Kharassara — Book of the Ones · Chapter Eight (Varuṇavagga) · Poem 9 of 9 in this site's selection
Setting
A plundered village, per Sujato's comment
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 grim closing image, with two confirmed cross-references elsewhere on this site
Why this text
This poem closes this site's selection from the Varuṇavagga — and, with it, this site's entire Jātaka selection from the Ekakanipāta — on a genuinely grim note: a village headman's betrayal, and the drumbeat that follows its aftermath, with two phrases Sujato's own comment traces directly to this site's already-completed MN 76 and SN 12.70.
Reading guide
A village left defenseless, and the aftermath
The verse depicts the aftermath directly: cows plundered and killed, houses burned down, people abducted — and then comes ‘the son of she whose son is dead’, sounding the harsh drum of war. Per Sujato's comment, a village headman had conspired with bandits to leave his own village helpless and ripe for exactly this plunder.
Two confirmed cross-references, per Sujato's comment
Sujato's comment notes a nearly identical phrase at this site's own MN 76, differing only between puttahatāya and puttamatāya — both meaning the same thing. The comment also cross-references this site's own SN 12.70 for the expression kharassara itself, used specifically for the beating of a drum to announce an execution — giving this poem's closing image its full, grim weight.
Closing this chapter, and this site's selection from the whole Ekakanipāta
This is the ninth poem of this site's own selection from the Varuṇavagga, and, with it, of this site's entire selection from the Ekakanipāta itself. The chapter's own traditional tenth poem, Bhīmasenajātaka (Ja 80), has no Sujato CC0 translation and is therefore not included here — consistent with this project's entire scope from the start. The Varuṇavagga's own untranslated closing summary verse (uddāna), which follows immediately in the source text and names all ten tales of the chapter including the untranslated Bhīmasena, is not quoted here since it carries no English translation, but is noted for completeness, as at the close of every previous chapter in this selection. With this poem, seventy-nine of this site's selected poems now cover the entire Ekakanipāta as far as Sujato's translation allows; three further, standalone poems from later, larger nipātas — Ja 126, Ja 159, and Ja 466 — remain to complete this site's Jātaka selection at its own maximum of 82.
Key terms
puttahatāya putto — “the son of she whose son is dead” — the verse's own grim epithet for the drummer, per Sujato's comment nearly identical to a phrase at this site's own MN 76.
kharassaraṁ ḍiṇḍimaṁ — “the harsh drum of war” — per Sujato's comment, cross-referenced at this site's own SN 12.70 as the specific idiom for a drum beaten to announce an execution, giving this poem its traditional title.
Bhīmasenajātaka (Ja 80) — the Varuṇavagga's own traditional tenth poem, with no Sujato CC0 translation and therefore not included in this site's selection.
Tassuddānaṁ — the Varuṇavagga's own untranslated closing summary verse, naming all ten tales of the chapter including the untranslated Bhīmasena; noted here, not quoted, since it carries no English translation.
Kharassarajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘The Harsh Sound’, closing this site's selection from the Ekakanipāta.
The text
The text in full: a single verse. 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, including the untranslated Bhīmasenajātaka — matches this reading guide's own discussion above. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1When cows were plundered and killed, houses burned down, and people abducted, then came the son of she whose son is dead, sounding the harsh drum of war.
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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 depict as the aftermath of the village's plunder?
Correct: C. The verse's own grim catalogue of what was done.
Question 2 of 10
Who arrives at the end of the verse, and what do they do?
Correct: D. The verse's own closing, ominous image.
Question 3 of 10
Per Sujato's comment, who conspired with bandits to leave the village defenseless?
Correct: A. A betrayal from within, not an outside attack alone.
Question 4 of 10
What nearly identical phrase does Sujato's comment cross-reference at this site's own MN 76?
Correct: B. Puttahatāya versus puttamatāya — different words, identical meaning.
Question 5 of 10
What does Sujato's comment say the expression 'kharassara' specifically refers to, per SN 12.70?
Correct: C. Giving the poem's closing image its full, grim weight.
Question 6 of 10
What is this poem's relationship to the Varuṇavagga's traditional tenth poem, Bhīmasenajātaka (Ja 80)?
Correct: D. A genuine root Pali text for Ja 80 exists, but with no accompanying translation.
Question 7 of 10
What does this reading guide say about the Varuṇavagga's own closing uddāna (summary verse)?
Correct: A. Consistent with the same practice at the close of every previous chapter.
Question 8 of 10
What milestone does this poem mark for this site's Jātaka selection?
Correct: B. Three further standalone poems from later nipātas remain before the full 82-poem selection is complete.
Question 9 of 10
What three standalone poems remain to complete this site's Jātaka selection at its own maximum of 82?
Correct: C. Each from a later, larger traditional nipāta outside the Ekakanipāta.
Question 10 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: D. The seventy-ninth poem overall, and the ninth and final poem of this site's Varuṇavagga selection.
