Devadhamma — Book of the Ones · Chapter One (Apaṇṇakavagga) · Poem 6 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 definitional verse
Why this text
This verse answers, in miniature, a question its commentarial story poses directly: what are ‘godly qualities’? Where two brothers in that story fail by naming external things (the sun and moon, the four directions), the verse itself gives the third brother's correct answer — conscience and prudence, found within good people themselves, not in any external phenomenon.
Reading guide
A definition of 'godly qualities' turned inward
The verse states its definition directly: ‘endowed with conscience and prudence, and comprised of bright qualities, the good and true persons in the world are said to have godly qualities.’ The qualities named — hiri (conscience) and ottappa (prudence, or moral dread) — are internal ethical dispositions, not external, cosmic phenomena.
A commentarial story of three brothers and a test
Per Sujato's comment, the traditional (non-canonical) story tells of three brothers asked by a water-spirit what constitute ‘godly qualities’. The first two brothers answer with external things — ‘the sun and moon’ and ‘the four directions’ — and are imprisoned for their wrong answers. Only the third brother's answer, matching this verse's own definition, is correct.
A term this verse shares with another Jātaka outside this selection
Sujato's comment notes that the term ‘devadhamma’ (godly qualities) also appears at Ja 458, where it carries the sense of ‘god's character’ rather than this verse's own sense of a quality possessed by virtuous people. Ja 458 lies outside this site's own 82-poem selection, so this reading guide notes the cross-reference without a linked page.
Key terms
hiriottappasampannā — “endowed with conscience and prudence” — the verse's own definition of godly qualities, naming two classic ethical dispositions.
sukkadhammasamāhitā — “comprised of bright qualities” — further describing the good and true persons the verse has in mind.
devadhamma — “godly qualities” — per Sujato's comment, a term that carries a different sense (‘god's character’) at the unrelated Ja 458.
Devadhammajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘Godly Qualities’.
yakkha — a native spirit; in the commentarial story, the one who poses the test to the three brothers.
The text
The text in full: a single verse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Endowed with conscience and prudence, and comprised of bright qualities, the good and true persons in the world are said to have godly qualities.
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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 two qualities does the verse define as 'godly qualities'?
Correct: B. Internal ethical dispositions, not external, cosmic phenomena.
Question 2 of 10
In the (non-canonical) commentarial story, how many brothers are tested?
Correct: C. The first two give wrong answers and are imprisoned; only the third answers correctly.
Question 3 of 10
What wrong answers do the first two brothers give in the story?
Correct: D. External, cosmic phenomena, contrasted with the third brother's correct internal answer.
Question 4 of 10
Who poses the test to the three brothers in the commentarial story?
Correct: A. A spirit figure who imprisons the brothers for their wrong answers.
Question 5 of 10
What does Sujato's comment note about the term 'devadhamma' elsewhere?
Correct: B. A cross-reference noted without a linked page, since Ja 458 falls outside this site's 82-poem selection.
Question 6 of 10
What kind of qualities does the verse's definition emphasize — external or internal?
Correct: C. In direct contrast to the first two brothers' failed external answers in the story.
Question 7 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: D. The sixth poem in the Apaṇṇakavagga.
Question 8 of 10
What happens to the first two brothers for their wrong answers, per the commentarial story?
Correct: A. Only the third brother, giving the correct answer, avoids this fate.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: B. Part of the same ten-poem opening chapter.
Question 10 of 10
Does the verse itself name the three brothers or the water-spirit?
Correct: C. Consistent with this collection's pattern of terse, self-contained verses pointing to fuller stories told only in later commentary.
