Kuddāla — Book of the Ones · Chapter Seven (Itthivagga) · Poem 10 of 10 (closing the chapter)
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 verse on what makes a victory last
Why this text
This poem closes the Itthivagga on a note wholly unrelated to its opening theme — a small, almost comic attachment (a gardener-turned-ascetic who can't stop thinking about his favorite spade) used to make a serious point about the difference between a victory that holds and one that doesn't, echoed nearly word for word at this site's own Dhammapada.
Reading guide
An ascetic who can't quite let go of one small thing
Per Sujato's comment, a gardener goes forth as an ascetic, but cannot stop thinking about his favorite spade — a small, ordinary attachment standing in for the larger, harder-to-notice ones renunciation is actually meant to address.
What separates a real victory from a temporary one
The verse delivers its teaching directly: ‘that victory is not a good victory which may be undone. That victory is a good victory which may not be undone.’ Applied to the gardener's own small case, giving up possessions or habits only outwardly, while still quietly attached within, is not yet the kind of victory that holds.
A near-identical teaching already on this site, and closing this chapter
Sujato's comment compares this verse directly to this site's own already-completed Dhp 179, in the Buddhas chapter of the Dhammapada — the same underlying concern with permanence versus reversal appearing in two different collections. This poem closes the Itthivagga, the seventh of eight chapters this site's selection draws from within the Ekakanipāta. The source text's own untranslated summary verse (uddāna) immediately follows, naming all ten poems of this chapter in sequence — not presented here as quoted text, since it carries no separate translation, but noted for completeness, as at the close of the previous six chapters.
Key terms
na taṁ jitaṁ sādhu jitaṁ — “that victory is not a good victory” — the verse's opening half of its central contrast.
yaṁ jitaṁ nāvajīyati — “which may not be undone” — the defining quality of a genuine, lasting victory.
Kuddāla — “spade” — the small object of the gardener's lingering attachment, giving this poem its traditional title.
Kuddālajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘The Spade’, closing the Itthivagga.
Dhp 179 — the already-completed page on this site, in the Buddhas chapter of the Dhammapada, that Sujato's comment compares directly to this verse.
The text
The text in full: a single verse, echoed nearly word for word at this site's own Dhp 179. The chapter's own untranslated closing summary verse (uddāna), which follows immediately in the source text, is not quoted here since it carries no English translation, but its content — the ten poem titles of this chapter in sequence — matches this reading guide's own further reading list below. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1That victory is not a good victory which may be undone. That victory is a good victory which may not be undone.
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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 can't the gardener-turned-ascetic stop thinking about, per Sujato's comment?
Correct: B. A small, ordinary attachment standing in for larger, harder-to-notice ones.
Question 2 of 10
What distinction does the verse draw between two kinds of victory?
Correct: C. Only the second kind counts, per the verse, as a genuinely good victory.
Question 3 of 10
What already-completed page on this site does Sujato's comment compare this verse to?
Correct: D. The same underlying concern with permanence versus reversal, appearing in two different collections.
Question 4 of 10
How does the gardener's attachment to his spade relate to the verse's teaching about victory?
Correct: A. A small, almost comic case illustrating a serious point about incomplete renunciation.
Question 5 of 10
What chapter does this poem close?
Correct: B. The source text's own untranslated summary verse (uddāna) follows immediately after.
Question 6 of 10
Is the chapter's closing summary verse (uddāna) presented as quoted text in this reading guide?
Correct: C. Consistent with the same practice at the close of the previous six chapters.
Question 7 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: D. The seventieth poem overall, and the tenth and final poem of the Itthivagga.
Question 8 of 10
What was the gardener's profession before becoming an ascetic?
Correct: A. Explaining his particular, occupation-specific attachment to a spade.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: B. Its closing position is directly confirmed by the chapter's own summary verse following immediately after.
Question 10 of 10
How does this poem's subject matter relate to this chapter's opening poems on women?
Correct: C. Closing the Itthivagga on a note wholly unrelated to its difficult opening content.
