Dhammapada 417

417

Hitvā mānusakaṃ yogaṃ,
dibbaṃ yogaṃ upaccagā;
Sabbayogavisaṃyuttaṃ,
tamahaṃ brūmi brāhmaṇaṃ.

Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who, after leaving all bondage to men, has risen above all
[411. Akathankathi is explained by Buddhaghosa as meaning, 'free from doubt or hesitation.' He also uses kathankathâ in the sense of 'doubt' (verse 414). ln the Kâvyâdarsa, III, 17, the commentator explains akatham by kathârahitam, nirvivâdam, which would mean, 'without a kathâ, a speech, a story without contradiction, unconditionally.' From our passage, however, it seems as if kathankathâ was a noun derived from kathankathayati, 'to say How, how?' so that neither the first nor the second element had anything to do with kath, 'to relate;' and in that case akatham, too, ought to be taken in the sense of 'without a Why.'