Pubbaṇhasutta — Maṅgalavagga — the fifteenth chapter of the Threes
Setting
None stated; the discourse continues from AN 3.1, whose setting at Sāvatthī is understood to hold
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A threefold prose statement followed by three verses of blessing
Length
~2 minutes to read
Northern parallel
The idea that a good day begins with good conduct rather than astrological timing is a recurring theme in the Chinese Āgamas; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — simple on its surface, with a pointed redefinition underneath
Why this discourse
A good morning, a good midday, a good evening — each earned not by the position of a star or the timing of an hour, but by good conduct of body, speech, and mind at that time of day. The verses that follow redefine every traditional marker of good fortune — a good star, a good dawn, an auspicious hour — as a description of ethical action, and close on a blessing still spoken today: may you and all your relatives be healthy and happy.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A good star, a good dawn, and an auspicious hour are not astrological facts but names for good conduct of body, speech, and mind, wherever in the day that conduct happens to occur.
Three watches, one requirement
The prose section states the same formula three times, once for morning, once for midday, once for evening: beings who do good things by body, speech, and mind at that time of day have a good version of that time of day. The structure insists that no single hour is privileged — a good morning is available at midday and evening too, on the identical condition.
A direct redefinition of astrological language
The first verse lists exactly the vocabulary an astrologically minded listener would recognize: a good star, a good dawn, a good rising, a good moment, a good hour. Rather than rejecting this vocabulary outright, the discourse redirects it — these traditional markers of fortune, it says, “come with good gifts to spiritual practitioners,” meaning they are what ethical conduct produces, not what determines it. The chapter’s own title, maṅgala, good fortune, is being redefined in real time across these ten discourses, and this closing verse states the redefinition most explicitly.
Padakkhiṇa: auspicious, and also clockwise
The second verse's key word, padakkhiṇa, translated “auspicious,” carries a second sense: the clockwise circumambulation performed as a mark of respect, still practiced around shrines and stupas throughout Buddhist Asia. The wordplay suggests that auspicious deeds move a person in the same direction as an act of reverence — the same word doing double duty for a physical gesture and an ethical orientation.
A blessing still recited
The closing lines — arogā sukhitā hotha, saha sabbehi ñātibhī, “may you and all your relatives be healthy and happy” — are recited today across Theravāda communities as a blessing chant, independent of whatever occasion brought the passage to mind. A teacher can point out that this line has had a continuous devotional life for over two thousand years, entirely apart from its original context here as the close of a discourse on ethics rather than astrology.
Closing the vagga, and the third fifty
This discourse ends the Maṅgalavagga and, in the traditional count, the Threes’ third block of fifty discourses, marked by the closing note tatiyo paṇṇāsako samatto, “the third fifty is finished,” appended in the source after the chapter’s own summary verse. From here the collection turns to the sixteenth chapter, three merged discourses very different in form from anything encountered so far.
Key terms
supubbaṇho, sumajjhanhiko, susāyanho — “a good morning, a good midday, a good evening” — the three watches of the day, each earned by good conduct rather than granted by timing.
maṅgala — “good fortune, an auspicious sign” — the chapter’s title term, redefined across these ten discourses as a description of conduct rather than astrology.
padakkhiṇa — “auspicious” — also the clockwise circumambulation performed as a mark of respect, the same word doing double duty in the second verse.
sucarita — “good conduct, doing well” — the prose section’s term for what must happen by body, speech, and mind at each watch of the day.
arogā sukhitā hotha — “may you be healthy and happy” — the closing blessing, still recited today independent of its original context.
The text
The discourse in full: the threefold prose statement on morning, midday, and evening, and the closing verses, still recited today as a blessing. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Three watches of the day
§1“Mendicants, those sentient beings who do good things in the morning by way of body, speech, and mind have a good morning. Those sentient beings who do good things at midday by way of body, speech, and mind have a good midday. Those sentient beings who do good things in the evening by way of body, speech, and mind have a good evening.
The verses
§2A good star, a good fortune, a good dawn, a good rising, a good moment, a good hour: these come with good gifts to spiritual practitioners. Auspicious deeds of body, verbal auspicious deeds, auspicious deeds of mind, auspicious resolutions: when your deeds have been auspicious, you get auspicious benefits. Those happy with these benefits flourish in the Buddha’s teaching. May you and all your relatives be healthy and happy!”
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Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What does the discourse say determines whether a morning, midday, or evening is "good"?
Correct: B. The same formula repeated three times, once per watch.
Question 2 of 10
How does the discourse treat astrological vocabulary like "a good star" and "a good dawn"?
Correct: B. The chapter's own title, maṅgala, is being redefined in real time.
Question 3 of 10
What double meaning does "padakkhiṇa" carry in the second verse?
Correct: B. The same word doing double duty for a physical gesture and an ethical orientation.
Question 4 of 10
What does the closing blessing say?
Correct: B. Arogā sukhitā hotha, saha sabbehi ñātibhī.
Question 5 of 10
What does the guide say about the continued use of this blessing?
Correct: B. A continuous devotional life of over two thousand years.
Question 6 of 10
What does this discourse mark the end of, according to the traditional count?
Correct: B. Marked by the closing note appended after the chapter's own summary verse.
Question 7 of 10
What chapter follows the Maṅgalavagga?
Correct: B. A structural shift in how the remaining material of AN 3 is presented.
Question 8 of 10
What is "sucarita"?
Correct: B. The requirement repeated identically for morning, midday, and evening.
Question 9 of 10
How many verses follow the prose section of this discourse?
Correct: B. Building from the redefinition of astrological terms to the closing blessing.
Question 10 of 10
What is the overall structure of this discourse?
Correct: B. The longest and most developed discourse in this short vagga, closing it on a note of blessing.
