doubt; Rustic, poorly adorned, these are faults based on sentence meaning. Word Faults - Explanation 21. Contradictory meaning is that whose other meaning contradicts; As in, "The cloud clearly pleases the people." 22. That by which the specified is excessive, this is obscure, as in; "Illuminating all directions, this firefly shines." 23. Whose meaning is difficult to understand, due to prefixes and divisions; Difficult is that, as in, "By her, he is embraced, the beloved." 24. That difficult word, obscure, to be explained, like yamaka, etc.; Even that is included in the fault of difficult words. 25. Composed of familiar sounds, with smooth word junctions; Endowed with the quality of clarity, yamaka is considered thus. 26. Non-separated, separated, different, non-repeated, born of many letters; That yamaka is located at the beginning, middle, and end of pādas. Non-Separated First Pāda Beginning Yamaka 27. Good people, bad people, all, discerning by virtue; Do not come to discernment, near undiscerning people. Non-Separated First and Second Pāda Beginning Yamaka 28. Skilled, unskilled, all, strong, weak, or; Do not go until they are satisfied, may be givers of happiness and sorrow; Non-Separated First, Second, and Third Pāda Beginning Yamaka. 29. With respect, with respect, destroy, Done, done by me; Homage, homage to the mind, In the receptacle, the Triple Gem. Uninterrupted catukkapaadaadi yamaka 30. A lotus, to make a lotus, The giver of forests, the giver of water, the sky; The Well-gone, the Well-gone, to the world, With compassion, he does good. 31. Uninterrupted yamaka, A little bit, a trace, is shown; These are the directions to be known, And other kinds of yamaka. 32. Very many are their, Kinds, sources of combinations; Even so, some are easy, Some are extremely difficult. 33. Yamaka, that riddle, Is exceedingly sweet; All are avoided, By me, for fear of tiring the students. 34. That which is against place, time, art, the world, Logic, or scripture; That is a contradictory word, Clear from the example here. 35. That which is not easily understood, Should be spoken of, they say, as needing guidance; Just as all the white, Directions shine at night. 36. Not like this do many think, All, everywhere, the wise; Rare is the understanding of a word, That oversteps its power. 37. There may be dependence on a qualifier, That, having obtained a qualifier, Is meaningful; just as that one, Sees even more with his eye. 38. That which diminishes the qualified, That becomes a diminished meaning; just as, The firefly, made without brightness, The sun rises. 39. That which is merely to fill the line, Is considered meaningless; Just as, indeed, I worship the Buddha's, Lotus-like feet, and also. Statement of sentence defects 40. That which is said more than once, In word or meaning; That is one meaning; just as, it shines, The cloud, this is a cloud. And just as 41. Casting aside the seeds of the heretics, And the wrong views here; He pleases, this pleased one, The Great Sage, the great people. 42. Interruption of the begun action, Becomes a bhaggari; just as, Some wisdom, some skill, And nature, alas, is yours. 43. Where confusion arises, From the bad placement of words; That is to be known as scattered, That example is just as. 44. He bows to many virtues, This person, even of the wicked; Rejoicing in benefit, Always, remembering the Well-gone One. 45. Devoid of distinguished speech, "village" is agreeable as; "Girl, desiring me, why do you not desire this?" 46. From the joining of words, something may be difficult to understand; That too, "village" is agreeable, as whatever is dear to you. 47. In statements, in the indicated place, a word break should occur where; What is deficient in that, is said, but that is deficient in pause. 48. A pause is at the end of every line, and especially in half-verses; Before and after, one or many letters, even in the middle of a word somewhere. There, examples and counter-examples as follows: 49. That one I bow to with my head, golden-hued Thus-gone One; Who sprinkles all directions, with golden juices. 50. A vowel is the former end in a combination, like in the elision of a case ending; Otherwise, you are otherwise there, as that is the beginning, or the other is like the beginning. 51. And so on, are always the end of the former word, always dependent on the former word; Feet are always connected, the other is like the beginning with the other. Examples everywhere as follows: 52. I bow to that one with my head, all, beyond measure Thus-gone One; Whose attainment of the world's summit, that comparison is not fitting. 53. I always venerate that Sage-lord, immeasurable, supreme intellect; Whose wisdom and loving-kindness, are limitless, it flourishes. Counter-examples in "and so on" and feet as follows: 54. Great loving-kindness, great wisdom, and where supreme rise; I salute that Victor, excellent, abode of excellent qualities. 55. Freed from the sequence of word meanings, this is sequence-fallen as; A field or give a village or, a beautiful country to me. 56. Transcending worldly meaning, over-said is considered as; Too crowded is the space, this is her breast-embrace. 57. Devoid of collective meaning, that is devoid of meaning as; Cow-son, bull, grass ate, water drank. 58. Where there is harshness in the construction, that is harsh construction as; Harsh stakes, worn out, thrown in the field, bear fruit abundantly. Indication of sentence-meaning defects 59. To be known is the characteristic, according to meaning, by deviation. day; I will now show you an example of these. As for incongruity, 60. Cultivation, giving, morality, well accomplished here; Are undoubtedly the means to enjoyment, heaven, and Nibbāna. As for excessive pride, 61. I am the most worthy of veneration in the world, constantly; Because all virtues are assembled in me alone. And as for, 62. Having been asked, how could I not give even my life? Yet, the giving of my son pierces my heart. As for boastfulness, 63. Trust in women and the wicked is not fitting; Especially in the horn of a bull, in a river, in disease, and in a royal family. As for doubt, 64. The moon-like sage illuminates the world, with restless eyes; Like a man who has deviated from the path, oppressed by the sight of a cow's footprint. 65. As for a sentence whose meaning is difficult to grasp, like a village tax; This man is energetic, killing others, he does not rest. 66. That is a faulty embellishment, where the embellishment is a defect; In the description of that embellishment, the form will become visible. 67. Here, in brief, I have made this, An excellent division of these faults; This alone is enough to enlighten poets, But if there is more, it is a cause for sorrow.