Reading guide
Five active qualities, not one passive capacity
Unlike AN 5.138–139's akkhama/khama pentad, this discourse names five distinct active verbs a worthy royal elephant performs: it listens, destroys, protects, endures, and goes.
Listening and destroying
The elephant listens by wholeheartedly attending to its trainer's commands, whether familiar or new; the mendicant's parallel is attentive listening to the Dhamma being taught. The elephant destroys enemy combatants in battle; the mendicant ‘destroys’ arisen sensual, malicious, or cruel thoughts, using the standard eradication formula — giving up, getting rid of, calming, eliminating, obliterating.
Protecting and enduring
The elephant protects its own body parts in battle; the mendicant's ‘protecting’ is the full sense-restraint formula already given at AN 5.76 — not getting caught up in the features and details of what is seen or heard. The elephant endures blows and battle-noise; the mendicant endures an expanded list: cold, heat, hunger, thirst, biting insects, rude criticism, and severe physical pain — broader than AN 5.138–139's purely sensory akkhama.
Going fast, all the way to nibbāna
The elephant swiftly goes wherever its trainer directs, familiar territory or not. The mendicant's parallel is remarkable: swiftly going in a direction ‘never gone before in all this long time’ — the stilling of all activities, the letting go of all attachments, the ending of craving, fading away, cessation, extinguishment. The elephant's disciplined advance becomes, in the final mapping, nibbāna itself.
The chapter's close
The colophon ‘Dasamaṁ. Rājavaggo catuttho’ (the tenth discourse, the fourth Rājavagga by the traditional count) follows the mechanism explained in full at AN 5.10.
The uddāna's opening lines
The mnemonic verse names this chapter's discourses by key terms: cakkānuvattanā (wielding power), rājā (a principled king), yassaṁdisaṁ (in whatever region), and the two aspiration discourses, trailing into the verse's remaining, untranslated lines.
Key terms
The text
Five active qualities of a worthy elephant
§1“Mendicants, a royal bull elephant with five factors is worthy of a king, fit to serve a king, and is reckoned a factor of kingship. What five? A royal bull elephant listens, destroys, protects, endures, and goes fast.
Listening
§2And how does a royal bull elephant listen? It’s when a royal bull elephant pays attention, applies the mind, concentrates wholeheartedly, and actively listens to whatever task the elephant trainer has it do, whether or not it has done it before. That’s how a royal bull elephant listens.
Destroying
§3And how does a royal bull elephant destroy? It’s when a royal bull elephant in battle destroys elephants with their riders, horses with their riders, chariots and charioteers, and foot soldiers. That’s how a royal bull elephant destroys.
Protecting
§4And how does a royal bull elephant protect? It’s when a royal bull elephant in battle protects its fore-quarters and hind-quarters, its fore-feet and hind-feet, and its head, ears, tusks, trunk, tail, and rider. That’s how a royal bull elephant protects.
Enduring
§5And how does a royal bull elephant endure? It’s when a royal bull elephant in battle endures being struck by spears, swords, arrows, and axes; it endures the thunder of the drums, kettledrums, horns, and cymbals. That’s how a royal bull elephant endures.
Going fast
§6And how does a royal bull elephant go fast? It’s when a royal bull elephant swiftly goes in whatever direction the elephant trainer sends it, whether or not it has been there before. That’s how a royal bull elephant goes fast.
The mendicant's parallel, in full
§7In the same way, a mendicant with five qualities is worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods, worthy of hospitality, worthy of a religious donation, worthy of veneration with cupped palms, and is the supreme field of merit for the world. What five? A mendicant listens, destroys, protects, endures, and goes fast. And how does a mendicant listen? It’s when a mendicant pays attention, applies the mind, concentrates wholeheartedly, and actively listens when the teaching and training proclaimed by a Realized One is being taught. That’s how a mendicant listens. And how does a mendicant destroy? It’s when a mendicant doesn’t tolerate a sensual, malicious, or cruel thought. They don’t tolerate any bad, unskillful qualities that have arisen, but give them up, get rid of them, calm them, eliminate them, and obliterate them. That’s how a mendicant destroys. And how does a mendicant protect? When a mendicant sees a sight with the eyes, they don’t get caught up in the features and details. If the faculty of sight were left unrestrained, bad unskillful qualities of covetousness and displeasure would become overwhelming. For this reason, they practice restraint, protecting the faculty of sight, and achieving restraint over it. Hearing a sound with the ears … Smelling an odor with the nose … Tasting a flavor with the tongue … Feeling a touch with the body … Knowing an idea with the mind, they don’t get caught up in the features and details. If the faculty of mind were left unrestrained, bad unskillful qualities of covetousness and displeasure would become overwhelming. For this reason, they practice restraint, protecting the faculty of mind, and achieving restraint over it. That’s how a mendicant protects. And how does a mendicant endure? It’s when a mendicant endures cold, heat, hunger, and thirst; the touch of flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, and reptiles; rude and unwelcome criticism; and puts up with physical pain—sharp, severe, acute, unpleasant, disagreeable, and life-threatening. That’s how a mendicant endures. And how does a mendicant go fast? It’s when a mendicant swiftly goes in the direction they’ve never gone before in all this long time; that is, the stilling of all activities, the letting go of all attachments, the ending of craving, fading away, cessation, extinguishment. That’s how a mendicant goes fast. A mendicant with these five qualities … is the supreme field of merit for the world.”
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