Kukkura — Book of the Ones · Chapter Three (Kuruṅgavagga) · Poem 2 of 10
Setting
A protest, spoken on behalf of wild dogs facing unjust punishment
Speaker
The Bodhisatta, born as a leader of a pack of dogs
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 protest verse
Why this text
This verse gives voice to a plain and still-relevant grievance: that the powerful escape consequences for their own wrongdoing while the powerless are punished in their place. Sujato's own comment identifies the story's setting — a cemetery dog-pack leader speaking against the court's own pedigreed hounds — as the real target of the protest.
Reading guide
A protest against punishing the wrong party
The verse states its grievance directly: ‘the hounds raised in the royal family, pedigreed, handsome and strong, are not slaughtered, we are slaughtered — this is not the dogs deserving death, this is the killing of the weak.’ Per Sujato's comment, the Bodhisatta, born as the leader of a pack of dogs living in a cemetery, protests the unjust slaughter of wild dogs when it is actually the fancy hounds of the royal court who are responsible for the wrongdoing being punished.
A grievance about power and consequence
The verse's underlying logic is not really about dogs at all: it names a pattern where those with status and protection (‘raised in the royal family, pedigreed’) escape the consequences of their own actions, while those without such standing bear punishment meant for someone else entirely.
Key terms
koleyyakā — “pedigreed” — per Sujato's comment, a term also found at this site's own AN 7.63, describing the privileged royal hounds.
teme na vajjhā mayamasma vajjhā — “they are not slaughtered, we are slaughtered” — the verse's stark central complaint.
dubbalaghātikāyaṁ — “the killing of the weak” — the verse's closing description of what is actually happening, against the pretense of justice.
Kukkurajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘Hounds’.
Bodhisatta — the Buddha-to-be in this and other Jātaka tales; here, born as the leader of a cemetery-dwelling pack of dogs.
The text
The text in full: a single verse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1The hounds raised in the royal family, pedigreed, handsome and strong, are not slaughtered, we are slaughtered—this is not the dogs deserving death, this is the killing of the weak.
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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 grievance does the verse state?
Correct: B. 'This is not the dogs deserving death, this is the killing of the weak.'
Question 2 of 10
Where, per Sujato's comment, was the Bodhisatta born in this story?
Correct: C. Protesting the unjust slaughter of dogs like himself.
Question 3 of 10
Who is actually responsible for the wrongdoing being punished, per the story?
Correct: D. The wild dogs are punished in their place, despite being innocent.
Question 4 of 10
What already-completed page on this site does Sujato's comment cite for the term 'koleyyakā' (pedigreed)?
Correct: A. A linguistic cross-reference for the term's usage.
Question 5 of 10
What broader pattern does this verse's grievance describe?
Correct: B. The verse's underlying point extends well beyond the literal dogs it describes.
Question 6 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: C. The twenty-second poem overall, and the second of the Kuruṅgavagga.
Question 7 of 10
How does the verse describe the royal family's own hounds?
Correct: D. Contrasted directly with the wild dogs facing unjust punishment.
Question 8 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: A. Part of the same ten-poem Kuruṅgavagga.
Question 9 of 10
What tone does this verse take — resigned or protesting?
Correct: B. A clear, pointed statement of grievance rather than passive acceptance.
Question 10 of 10
What does this verse's protest still resonate with, beyond its literal setting?
Correct: C. Noted in this reading guide's own framing of the verse's underlying logic.
