Visavanta — Book of the Ones · Chapter Seven (Itthivagga) · Poem 9 of 10
Setting
No narrative scene in the canonical verse itself
Speaker
A snake, addressing its own discarded poison
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 verse's grammar supports two different readings
Why this text
This poem's snake makes an absolute commitment: having given up its poison once, it will not take it back, even under threat of death — but Sujato's own comment reveals the Pali grammar genuinely supports two different readings of just how firm that refusal actually is.
Reading guide
Death preferred to reclaiming what was given up
The verse gives the snake's own resolve: ‘curse that vomited poison, which I vomited for the sake of life, and now shall consume again. Death is better for me than life!’ Per Sujato's comment, a snake refuses to take back its own poison even on pain of death.
A genuine grammatical fork in how to read the refusal
Sujato's comment identifies real ambiguity here: the story assumes the snake simply refuses to take the poison back, but the verse itself contains no negative particle qualifying the verb, so it could instead be read as a rhetorical question — ‘I shall take back what I have vomited?’ — implying the snake is horrified at even having to ask, rather than flatly stating a refusal. Under either reading, the snake's underlying commitment to what it has already relinquished remains absolute, but the grammar leaves genuinely open exactly how that commitment is voiced.
Key terms
visaṁ vantaṁ — “vomited poison” — the discarded poison the snake refuses to reclaim, giving this poem its traditional title.
mataṁ me jīvitā varaṁ — “death is better for me than life!” — the snake's own absolute statement of commitment.
rhetorical question — per Sujato's comment, one of two genuinely possible grammatical readings of the verse's central line, since no negative particle qualifies the verb.
Visavantajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘Vomited Poison’.
jīvitakāraṇā — “for the sake of life”, a phrase Sujato's comment cross-references to Ps 1.1, outside this site's own selections.
The text
The text in full: a single verse, whose central line Sujato's own comment identifies as genuinely ambiguous in its grammar, discussed above. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Curse that vomited poison, which I vomited for the sake of life and now shall consume again. Death is better for me than life!
· · ·
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 snake refuse to do, per Sujato's comment?
Correct: A. An absolute commitment to what it has already given up.
Question 2 of 10
What grammatical detail does Sujato's comment identify in the verse's central line?
Correct: B. A genuine fork in how the verse's central line should actually be read.
Question 3 of 10
What are the two readings Sujato's comment identifies?
Correct: C. Under either reading, the underlying commitment remains absolute.
Question 4 of 10
What does the snake say about death compared to life in this situation?
Correct: D. The verse's own absolute closing statement.
Question 5 of 10
What external text does Sujato's comment cross-reference for the phrase 'jīvitakāraṇā'?
Correct: A. Noted for completeness without a linked page.
Question 6 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: B. The sixty-ninth poem overall, and the ninth of the Itthivagga.
Question 7 of 10
Does this poem concern the theme of women found in this chapter's opening poems?
Correct: C. Continuing the shift away from this chapter's opening subject matter.
Question 8 of 10
What broader principle does this poem's snake illustrate?
Correct: D. A vivid, absolute image for holding firm to a relinquished harm.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: A. The second-to-last poem of this ten-poem chapter.
Question 10 of 10
Under either of the two possible grammatical readings, does the snake's underlying position change?
Correct: B. The ambiguity concerns how the commitment is voiced, not whether it holds.
