Not named explicitly; two four-line questions, answered by two four-line replies
Form
Eight questions across two verses, answered by eight matching claims
Length
~45 seconds to read
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — direct in form, with a deliberate wordplay worth reading closely
A dated valuation, named plainly
This discourse's second answer names a woman as 'the best of valuables', spoken from the same perspective already named at SN 1.72
Why this discourse
This discourse asks eight questions across two verses: what is authority, the best valuable, a rusty sword, a pest — and who gets arrested for taking things, who is loved for taking things, and who is welcomed back again and again? The answer turns on a deliberate double meaning: a bandit is arrested for taking what isn't given, while an ascetic is welcomed and approved for the very same verb — taking, in the sense of accepting alms freely offered.
Reading guide
Four unrelated superlatives, named first
The first four answers — sway as authority, a woman as the best valuable, anger as a rusty sword, a bandit as a pest — are four separate observations with no obvious connecting thread, setting up the wordplay the second half of the discourse turns on.
A woman named as 'the best of valuables'
As with SN 1.72's line about a woman being known by her husband, this discourse's claim that a woman is the best of valuables (ratanaṁ) is spoken from a specific social vantage, treating women as possessions to be valued rather than as valuing subjects — this reading guide names that framing directly rather than presenting it as a neutral observation.
One verb, two very different receptions
The second half's real point is a play on ‘taking’ (ādāya): a bandit who takes things away is arrested, while an ascetic who takes things away — meaning, accepts alms offered — is loved and approved, welcomed back ‘again and again.’ The identical verb describes theft in one case and willingly received generosity in the other.
Rusty, not merely sharp
Naming anger a ‘rusty sword’ (satthaṁ malaṁ) is a specific image: not a weapon at its most dangerous and honed, but one degraded by neglect, suggesting anger corrodes and weakens rather than simply cutting cleanly.
Key terms
issariya — “authority, sway” — this discourse's title, and the first item its riddle asks about.
ratanaṁ — “a valuable” — the term applied to a woman in this discourse's second answer, spoken from the same social vantage already named at SN 1.72.
satthaṁ malaṁ — “a rusty sword” — the image applied to anger, suggesting corrosion and neglect rather than sharpness.
adinnaṁ ādāya — “taking things away” — the shared verb underlying both the bandit's arrest and the ascetic's welcome, with two very different meanings.
punappunaṁ āgacchantaṁ — “when they come again and again” — describing the ascetic's repeated, welcomed return, in direct contrast to the bandit's single arrest.
The text
The discourse in full: eight questions, turning on a single verb with two very different meanings. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“What is authority in the world? What’s the best of valuables? What in the world is a rusty sword? Who is a pest in the world?
§2Who gets arrested when they take things away? And who is loved when they take things away? And who is approved by the astute when they come again and again?”
§3“Sway is authority in the world. A woman is the best of valuables. Anger in the world is a rusty sword. A bandit is a pest in the world.
§4A bandit gets arrested when they take things away. And an ascetic is loved when they take things away. An ascetic is approved by the astute when they come again and again.”
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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 first answer name as authority in the world?
Correct: A. The first of four unrelated superlatives opening this discourse.
Question 2 of 10
How does this reading guide treat the answer naming a woman as 'the best of valuables'?
Correct: A. Consistent with this project's treatment of similar lines elsewhere.
Question 3 of 10
What image does the discourse use for anger?
Correct: A. Corrosion and neglect, not clean sharpness.
Question 4 of 10
What happens to a bandit who takes things away, according to the second half of this discourse?
Correct: A. The negative side of the discourse's central wordplay.
Question 5 of 10
What happens to an ascetic who 'takes things away', in the sense the discourse intends?
Correct: A. The same verb, describing willingly received alms rather than theft.
Question 6 of 10
What is the real point of this discourse's second half?
Correct: A. One verb, two radically different receptions depending on context.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'adinnaṁ ādāya' mean?
Correct: A. The shared phrase underlying both the bandit's crime and the ascetic's welcomed acceptance.
Question 8 of 10
What does the first answer name as a 'pest' in the world?
Correct: A. Set up in the first half, then developed further in the second half's wordplay.
Question 9 of 10
What is the setting of this discourse?
Correct: A. No setting is given directly.
Question 10 of 10
How many total questions does this discourse's two verses ask?
Correct: A. Four in each of the two verses, eight in total.
