What is the feminine form of:
Aham. sukhito homi
niddukkho homi
avero homi
abyāpajjho homi
anīgho homi
sukhī attānam. pariharāmi ?
The feminine forms for this is as follows.
Ahaṁ sukhitā homi
niddukkhā homi
averā homi
abyāpajjhā homi
anīghā homi
sukhī attānaṁ pariharāmi
In this passage the subject is expressed through the singular pronoun ahaṁ and the verb form homi. Neither of these are gendered. However when the subject is feminine, the adjectives are declined as feminine, even in the absence of a gendered noun as subject. Such usages are a little obscure, as there are relatively few passages in the canon from a female perspective. Still, as a canonical example, see AN 7.53:
Yatohaṃ, bhante, sāmikassa daharasseva daharā ānītā nābhijānāmi sāmikaṃ manasāpi aticaritā, kuto pana kāyena
Sir, since my husband brought me home from our wedding, when he and I were both still young, I have not transgressed against him even in thought, still less in deed.
The last phrase remains in masculine, since atta is a masculine noun, not an adjective.
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Thank you Bhante
It seems that the feminine form is pretty much as the plural in the second verse and is what I’ve been chanting.
Glad that sukhī doesn’t change. One Ajahn said it should be sukhini attānam. which would be too long to fit the tune.
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That’s right, in this case the feminine is the same as the plural.
On second thought, sukhinī is probably better for the last line; I had thought of sukhi as an adjective of atta, but in fact they are both substantives, so the feminine form of sukhinī would be correct. An example would be:
Sukhiniyo hontu tā, mahārāja, somā ca bhaginī sakulā ca bhaginī
Your highness, may your sisters Somā and Sakulā be happy!
This is plural, but the idea is the same. Anyway, the corrected verse would be:
Ahaṁ sukhitā homi
niddukkhā homi
averā homi
abyāpajjhā homi
anīghā homi
sukhinī attānaṁ pariharāmi
Sorry to disappoint! But if you find the rhythm doesn’t work, don’t worry, just use sukhī instead. This is also correct; it’s quite common in Pali verse for words to be abbreviated to make them fit the metre.
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Thank you Bhante
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