Maccha — Book of the Ones · Chapter Eight (Varuṇavagga) · Poem 5 of 9
Setting
A drought-stranded pond
Speaker
A fish, praying to the rain god Pajjuna
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 short prayer with a genuine textual puzzle worth unpacking
Why this text
A quick note first: this poem's traditional Pali title, Macchajātaka, is shared with the already-completed Ja 34 elsewhere in this collection; this reading guide uses ‘The Fish's Prayer’ here to keep the two distinct. Beyond that, Sujato's comment on this poem opens onto a genuine textual puzzle: the parallel text at this site's own Cp 30 has a different word at the exact point where this verse's own sense turns.
Reading guide
A prayer from a drought-stranded pond
The verse is a fish's own prayer, addressed directly to Pajjuna, the god of rain and thunder: ‘thunder forth, Pajjuna! Wipe out the trove of the crow! Subject the crow to sorrow, and free me from sorrow!’ Per Sujato's comment, a pond has dried out in a drought, and crows are feasting on the stranded fish; the commentary explains the fish's own ‘trove’ is being ‘wiped out’ simply by being covered again with rescuing water.
A Vedic pairing, and a cross-reference to DN 20
Sujato's comment notes that Pajjuna also appears at this site's own DN 20, and that the previous poem in this same traditional sequence featured Vāta, the wind — wind and thunderstorm going together often in the Vedas. Pajjuna himself, per the comment, is both fructifying and blessed, and fearful and destructive (Rig Veda 5.83); the fish's prayer draws on this second, destructive aspect, asked to fall specifically on the crow.
A genuine textual variant, against this site's own Cp 30
The same story and verse also appear at this site's already-completed Cp 30, illustrating the perfection of truth — but with one difference Sujato's comment flags directly: where this verse has mañca (‘me’), Cp 30 has macche (‘the fish’). If mañca is accepted, as this translation does, the verse itself never actually mentions fish at all — the word only enters by way of the poem's traditional title. Sujato further notes that the wish to harm the crow specifically is distinctly un-Buddhist, closer in spirit to the Atharva Veda's own invocation of the waters against Nirṛti, the dread goddess of black death.
Key terms
Abhitthanaya pajjunna — “thunder forth, Pajjuna!” — the verse's opening invocation of the rain and thunder god.
nidhiṁ kākassa nāsaya — “wipe out the trove of the crow!” — per Sujato's comment, the stranded fish are themselves the crow's ‘trove’, wiped out by being covered with rescuing water.
mañca / macche — “me” versus “the fish” — the genuine textual variant Sujato's comment flags between this verse and the parallel text at this site's own Cp 30.
Cp 30 — this site's already-completed page, ‘The Fish King's Conduct’, carrying the same story and verse with one differing word.
DN 20 — this site's already-completed page where Pajjuna also appears, cited directly in Sujato's comment.
The text
The text in full: a single verse. A note on this poem's traditional title: it is Macchajātaka, shared with the already-completed Ja 34 elsewhere in this collection; this reading guide's own title, ‘The Fish's Prayer’, keeps the two distinct here on this site. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Thunder forth, Pajjuna! Wipe out the trove of the crow! Subject the crow to sorrow, and free me from sorrow!
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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
Who is the speaker of this verse, and what are they doing?
Correct: C. A direct prayer, addressed by name to the god invoked.
Question 2 of 10
What does the fish ask Pajjuna to do to the crow?
Correct: D. The fish's prayer asks for the crow's own suffering, in exchange for its own relief.
Question 3 of 10
Per Sujato's comment, what has caused the crisis behind this prayer?
Correct: A. The stranded fish are exposed, and the crow is taking advantage of it.
Question 4 of 10
What does the comment say the fish's own 'trove' (nidhi) refers to?
Correct: B. A grim image: the fish describe themselves as the crow's own stockpile.
Question 5 of 10
What does Sujato's comment say Pajjuna also appears in, elsewhere on this site?
Correct: C. A confirmed cross-reference, already completed on this site.
Question 6 of 10
What genuine textual variant does Sujato's comment flag between this verse and Cp 30?
Correct: D. If 'mañca' is accepted, this verse never actually mentions fish directly.
Question 7 of 10
What does Sujato's comment say about the wish to harm the crow, in Buddhist terms?
Correct: A. A moment where the verse's own content sits uneasily against Buddhist ethical teaching, honestly noted.
Question 8 of 10
Why does this reading guide title this poem 'The Fish's Prayer' rather than its traditional title's literal translation?
Correct: B. A deliberate disambiguation, since both poems share the same Pali title.
Question 9 of 10
What already-completed page on this site carries the same story and verse, with one differing word?
Correct: C. The two texts match closely except for the mañca/macche variant.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the chapter's structure?
Correct: D. Part of the same nine-poem selection from the Varuṇavagga.
