Saccaṅkira — Book of the Ones · Chapter Eight (Varuṇavagga) · Poem 3 of 9
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
★★☆☆☆ — a harsh verse whose full story context explains its bitterness
Why this text
Completing the pair begun at Ja 72, this poem's harsh preference — a floating log over a certain person — comes from a story of an ascetic who saves a prince and three animals from a flood, feeding the animals first since they were in greater need, only to have the prince nurse a grudge over the imagined slight for years, until he has the power to act on it.
Reading guide
A verse preferring a log to a person
The verse states, starkly: the truth, it seems, was spoken by certain people here — better a floating log than a certain person. Sujato's comment notes the translation is literal, but the verse seems to need the verb ‘rescue’ supplied from the commentary to make full sense: better to trust a floating log to rescue you than to trust a certain kind of person.
Per Sujato's comment, a rescue, animals fed first, and a grudge that outlasts gratitude
An ascetic saves a prince, a parrot, a rat, and a snake from a flood. Since the animals were in greater need, he feeds them first. All three animals are grateful for this. The prince, however, conceives a hatred over being made to wait, which he nurses for years until he ascends the throne and seeks revenge for what was, in the end, only ever an imagined slight.
A matched pair, back to back
Together with Ja 72, this poem completes a two-poem sequence on ingratitude toward a rescuer — there, an elephant's generosity meeting a man's greed; here, an ascetic's evenhanded rescue meeting a prince's wounded pride. In both, it is the one already given the most who demands, or resents, the most.
Key terms
Kaṭṭhaṁ niplavitaṁ seyyo — “better a floating log” — the verse's own measure of preference, set against a certain kind of person.
na tveva ekacciyo naro — “than a certain person” — left deliberately unnamed in the verse itself; the story supplies who is meant.
uttāretvā — “having rescued” — the verb Sujato's comment supplies to complete the verse's otherwise elliptical sense.
Saccaṅkirajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘The Truth, It Seems’.
Ja 72 — the poem immediately before this one, forming a matched pair on ingratitude toward a rescuer.
The text
The text in full: a single verse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1The truth, it seems, was spoken by certain people here—better a floating log than a certain person.
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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 verse say is better than a certain person?
Correct: A. The verse's own stark, deliberately harsh preference.
Question 2 of 10
What verb does Sujato's comment say the verse seems to need supplied?
Correct: B. Completing the verse's otherwise elliptical literal sense.
Question 3 of 10
Per Sujato's comment, whom does the ascetic save from the flood?
Correct: C. Four rescued lives, one human and three animal.
Question 4 of 10
Why does the ascetic feed the animals before the prince?
Correct: D. A judgment of need, not of rank, guiding the ascetic's order of care.
Question 5 of 10
How do the three animals respond to being rescued and fed first?
Correct: A. Their gratitude stands in direct contrast to the prince's response.
Question 6 of 10
How does the prince respond, by contrast?
Correct: B. A grievance kept alive far longer than the wait that caused it.
Question 7 of 10
What does the prince eventually do once he ascends the throne?
Correct: C. The grudge outlasts the years and finally finds an outlet in power.
Question 8 of 10
How does this poem relate to Ja 72, the poem before it?
Correct: D. Two poems, back to back, approaching the same theme from different angles.
Question 9 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: A. The seventy-third poem overall, and the third of the Varuṇavagga.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the chapter's structure?
Correct: B. Part of the same nine-poem selection from the Varuṇavagga.
