Illisa — Book of the Ones · Chapter Eight (Varuṇavagga) · Poem 8 of 9
Setting
A rich man's household, and the king's court
Speaker
The king, unable to distinguish the two figures before him
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 clever, almost comic trick played on a miser
Why this text
Per Sujato's comment, a miserly rich man is so tight-fisted that Sakka, king of the gods, takes on his exact physical form — lameness, crossed eyes, warts, and all — in order to force the man's own vaults open for the people; even the king, asked to judge between them, cannot tell which is which.
Reading guide
A double so exact that even the king is fooled
The verse is spoken from the king's own bewildered vantage point: ‘both are lame, both crippled, both cross-eyed, and both covered in warts: I see not which is Herring.’ The verse's entire force rests on this single admission — the disguise is not merely convincing, it is total.
Per Sujato's comment, a name built from a fish, and a rich man's real-world namesake
A rich man was so miserly that Sakka took on his form, crippled though it was, specifically to open the miser's own vaults for the people; asked to adjudicate between the two identical figures, the king simply cannot. Sujato's comment traces the man's name, Illisa, to the Ilish herring — still popular eating today, and consequently threatened in modern times by overfishing, pollution, and global warming — and suggests it arose as wordplay on maccariya (‘miserly’) by way of maccha (‘fish’); his misadventures, in fact, were sparked by seeing a man eating rotten fish.
Key terms
Ubho khañjā ubho kuṇī — “both are lame, both crippled” — the king's own opening description of the impossible choice before him.
nāhaṁ passāmi illisan — “I see not which is Herring” — the verse's closing admission, giving this poem its traditional title.
Illisa — the rich miser's name, per Sujato's comment traced to the Ilish herring, still popular eating today and now threatened by overfishing, pollution, and global warming.
maccariya / maccha — “miserly” and “fish” — the wordplay Sujato's comment suggests lies behind the miser's own name.
Illisajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘Herring, the Miser’.
The text
The text in full: a single verse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Both are lame, both crippled, both cross-eyed, and both covered in warts: I see not which is Herring.
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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 speaks this verse, and from what position?
Correct: B. The verse is built entirely around the king's own admission of defeat.
Question 2 of 10
What does the king say about the two figures before him?
Correct: C. A disguise so exact that every distinguishing mark is duplicated.
Question 3 of 10
Per Sujato's comment, who takes on the miser's exact physical form, and why?
Correct: D. A trick aimed squarely at the miser's own tight-fistedness.
Question 4 of 10
What happens when the king is asked to adjudicate between the two?
Correct: A. The very admission that gives the verse its force.
Question 5 of 10
What does Sujato's comment trace the miser's name, Illisa, to?
Correct: B. A fish still popular for eating today.
Question 6 of 10
What does the comment say about this fish in modern times?
Correct: C. A real-world aside connecting an ancient tale to a present-day concern.
Question 7 of 10
What wordplay does Sujato's comment suggest lies behind the miser's own name?
Correct: D. Reinforced by what the comment says sparked his misadventures: seeing a man eating rotten fish.
Question 8 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: A. The seventy-eighth poem overall, and the eighth of the Varuṇavagga.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the chapter's structure?
Correct: B. One poem remains after this in this site's selection from the Varuṇavagga.
Question 10 of 10
What gives this verse its particular force, per this reading guide?
Correct: C. The king's own bewildered admission carries the entire verse.
