Vaṭṭaka — Book of the Ones · Chapter Four (Kulāvakavagga) · Poem 5 of 10
Setting
A young quail, alone, facing an advancing wildfire
Speaker
The quail chick itself
Form
One four-line stanza, a chant still used today
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, still-living protection chant
Why this text
This verse is not merely an old story: per Sujato's comment, it ‘remains a popular protection chant’ used to this day, and appears word for word at this site's own already-completed Cp 29, giving this collection a rare case of a single verse serving simultaneously as narrative, theology, and living religious practice.
Reading guide
A helpless creature's own declaration of truth
The verse gives the quail chick's own words, facing a wall of flame: ‘I have wings that do not fly! I have feet that do not walk! Mother and father have fled! Jātaveda the fire: go back!’ Per Sujato's comment, the little quail, alone and helpless, turns back the fire through ‘the power of truth’ — not through any physical action, since by its own admission it is entirely incapable of any.
A word from the Rig Veda, still alive in the Jātaka
Sujato's comment identifies ‘Jātaveda’, addressed here as the fire itself, as a name found commonly in the Rig Veda but only rarely in the Pali canon — mostly in the Jātakas, showing how ‘Vedic ideas are still alive in this collection.’ Here it is addressed directly as an agent capable of responding to the chick's plea, identified with the god Agni.
A verse shared word for word with this site's own Cariyapitaka
Sujato's comment notes this same verse ‘is also found at Cp 29:10.1’ — this site's own already-completed page, The Baby Quail's Conduct, confirming this is the identical past-life story told in two different canonical collections.
Key terms
saccakiriyā — “truth-act” or “power of truth” — the mechanism, per Sujato's comment, by which the quail's honest statement of its own helplessness turns back the fire.
jātaveda — a name found commonly in the Rig Veda and rarely in the Pali canon (mostly in the Jātakas), here addressed as the fire itself, identified with the god Agni.
santi pakkhā apatanā — “I have wings that do not fly!” — the chick's own honest admission of total helplessness.
Vaṭṭakajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘The Quail’.
Cp 29 — “The Baby Quail's Conduct” — the already-completed page on this site sharing this verse word for word.
The text
The text in full: a single verse, still used today as a protection chant and shared word for word with this site's own Cp 29. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1I have wings that do not fly! I have feet that do not walk! Mother and father have fled! Jātaveda the fire: go back!
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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 Sujato's comment say about this verse's ongoing use?
Correct: C. A rare case of a Jātaka verse still functioning as living religious practice.
Question 2 of 10
What already-completed page on this site shares this verse word for word?
Correct: D. Confirming this is the identical past-life story told in two different canonical collections.
Question 3 of 10
What does the quail chick admit about its own physical ability?
Correct: A. The chick's honest statement of complete incapacity.
Question 4 of 10
What mechanism, per Sujato's comment, actually turns back the fire?
Correct: B. Not through any physical action, since the chick openly admits it is incapable of any.
Question 5 of 10
What is 'Jātaveda', per Sujato's comment?
Correct: C. Showing how Vedic ideas are still alive within this collection.
Question 6 of 10
What does the chick say happened to its parents?
Correct: D. Leaving the chick entirely alone to face the fire.
Question 7 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: A. The thirty-fifth poem overall, and the fifth of the Kulāvakavagga.
Question 8 of 10
What species does Sujato's comment suggest the quail likely is?
Correct: B. A small, ground-dwelling bird, adding to the vividness of its vulnerability.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: C. Part of the same ten-poem Kulāvakavagga.
Question 10 of 10
How is Jātaveda addressed in the verse — as a distant force, or a responsive agent?
Correct: D. Directly commanded, 'go back!', as one might address a listening being.
