Not narrated in this discourse's source text; presumably the same recurring frame as the rest of this vagga
Speakers
Not named explicitly; a direct question and a complete, itemized answer
Form
A four-line question, answered by two four-line verses listing exactly four items
Length
~30 seconds to read
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — the simplest kind of list-completion in this collection
A closed list
The answer specifies explicitly that a fifth lamp is not found, closing the list rather than leaving it open
Why this discourse
The question is plain: how many lamps light up the world? The answer counts exactly four, and states directly that a fifth is not to be found: the sun blazing by day, the moon radiating by night, fire illuminating both day and night, and, named as the best of these blazes and the supreme radiance, a Buddha.
Reading guide
A question inviting a specific count
Unlike this vagga's riddles built on open-ended contrasts, this question asks for an exact number, and the answer supplies one directly: four, with the explicit statement that no fifth exists. The form is closer to a catalogue than to a puzzle.
Three ordinary lights, then one further
The first three items are unremarkable as light sources: the sun by day, the moon by night, and fire capable of either. Each is named for the specific circumstance in which it functions, before the fourth item breaks the pattern entirely.
A Buddha as the supreme radiance
The fourth lamp is not another physical source of light but a person: a Buddha, named as pajjotamuttamo, ‘the best of blazes,’ and etaṁ anuttariyaṁ, ‘the supreme radiance.’ The list moves from physical illumination to a different order of ‘light’ altogether, without announcing the shift beforehand.
A closed count, not a metaphor left open
The verse's explicit ‘a fifth is not found’ forecloses reading this as an open-ended list of things that might illuminate the world in some sense. Four, and only four, are named — a structure that treats a Buddha's teaching as literally completing the set of the world's light sources, not merely resembling one.
Key terms
pajjota — “a lamp, a blaze” — this discourse's title, and the general term the question asks to enumerate.
suriyo — “the sun” — the first named lamp, blazing specifically by day.
cando — “the moon” — the second named lamp, radiating specifically by night.
aggi — “fire” — the third named lamp, the only one of the first three able to illuminate both day and night.
pajjotamuttamo — “the best of blazes” — the answer's description of a Buddha, named as the fourth lamp and the supreme radiance.
The text
The discourse in full: a question about how many lamps light the world, and a complete, closed list of four. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“How many lamps are there that light up the world? We’ve come to ask you, worthy sir: how are we to understand this?”
§2“There are four lamps in the world, a fifth is not found. The sun blazes by day, the moon radiates at night, while a fire illuminates both by day and by night. But a Buddha is the best of blazes: this is the supreme radiance.”
· · ·
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 question does this discourse open with?
Correct: A. A direct request for an exact count.
Question 2 of 10
How many lamps does the answer name, and does it leave the count open?
Correct: A. A closed list, not an open-ended catalogue.
Question 3 of 10
What are the first three lamps named?
Correct: A. Ordinary physical light sources, each tied to specific circumstances.
Question 4 of 10
What distinguishes fire from the sun and moon in this list?
Correct: A. The sun blazes by day, the moon by night, but fire spans both.
Question 5 of 10
What is named as the fourth lamp?
Correct: A. The list shifts from physical illumination to a person.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'pajjotamuttamo' mean?
Correct: A. The answer's description of a Buddha as the fourth and supreme lamp.
Question 7 of 10
Does this discourse's structure resemble a riddle built on contrast, like several earlier discourses in this vagga?
Correct: A. Closer to a catalogue than to a puzzle or reversal.
Question 8 of 10
What does explicitly stating 'a fifth is not found' accomplish?
Correct: A. A structural claim that the set of four is genuinely complete.
Question 9 of 10
What is the setting of this discourse?
Correct: A. Like several discourses in this vagga, no setting is given directly.
Question 10 of 10
During what time does the moon radiate, according to the answer?
Correct: A. Cando rattiṁ virocati — specifically at night, contrasted with the sun's day.
