Vātamiga — Book of the Ones · Chapter Two (Sīlavagga) · Poem 4 of 10
Setting
No narrative scene in the canonical verse itself
Speaker
Unspecified in the canonical verse itself
Form
One four-line stanza
Length
Under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
This reading guide does not assert a specific matching text for this poem in other Buddhist literatures.
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — one short verse with a naturalist's aside
Why this text
Sujato's comment on this verse cites a specific thirteenth-century naturalist text describing the ‘wind-deer’ as an exceptionally fast, elusive creature, and cross-references this site's own SN 9.8 for a related description of the same animal — an unusually concrete zoological note anchoring this verse's teaching about the power of desire.
Reading guide
Even the elusive can be caught by taste
The verse states its point directly: ‘nothing, it seems, is worse than tastes in monasteries or meeting places. The domesticated Wind-deer was brought under Victor's sway by tastes.’ Per Sujato's comment, the story behind it is simple: even the elusive wind-deer was trapped by honey left out by a groundskeeper named Victor, who released the deer once he had made his point about the pull of desire.
A naturalist's note on a specific, fast creature
Sujato's comment cites Haṁsadeva's thirteenth-century Mṛgapakṣiśāstra to describe the ‘wind-deer’ as fast, skilled at escaping weapons, and adept at vanishing from sight — lean, long-legged, and branch-antlered, dwelling in deep forests. The comment further cross-references this site's own SN 9.8, where the same creature is described as flighty and easily startled — making the verse's point sharper: if even so wary a creature can be caught by desire for taste, no one is beyond that risk.
A philological note on a single word
Sujato's comment prefers the reading ‘gehanissitaṁ’ (‘domesticated’, connected to home comforts) over the metrically incorrect variant ‘gahananissitaṁ’, noting the confusion between the two readings is an old one, reflected even in the traditional commentary itself.
Key terms
vātamiga — “Wind-deer” — per Sujato's comment, a fast, elusive forest creature described in a thirteenth-century naturalist text and cross-referenced at this site's own SN 9.8.
rasehi — “by tastes” — the specific temptation that overcomes even the wariest creature.
gehanissitaṁ — “domesticated” — Sujato's preferred reading, connected to the comforts of home life, over a metrically incorrect variant.
Vātamigajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘The Wind-deer’.
SN 9.8 — “The Mistress of the House” — the already-completed page on this site cross-referenced in Sujato's comment for a related description of the same creature.
The text
The text in full: a single verse, with a naturalist's aside in Sujato's comment discussed above. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Nothing, it seems, is worse than tastes in monasteries or meeting places. The domesticated Wind-deer was brought under Victor’s sway by tastes.
· · ·
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 verse identify as 'worse than' anything else, in monasteries or meeting places?
Correct: B. The temptation that even overcomes the elusive wind-deer.
Question 2 of 10
What already-completed page on this site does Sujato's comment cross-reference for the same creature?
Correct: C. Describing the wind-deer there as flighty and easily startled.
Question 3 of 10
What thirteenth-century text does Sujato's comment cite for a description of the wind-deer?
Correct: D. Describing the creature as fast, elusive, and skilled at vanishing from sight.
Question 4 of 10
How was the wind-deer trapped, per the commentarial story?
Correct: A. Once Victor had made his point, he released the deer.
Question 5 of 10
What philological choice does Sujato's comment prefer for one word in this verse?
Correct: B. Noting the confusion between the two readings is an old one, reflected even in the traditional commentary.
Question 6 of 10
What overall point does this verse make?
Correct: C. Sharpened by the naturalist detail that the wind-deer is unusually fast and hard to catch.
Question 7 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: D. The fourteenth poem overall, and the fourth of the Sīlavagga.
Question 8 of 10
What happened to the wind-deer after the groundskeeper made his point?
Correct: A. The trapping was a lesson, not a permanent capture.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: B. Part of the same ten-poem Sīlavagga.
Question 10 of 10
What physical qualities does the naturalist text ascribe to the wind-deer?
Correct: C. Grounding the verse's point in a specific, identifiable creature.
