Nandivisāla — Book of the Ones · Chapter Three (Kuruṅgavagga) · Poem 8 of 10
Setting
No narrative scene in the canonical verse itself
Speaker
The ox Nandivisāla, reflecting on why he pulled the load
Form
One stanza (six lines)
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 well-known story behind it
Why this text
This is among the most well-known of this collection's animal tales, and Sujato's comment adds an unusual detail: it is also the origin story for a specific rule in the Buddhist monastic code (Vinaya) — a rare direct link between a Jātaka verse and monastic legislation, though that Vinaya text itself falls outside this site's own selections.
Reading guide
A bet won by kindness, not force
The verse gives the ox's own reflection: ‘one should only speak sweetly, never not sweetly. For the one speaking sweetly, a large load was pulled, earning him money, and he was satisfied with that.’ Per Sujato's comment, a brahmin wagers that his ox, Nandivisāla, can pull a hundred carts. When yelled at, the ox refuses to pull; but when spoken to kindly, he pulls the load and wins the bet.
An unusual link to a specific monastic rule
Sujato's comment adds that this tale is ‘the origin story’ for a specific rule in the Buddhist monastic code, where ‘the verse has some different readings.’ This site does not currently include the Vinaya (monastic legal code) among its own text selections, so this reading guide notes the connection without a linked page, but the detail illustrates how widely a single memorable verse could circulate across different parts of the early canon.
Key terms
manuññameva bhāseyya — “one should only speak sweetly” — the ox's own opening principle.
garuṁ bhāraṁ udaddhari — “a large load was pulled” — the direct result of being spoken to kindly.
Nandivisāla — the ox's own name, giving this poem its traditional title — the subject of a famous wager over whether he could pull a hundred carts.
Nandivisālajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘The Ox Named Nandivisāla’.
Bu Pc 2 — a specific rule in the Buddhist monastic code (Vinaya), for which Sujato's comment identifies this tale as the origin story — not part of this site's own current selections.
The text
The text in full: a single six-line verse, also serving, per Sujato's comment, as the origin story for a specific monastic rule outside this site's own selections. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1One should only speak sweetly, never not sweetly. For the one speaking sweetly, a large load was pulled, earning him money, and he was satisfied with that.
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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 wager does the brahmin make, per Sujato's comment?
Correct: D. Setting up the test of kind versus harsh speech.
Question 2 of 10
What happens when the ox is yelled at?
Correct: A. Contrasted directly with his response to kind speech.
Question 3 of 10
What happens when the ox is spoken to kindly?
Correct: B. Proving the verse's own principle about the power of sweet speech.
Question 4 of 10
What unusual detail does Sujato's comment add about this tale?
Correct: C. A rare direct link between a Jātaka verse and monastic legislation.
Question 5 of 10
Is the Vinaya text this tale connects to included among this site's own selections?
Correct: D. This reading guide notes the connection without a linked page.
Question 6 of 10
What principle does the ox's own reflection state?
Correct: A. Proven directly by the outcome of the wager.
Question 7 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: B. The twenty-eighth poem overall, and the eighth of the Kuruṅgavagga.
Question 8 of 10
How many lines make up this verse?
Correct: C. Slightly longer than the four-line form most common in this chapter.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: D. Part of the same ten-poem Kuruṅgavagga.
Question 10 of 10
What does the outcome of the wager suggest about kindness as a practical strategy, not just an ethical ideal?
Correct: A. The ox's own satisfaction and the money earned both follow directly from being spoken to sweetly.
