Vedabba — Book of the Ones · Chapter Five (Atthakāmavagga) · Poem 8 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
★☆☆☆☆☆ — a case where the traditional story itself is called into question
Why this text
This poem offers a rare, direct look at how this collection was assembled: Sujato's own comment states plainly that the traditional commentary's elaborate story of bandits, spells, and a captured brahmin does not actually appear anywhere in the verse itself, and proposes a simpler, more historically grounded alternative.
Reading guide
A warning against profit through improper means
The verse states its principle directly: ‘who wishes to profit by inappropriate means is tormented. The Cetans who killed Vedabbha all fell into ruin.’ The consequence named is total: not partial loss, but ruin for everyone involved.
A traditional story the verse itself does not actually tell
Sujato's comment reports that the traditional commentary describes a brahmin named Vedabbha, captured by bandits from Cetī, who pays his ransom using a wealth-granting spell also called Vedabbha — only for the spell to inflame the bandits' greed until they kill him and then each other. But the comment adds a striking caveat: ‘despite the commentary, however, the verse does not mention bandits, spells, or brahmins.’
A simpler, more historically grounded alternative reading
Sujato's comment proposes instead that ‘Vedabbha’ (Sanskrit vaidarbha) is simply a name for the king of Vidarbha, a country south of Cetī — suggesting the verse's original context may have been a real historical raid by the Cetans resulting in the death of the king of Vidarbha, a framework that could convey the same underlying moral without any of the commentary's elaborate later embellishment.
Key terms
anupāyena... atthaṁ icchati — “wishes to profit by inappropriate means” — the verse's central warning.
vedabbaṁ — “Vedabbha”, Sanskrit vaidarbha — per Sujato's comment, likely a name for the king of Vidarbha, rather than the brahmin of the traditional commentary's story.
cetā — “the Cetans” — per Sujato's comment, likely raiders from Cetī, a country neighboring Vidarbha.
Vedabbajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘About Vedabbha’.
Vidarbha — a country south of Cetī, per Sujato's comment the likely true referent of ‘Vedabbha’, rather than an individual brahmin.
The text
The text in full: a single verse, with Sujato's own comment directly questioning whether the traditional commentary's story actually matches it, discussed above. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Who wishes to profit by inappropriate means is tormented. The Cetans who killed Vedabbha all fell into ruin.
· · ·
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 warn against?
Correct: D. Illustrated by the total ruin of the Cetans who killed Vedabbha.
Question 2 of 10
What story does the traditional commentary tell about this verse, per Sujato's comment?
Correct: A. The traditional elaboration Sujato's comment then directly questions.
Question 3 of 10
What striking observation does Sujato's comment make about this traditional story?
Correct: B. A rare, direct questioning of whether the traditional commentary's story matches its own verse.
Question 4 of 10
What alternative reading does Sujato's comment propose for 'Vedabbha'?
Correct: C. Suggesting a simpler, more historically grounded original context for the verse.
Question 5 of 10
What historical framework does Sujato's comment suggest instead?
Correct: D. A framework that could convey the same underlying moral without the commentary's later embellishment.
Question 6 of 10
What fate does the verse say befell the Cetans who killed Vedabbha?
Correct: A. A total consequence, matching the verse's opening warning about the torment of improper profit-seeking.
Question 7 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: B. The forty-eighth poem overall, and the eighth of the Atthakāmavagga.
Question 8 of 10
What does this poem illustrate about the relationship between canonical verses and their traditional commentaries generally?
Correct: C. A rare, explicit case of this general tension being directly named by the translator.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: D. A standalone poem, not part of either preceding refrain sequence.
Question 10 of 10
Does this poem form part of a refrain sequence like several earlier poems in this chapter?
Correct: A. Marking a shift to standalone poems for the remainder of this chapter.
