Aṇḍabhūta — Book of the Ones · Chapter Seven (Itthivagga) · Poem 2 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
★☆☆☆☆☆ — disturbing underlying content, presented with the coercion made explicit
Why this text
This poem's underlying story is genuinely troubling once read closely: a woman held in captivity her whole life is then deliberately, cruelly deceived into infidelity in order to ‘prove’ a man's claim about women's nature — meaning the verse's conclusion is not evidence of anything about women at all, but a record of the harm done to secure it.
Reading guide
A verse presenting a conclusion as if it were simply observed
The verse states its point as though self-evident: ‘the brahmin who played the harp while blindfolded had raised his wife since infancy — who would ever trust such women?’ Read on its own, this sounds like a simple cautionary proverb.
A story of captivity and engineered betrayal, not natural weakness
Per Sujato's comment, the full story is considerably darker: an innocent baby girl was sold into slavery and kept locked up under guard her entire life by a brahmin who married her — done specifically to feed his gambling addiction, refuting a rival's own lucky charm (an oath asserting that all women are faithless). When the brahmin began winning, his adversary employed a ‘knave’ who cruelly deceived the imprisoned woman's own attendant in order to engineer exactly the infidelity the wager required.
What the story actually demonstrates, read honestly
Read in full, this story does not show a natural tendency in the woman at its center — it shows a woman held captive her entire life, then deliberately and cruelly manipulated by outside actors specifically to produce a predetermined result for a gambling bet between two men. This reading guide presents that fuller context directly, since the bare verse alone conceals far more than it reveals about what actually happened.
Key terms
bhatā bhariyā — “had raised his wife since infancy” — the verse's own description of a woman held captive from childhood, giving this poem its traditional title.
ko jātu vissase — “who would ever trust such women?” — the verse's rhetorical conclusion, presented by the text as though self-evidently proven.
dice wager — per Sujato's comment, the actual motive behind the brahmin's marriage: an attempt to refute a rival gambler's lucky charm asserting all women are faithless.
Aṇḍabhūtajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘Since Infancy’.
knave — per Sujato's comment, the agent employed by the brahmin's rival to deceive the captive woman's attendant, deliberately engineering the outcome the wager required.
The text
The text in full: a single verse, whose fuller context Sujato's own comment reveals to be considerably more disturbing than the bare text alone suggests, discussed above. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1The brahmin who played the harp while blindfolded had raised his wife since infancy—who would ever trust such women?
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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 the bare verse present as though self-evident?
Correct: B. Read on its own, without the fuller story, it sounds like a simple cautionary proverb.
Question 2 of 10
What was actually done to the woman at the center of this story, per Sujato's comment?
Correct: C. Held captive from infancy by the man who later married her.
Question 3 of 10
What was the brahmin's actual motive for this marriage, per the comment?
Correct: D. Using her as a pawn in an ongoing wager with another gambler.
Question 4 of 10
How was the 'infidelity' the verse alludes to actually brought about?
Correct: A. A deliberate, calculated act of deception and manipulation by outside parties.
Question 5 of 10
What does this reading guide conclude the story actually demonstrates, read in full?
Correct: B. The bare verse alone conceals far more than it reveals about what actually happened.
Question 6 of 10
Why does this reading guide present the fuller context of this story rather than just the bare verse?
Correct: C. Consistent with this site's practice of engaging honestly with difficult historical material.
Question 7 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: D. The sixty-second poem overall, and the second of the Itthivagga.
Question 8 of 10
What visual record does Sujato's comment mention for this story?
Correct: A. Evidence of the story's circulation and recognition in ancient Buddhist art.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: B. Part of the same ten-poem Itthivagga.
Question 10 of 10
Who bears the moral responsibility, per the fuller context this reading guide presents?
Correct: C. The men who orchestrated both her lifelong captivity and the deception that produced the outcome they wanted.
