Ājañña — Book of the Ones · Chapter Three (Kuruṅgavagga) · Poem 4 of 10
Setting
No narrative scene in the canonical verse itself
Speaker
A warhorse, per the commentarial story, declaring its own determination
Form
One four-line stanza, built almost entirely on repetition
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
★☆☆☆☆ — unusual repetitive structure, simple point
Why this text
Where the previous poem, Ja 23, gave a wounded warhorse's direct plea, this companion poem makes essentially the same point through an unusual and striking device: its opening two lines are built almost entirely from the repetition of just four words, an emphatic style rare in this collection.
Reading guide
A thoroughbred that keeps going, wherever and whenever
The verse's opening lines pile up repetition for emphasis: ‘whenever whenever, wherever whenever, wherever wherever, whenever whenever’ — before landing its point: ‘the thoroughbred drives onward, while the geldings fade right there.’ Per Sujato's comment, this is, like the previous poem, ‘a warhorse declares its determination to go on.’
An unusual grammatical form matching its companion poem
Sujato's comment notes that ‘vāḷavā’ here is a masculine nominative plural, a secondary derivation related to ‘mare’ but understood as ‘reckoned as ordinary horses’ — the same underlying grammatical pattern already discussed at Ja 23, reinforcing that these two poems share not just a theme but specific technical vocabulary.
Key terms
yadā yadā yattha yadā — “whenever whenever, wherever whenever” — the verse's striking opening repetition, building emphasis before its point.
ājañño kurute vegaṁ — “the thoroughbred drives onward” — the verse's central claim.
hāyanti tattha vāḷavā — “the geldings fade right there” — the verse's contrasting close.
Ājaññajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘The Thoroughbred’ — not to be confused with the similarly named previous poem, Ja 23, The King's Thoroughbred.
Ja 23 — the previous poem in this chapter, explicitly identified by Sujato's own comment as this poem's close companion.
The text
The text in full: a single verse, built on unusual repeated phrasing, discussed above. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Whenever whenever, wherever whenever, wherever wherever, whenever whenever: the thoroughbred drives onward, while the geldings fade right there.
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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 unusual device does this verse's opening two lines use?
Correct: D. 'Whenever whenever, wherever whenever, wherever wherever, whenever whenever.'
Question 2 of 10
What does the verse claim about the thoroughbred, compared to ordinary horses?
Correct: A. The verse's central point, following the repetitive buildup.
Question 3 of 10
What does Sujato's comment say about this poem's relationship to Ja 23?
Correct: B. A close companion poem, matching theme and technical vocabulary.
Question 4 of 10
What grammatical detail does Sujato's comment note about 'vāḷavā' here?
Correct: C. The same underlying grammatical pattern already discussed at Ja 23, reinforcing the shared vocabulary between the two poems.
Question 5 of 10
How should this poem's title be distinguished from Ja 23's?
Correct: D. Both concern warhorses, but are distinct poems with distinct (if similar) titles.
Question 6 of 10
What is the overall point of this verse?
Correct: A. Matching the resolve theme of its companion poem, Ja 23.
Question 7 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: B. The twenty-fourth poem overall, and the fourth of the Kuruṅgavagga.
Question 8 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: C. Part of the same ten-poem Kuruṅgavagga.
Question 9 of 10
How does this verse's structure differ from most other poems in this collection?
Correct: D. Flagged directly in this reading guide's own form and difficulty notes.
Question 10 of 10
What word describes horses that 'fade' compared to the thoroughbred?
Correct: A. Contrasted with the enduring thoroughbred throughout both this poem and its companion, Ja 23.
