Serivavāṇija — Book of the Ones · Chapter One (Apaṇṇakavagga) · Poem 3 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 warning verse
Why this text
This verse is, per Sujato's own comment, almost identical to a verse already complete on this site at AN 8.29, Lost Opportunities — both are believed to refer to the same underlying story, making this one of this partial Jātaka selection's clearest direct textual links to an already-completed page elsewhere on this site.
Reading guide
A warning against long regret
The verse warns plainly: fail to achieve certainty regarding the true teaching here, and ‘you'll regret it for a long time, like this wanton merchant.’ The specific merchant named in the final line is left unexplained within the verse itself, pointing outward to a story the verse assumes its audience already knows.
A near-identical verse already on this site
Sujato's own comment states that this verse is mostly the same as a verse already complete on this site at AN 8.29, Lost Opportunities, and that both are believed to refer to the same underlying story — making this one of the clearest direct parallels in this site's whole partial Jātaka selection.
A commentarial story, and a comment questioning its own name
Per Sujato's comment, the traditional (non-canonical) prose story tells of a fraudulent merchant who tried to trick a poor woman into thinking her gold vase was worthless. The comment further notes that the commentary's own account of the merchant's name (‘Serivā’, after a city of that name) seems implausible, since no such city appears elsewhere in the story; Sujato instead reads the word as simply ‘wanton’. This reading guide follows Sujato's own preferred reading, while noting the traditional alternative.
Key terms
saddhammassa niyāmataṁ — “certainty regarding the true teaching” — what is at stake if the opportunity is missed.
ciraṁ anutappesi — “you'll regret it for a long time” — the verse's warning for failing to achieve that certainty.
serivā / seri — read by the commentary as a proper name (after a city), but by Sujato as simply “wanton” — see the guide above for the reasoning.
Serivavāṇijajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘The Wanton Merchant’.
AN 8.29 — “Lost Opportunities” — the already-completed page on this site with a verse Sujato's own comment identifies as nearly identical to this one.
The text
The text in full: a single verse, closely paralleling this site's own AN 8.29. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1If you fail to achieve certainty regarding the true teaching you’ll regret it for a long time, like this wanton merchant.
· · ·
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 already-completed page on this site does Sujato's comment identify as nearly identical to this verse?
Correct: C. One of the clearest direct textual links in this site's partial Jātaka selection.
Question 2 of 10
What does the verse warn will happen if you fail to achieve certainty in the true teaching?
Correct: D. The verse's central warning.
Question 3 of 10
What does the (non-canonical) commentarial story say the merchant tried to do?
Correct: A. Noted for context, without presenting it as part of the canonical verse itself.
Question 4 of 10
How does Sujato read the word rendered 'wanton' in the final line?
Correct: B. Since no such city appears elsewhere in the story to support the traditional reading.
Question 5 of 10
What is at stake, according to the verse, if the true teaching's certainty is missed?
Correct: C. The verse's structure moves directly from the warning to this illustrative comparison.
Question 6 of 10
Does the verse itself explain who the wanton merchant was?
Correct: D. Pointing outward to a story the canonical verse itself does not tell.
Question 7 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: A. The third poem in the Apaṇṇakavagga.
Question 8 of 10
What form does this poem take?
Correct: B. Consistent with this chapter's brief, self-contained form.
Question 9 of 10
What theme connects this verse to AN 8.29?
Correct: C. Sujato's comment identifies this as the shared underlying reference.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: D. Part of the same ten-poem opening chapter.
