Madhurāsutta — Akkosakavagga — the twenty-second chapter of the Fives
Setting
None stated; the discourse continues from AN 5.1, whose setting at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove is understood to hold
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
single five-item list, no positive mirror
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, genuinely place-specific
Why this discourse
This chapter closes with something genuinely unusual: not an abstract virtue or vice, but five concrete, practical drawbacks of a single named city — Madhurā (Mathurā) — treated as a real consideration for mendicants deciding where to travel or dwell.
Reading guide
Five concrete, physical drawbacks
Madhurā's ground is uneven and dusty, its dogs are fierce, its local spirits (yakkha) are vicious, and almsfood there is hard to come by — a genuinely practical checklist for anyone considering travel or residence there.
A rare degree of geographic specificity
Unlike almost every other discourse in this collection, this one names an actual place and lists its actual, practical drawbacks — not a metaphor, not a simile, but real considerations for real travel decisions within the early Buddhist world.
Yakkha, alongside mundane hazards
Worth noticing: ‘vicious native spirits’ sits alongside uneven ground and fierce dogs as an equally practical concern — the same willingness, seen throughout this project, to state the text's own cosmology plainly, treating yakkhas as a genuine hazard on the same list as dogs and dust.
Ending the chapter on the concrete, not the abstract
This chapter has moved through abuse, ethics, speech, tolerance, and conduct — all abstract virtues and vices — and closes instead on something entirely practical: where, specifically, might be a genuinely difficult place to live and practice.
Closing the chapter
The chapter closes with its colophon, ‘Dasamaṁ. Akkosakavaggo dutiyo’ (‘The tenth. The second chapter on abuse’), followed by an uddāna verse naming this chapter's ten discourses in brief — the same summarizing mechanism explained in full at AN 5.10.
Key terms
Madhurā — an actual city (identified with Mathurā), this discourse's title concept and the sole named place among its five drawbacks.
visamā, bahurajā — “uneven, dusty” — the first two, purely physical drawbacks of the terrain.
caṇḍasunakhā — “fierce hounds” — the third drawback, a genuine practical hazard.
vāḷayakkhā — “vicious native spirits” — the fourth drawback, named alongside mundane hazards without special comment.
dullabhapiṇḍā — “almsfood hard to get” — the fifth and most directly consequential drawback for a mendicant's daily life.
The text
The discourse in full, closing this chapter: five practical drawbacks of the city of Madhurā. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Five drawbacks of Madhurā
§1“Mendicants, there are these five drawbacks of Madhurā. What five? The ground is uneven and dusty, the hounds are fierce, the native spirits are vicious, and it’s hard to get almsfood. These are the five drawbacks of Madhurā.”
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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 five drawbacks of Madhurā does this discourse name?
Correct: A. Genuinely concrete, practical considerations.
Question 2 of 10
What makes this discourse unusual within this collection?
Correct: A. A rare degree of geographic specificity.
Question 3 of 10
What does 'vāḷayakkhā' mean?
Correct: A. The fourth drawback, named alongside mundane hazards.
Question 4 of 10
How does this discourse treat 'vicious native spirits' relative to the other drawbacks?
Correct: A. Stating the text's own cosmology plainly, without special comment.
Question 5 of 10
What does this chapter's closing choice — a specific city rather than an abstract virtue — suggest?
Correct: A. Ending on the concrete after a chapter of abstract virtues and vices.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'dullabhapiṇḍā' mean?
Correct: A. The fifth and most directly consequential drawback.
Question 7 of 10
What colophon closes this chapter?
Correct: A. 'The tenth. The second chapter on abuse.'
Question 8 of 10
What does 'visamā, bahurajā' mean?
Correct: A. The first two drawbacks of Madhurā's terrain.
Question 9 of 10
What mechanism does the closing uddāna verse use?
Correct: A. The same summarizing mechanism used throughout this project.
Question 10 of 10
What chapter comes next?
Correct: A. AN 5.221 begins this collection's twenty-third chapter.
