Kaṇha — Book of the Ones · Chapter Three (Kuruṅgavagga) · Poem 9 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 of steady reliability
Why this text
Following the previous poem's proof that kindness accomplishes what harshness cannot, this poem offers a complementary picture: an ox whose sheer reliability, whatever the difficulty of the task, becomes itself an act of devotion to the one who raised him.
Reading guide
An ox who always pulls through, regardless of difficulty
The verse states its point plainly: ‘no matter how heavy the load, or how deep the passage, when they harness Black, he pulls that load.’ Per Sujato's comment, an ox raised by an elderly woman earns money for his ‘mother’ by pulling a heavy load across a deep river — a specific, difficult instance of the general reliability the verse describes.
A quiet act of devotion, expressed through labor
The verse gives no dramatic speech or explicit statement of feeling; the ox's devotion to the woman who raised him is expressed entirely through consistent, effortful work, regardless of how heavy the load or how difficult the terrain.
Key terms
garu dhuraṁ — “heavy the load” — the first of two difficulties the verse names.
gambhīravattanī — “deep the passage” — the second difficulty, referring to a deep river crossing per Sujato's comment.
kaṇha — “Black” — the ox's own name, giving this poem its traditional title.
Kaṇhajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘The Ox Named Black’.
“mother” — per Sujato's comment, the elderly woman who raised the ox and for whom he earns money through his labor.
The text
The text in full: a single verse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1No matter how heavy the load, or how deep the passage, when they harness Black, he pulls that load.
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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 does the verse say about the ox Black's reliability?
Correct: A. Consistent effort regardless of the difficulty of the task.
Question 2 of 10
Who raised the ox, per Sujato's comment?
Correct: B. Referred to in the comment as his 'mother', for whom he earns money through his labor.
Question 3 of 10
What specific difficult task does the commentarial story describe?
Correct: C. A concrete instance of the general reliability the verse describes.
Question 4 of 10
How is the ox's devotion to the woman expressed in this verse?
Correct: D. A quiet act expressed through work rather than words.
Question 5 of 10
How does this poem relate to the previous poem, Ja 28?
Correct: A. Both poems concern draft animals whose behavior carries a moral about how effort and relationship intersect.
Question 6 of 10
What two specific difficulties does the verse name?
Correct: B. Both overcome consistently by the ox Black.
Question 7 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: C. The twenty-ninth poem overall, and the ninth of the Kuruṅgavagga.
Question 8 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: D. The second-to-last poem of this ten-poem chapter.
Question 9 of 10
What does the ox earn through his labor, per Sujato's comment?
Correct: A. His labor directly benefits the one who raised him.
Question 10 of 10
What overall quality does this verse celebrate?
Correct: B. The ox's consistent performance, whatever the challenge, is the verse's whole point.
