Makasa — Book of the Ones · Chapter Five (Atthakāmavagga) · Poem 4 of 10
Setting
No narrative scene in the canonical verse itself
Speaker
Unspecified in the canonical verse itself
Form
One four-line stanza, a variant of this chapter's refrain sequence
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, darkly comic verse
Why this text
This poem shifts the chapter's refrain from ignoring good advice to a related but distinct danger: well-meaning help delivered without judgment, illustrated by one of this collection's most darkly comic single images — a son who kills the mosquito on his father's head with an axe, killing his father in the process.
Reading guide
A modified refrain, and its own grim proof
The verse restates the chapter's underlying concern in new terms: ‘better is a considerate foe than an inconsiderate friend’ — then delivers its proof: ‘thinking, “I shall kill the mosquito”, the idiot son split open his father's head.’
Good intentions, applied without any judgment
Per Sujato's comment, when the carpenter asked his son to rid him of a troublesome mosquito on his scalp, ‘he did not think he would do it with an axe.’ The tragedy is not malice but a complete absence of proportion or judgment — the son genuinely wants to help, and that is precisely what makes the outcome possible.
Key terms
seyyo amitto matiyā upeto — “better is a considerate foe” — the poem's opening proverb, reframing this chapter's concern in terms of judgment rather than loyalty.
mativippahīno — “inconsiderate”, literally “devoid of judgment” — the disqualifying flaw in the well-meaning friend.
putto pitu abbhidā uttamaṅgaṁ — “the son split open his father's head” — the poem's darkly comic proof of its own proverb.
Makasajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘The Mosquito’.
eḷamūgo — “idiot” — the verse's own blunt description of the son.
The text
The text in full: a single verse, continuing this chapter's sequence in modified form. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Better is a considerate foe than an inconsiderate friend. Thinking, “I shall kill the mosquito”, the idiot son split open his father’s head.
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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 proverb does this poem's opening state?
Correct: D. Reframing this chapter's underlying concern in terms of judgment rather than loyalty.
Question 2 of 10
What does the son do, trying to kill the mosquito on his father's head?
Correct: A. The poem's own darkly comic proof of its opening proverb.
Question 3 of 10
What does Sujato's comment say the father expected?
Correct: B. Making the outcome a genuine, tragic surprise.
Question 4 of 10
What is identified as the real flaw in the son's action?
Correct: C. The tragedy is precisely that he wanted to help.
Question 5 of 10
How does this proverb relate to the previous poems' shared refrain?
Correct: D. A modification of the chapter's underlying concern about the risks connected to trusted relationships.
Question 6 of 10
What word does the verse use to describe the son directly?
Correct: A. A blunt assessment matching the outcome.
Question 7 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: B. The forty-fourth poem overall, and the fourth of the Atthakāmavagga.
Question 8 of 10
What profession did the father have, per Sujato's comment?
Correct: C. Asking his son for a simple favor with unexpectedly fatal results.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: D. Part of the same refrain sequence, with this and the next poem sharing a modified opening.
Question 10 of 10
What tone does this reading guide identify in this poem's central image?
Correct: A. One of this collection's most darkly comic single images.
