A direct question in verse, answered with an enumerated list closed by a superlative claim
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — a short, plainly structured discourse
Why this discourse
Maghada asks a straightforward question — how many lamps light up the world? — and the Buddha answers with a specific count of four: the sun by day, the moon by night, fire illuminating both, and a fifth that is not found among ordinary sources of light. The verse then names the Buddha himself as the best of these blazes, the supreme radiance, closing an enumeration with a claim about its own speaker.
Reading guide
A counted list, not an open question
Unlike riddles elsewhere in this book that ask ‘what one thing’, Maghada's question asks for a count, and the Buddha answers precisely: four lamps, with a fifth explicitly ruled out as not found.
Three natural, one more
Sun, moon, and fire are named as the three ordinary sources of light in the world, dividing between them the day, the night, and both together; a fourth, unnamed by any natural category, is introduced only in the verse's final lines.
The Buddha as the fourth lamp
The verse's structure builds toward its own conclusion: having enumerated three natural lights, it names the Buddha as a fourth and calls him the best of all four, the supreme radiance — the discourse answering its own question with a claim about the one giving the answer.
A theme echoed elsewhere in this book
The image of the Buddha as light recurs across this collection in different forms; here it takes the specific shape of a numbered list, distinguishing this discourse from purely metaphorical treatments of the same idea.
No narrative frame beyond the question itself
Like several discourses in this vagga, this one gives almost no scene-setting: a bare setting note, the question, and the answer, with no departure formula recorded at the close.
Key terms
pajjota — “lamp” or “blaze” — the term Maghada's question asks the Buddha to count.
cattāro loke pajjotā — “four lamps in the world” — the Buddha's opening count, with a fifth explicitly ruled out.
ādicca — “sun” — the first lamp named, blazing by day.
canda — “moon” — the second lamp, radiating at night.
aggi — “fire” — the third lamp, illuminating both day and night, immediately before the Buddha names himself as the fourth and best.
The text
The discourse in full: Maghada's question and the Buddha's answering verse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. Standing to one side, the godling Maghada addressed the Buddha in verse:
§2“How many lamps are there that light up the world? We’ve come to ask the Buddha; how are we to understand this?”
§3“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.”
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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 Maghada ask the Buddha?
Correct: A. A counting question, distinct from the “what one thing” riddles elsewhere in this book.
Question 2 of 10
How many lamps does the Buddha say there are?
Correct: A. “There are four lamps in the world, a fifth is not found.”
Question 3 of 10
What are the first three lamps named?
Correct: A. Sun by day, moon by night, fire illuminating both.
Question 4 of 10
Who or what is named as the fourth and best lamp?
Correct: A. “A Buddha is the best of blazes: this is the supreme radiance.”
Question 5 of 10
What does fire do, according to the verse, that sun and moon do not?
Correct: A. Sun and moon each cover one half of the cycle; fire covers both.
Question 6 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. A bare setting note, typical of several discourses in this vagga.
Question 7 of 10
Does this discourse record a closing departure formula for Maghada?
Correct: A. Like several discourses in this vagga, it closes without narrative elaboration.
Question 8 of 10
What structural move does the verse make in its final lines?
Correct: A. Having enumerated three natural lights, the verse names the Buddha as the fourth and best.
Question 9 of 10
How does this discourse's form compare to Māgha's riddle in SN 2.3?
Correct: A. SN 2.3 asks “what one thing”; SN 2.4 asks “how many.”
Question 10 of 10
What recurring image in this collection does this discourse use in numbered form?
Correct: A. Elsewhere metaphorical, here the image takes the specific shape of a counted list.
