Tayodhamma — Book of the Ones · Chapter Six (Āsīsavagga) · 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, completing this chapter's fourth matched pair
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, part of a matched pair
Why this text
This poem completes Ja 57's matched pair by counting a different, shorter list of qualities — three instead of four — for what appears to be the same underlying escape, and Sujato's comment unpacks a piece of grammatical wordplay building the new list's second term.
Reading guide
The same escape, a shorter list of qualities
The verse closely mirrors Ja 57's structure: ‘whoever possesses these three qualities like you, lord of langurs — adroitness, heroism, wisdom — escapes the visible foe.’ Where the previous poem named four qualities (truth, principle, steadfastness, generosity), this one condenses the list to three, closing on the identical final line.
A term built by analogy with another
Sujato's comment explains that ‘dakkhiyaṁ’ (adroitness) is an abstract noun formed from ‘dakkha’, constructed ‘by analogy with sūriyaṁ’, which here means ‘heroism’ — comparable to the more familiar term ‘vīriya’ in the same sense. A small piece of grammatical craftsmanship sits behind this poem's otherwise simple list.
Two related lists, closing this chapter's fourth pair
Together, Ja 57 and Ja 58 offer two different but overlapping accountings of what saved the same monkey king — four qualities in one telling, three in the other, both converging on the identical closing claim that these qualities let their possessor ‘escape the visible foe.’
Key terms
dakkhiyaṁ — “adroitness” — per Sujato's comment, an abstract noun formed from ‘dakkha’ by analogy with ‘sūriyaṁ’.
sūriyaṁ — “heroism” in this context, per Sujato's comment comparable to the more familiar term ‘vīriya’.
diṭṭhaṁ so ativattati — “escapes the visible foe” — the closing line shared word for word with Ja 57.
Tayodhammajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘Three Qualities’.
Ja 57 — the previous poem, sharing this poem's structure and closing line, differing chiefly in the number and content of the qualities named.
The text
The text in full: a single verse, completing the matched pair begun at Ja 57. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Whoever possesses these three qualities like you, lord of langurs—adroitness, heroism, wisdom—escapes the visible foe.
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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
How many qualities does this poem name, compared to Ja 57's four?
Correct: B. Adroitness, heroism, and wisdom, closing on the identical final line as Ja 57.
Question 2 of 10
What does Sujato's comment say about the formation of 'dakkhiyaṁ' (adroitness)?
Correct: C. A small piece of grammatical craftsmanship behind this poem's otherwise simple list.
Question 3 of 10
What does 'sūriyaṁ' mean in this specific context, per the comment?
Correct: D. One of the three qualities this poem credits for the escape.
Question 4 of 10
What closing line does this poem share word for word with Ja 57?
Correct: A. Both poems converge on the identical final claim despite naming different numbers of qualities.
Question 5 of 10
What relationship do Ja 57 and Ja 58 have to the same underlying escape story?
Correct: B. Four qualities in one telling, three in the other, both closing identically.
Question 6 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: C. The fifty-eighth poem overall, and the eighth of the Āsīsavagga, completing its fourth matched pair.
Question 7 of 10
What three qualities does this poem name?
Correct: D. A condensed version of Ja 57's four-quality list.
Question 8 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: A. Part of the same ten-poem Āsīsavagga.
Question 9 of 10
How many matched pairs remain in this chapter after Ja 57/58?
Correct: B. The fifth and final matched pair of this ten-poem chapter.
Question 10 of 10
What technique does this poem, alongside Ja 57, illustrate?
Correct: C. A variant form of this chapter's broader pattern of matched pairs.
