Mahiḍāmukha — Book of the Ones · Chapter Three (Kuruṅgavagga) · Poem 6 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 contrast verse
Why this text
This tale gives a vivid image for a universal concern: how easily character can be shaped by what one merely overhears — a good-natured elephant turned violent by bandits' talk, then restored to virtue by the speech of the well-restrained, with no direct instruction involved either time.
Reading guide
Corrupted by overheard evil, restored by overheard virtue
The verse states its contrast directly: ‘before, hearing the speech of the bandits, Ladyface went on a rampage. But hearing the speech of the well-restrained, the supreme elephant is established in all good qualities.’ Per Sujato's comment, a good-natured royal elephant was corrupted after overhearing bandits speaking evilly — and, the verse implies, was later restored by the reverse influence.
Character shaped without direct instruction
In neither direction — corruption or restoration — is the elephant directly taught or trained; both changes happen simply through what it happens to overhear. The tale's underlying point concerns the quiet, cumulative power of environment and company on character, for better or worse.
Key terms
purāṇacorāna vaco — “the speech of the bandits” — the corrupting influence the elephant first overhears.
susaññatānaṁ vaco — “the speech of the well-restrained” — the restorative influence the elephant later overhears.
gajuttamo — “the supreme elephant” — Ladyface, once restored to good qualities.
Mahiḷāmukhajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘The Elephant Named Ladyface’.
Mahiḷāmukha — “Ladyface” — the elephant's own name, given as the title of this tale.
The text
The text in full: a single verse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Before, hearing the speech of the bandits, Ladyface went on a rampage. But hearing the speech of the well-restrained, the supreme elephant is established in all good qualities.
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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 causes Ladyface the elephant to go on a rampage, per the verse?
Correct: B. A good-natured elephant corrupted purely by what it overheard.
Question 2 of 10
What restores Ladyface to good qualities?
Correct: C. The same kind of influence that corrupted it, now working in reverse.
Question 3 of 10
In either direction, is the elephant directly taught or trained?
Correct: D. Highlighting the quiet, cumulative power of environment and company.
Question 4 of 10
What underlying concern does this tale illustrate?
Correct: A. A concern that extends well beyond the literal elephant of the story.
Question 5 of 10
What does Sujato's comment say about the elephant's original nature?
Correct: B. Making the corruption purely a matter of external influence, not an inherent trait.
Question 6 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: C. The twenty-sixth poem overall, and the sixth of the Kuruṅgavagga.
Question 7 of 10
What does the verse call the elephant once restored?
Correct: D. Emphasizing the completeness of its restoration.
Question 8 of 10
Who does the elephant overhear the second time, restoring its virtue?
Correct: A. The direct contrast to the bandits it overheard the first time.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: B. Part of the same ten-poem Kuruṅgavagga.
Question 10 of 10
Is the elephant's transformation, in either direction, framed as sudden or the result of a process?
Correct: C. Consistent with this collection's typically terse, compressed verse form.
