Pārāsariya — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Twelve · Poem 6 of 10
Setting
A retrospective declaration of sense-restraint and attainment
Speaker
Pārāsariya (1st), in the first person
Form
One four-line verse, a standard testimony
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
★☆☆☆☆ — plain vocabulary, one well-documented clan name
Why this text
Pārāsariya declares the six spheres of sense-contact given up, his sense doors guarded, ‘the root of gloom’ ejected, and the ending of defilements attained. Sujato's own comment on this verse traces his clan name back through two more elders later in the Theragātha to the ancient sage Parāśara.
Reading guide
Six spheres given up, gloom ejected
Chaphassāyatane hitvā, ‘having given up the six spheres of sense-contact’, names the standard doctrinal set — eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind — each a site of contact with the world. Guttadvāro susaṁvuto (‘sense doors guarded and well restrained’) describes the discipline that follows, before the verse closes on aghamūlaṁ vamitvāna, ‘having ejected the root of gloom’ — a distinctive image, vomiting out something toxic, for the removal of misery at its source.
A clan traced to an ancient sage
Sujato's own comment identifies Pārāsariya as a clan name (Sanskrit Pārāśarya), shared by two more elders later in the Theragātha (Thag 16.2 and Thag 16.10, not yet reached in this reading-guide project), all descendants of the great sage Parāśara. This is a rare case in this collection where a name's lineage is documented directly by a surviving comment, rather than left to this reading guide's own speculation.
Other similarly-named figures, surveyed but not equated
The same comment also notes a brahmin teacher named Pārāsariya (or Pārāpariya, Pārāsiviya) appearing in this site's own MN 152, and another teacher of a similar name in two Jātaka stories warning that doing evil leads to regret. The comment surveys these figures for their shared or similar names without asserting any of them is the same person as this particular elder — a distinction this reading guide preserves rather than collapsing into a single identification.
Key terms
chaphassāyatana — “the six spheres of sense-contact” — cha (‘six’) plus phassa (‘contact’) plus āyatana (‘sphere, base’).
guttadvāra — “guarded sense doors” — gutta (‘guarded’) plus dvāra (‘door’).
aghamūla — “the root of gloom, the root of misery” — agha (‘evil, misery’) plus mūla (‘root’).
vamati — “vomits, ejects” — the vivid verb describing the removal of this root.
Pārāsariya — a clan name (Sanskrit Pārāśarya), tracing descent to the sage Parāśara, per Sujato's own comment.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1I’ve given up the six spheres of sense-contact, my sense doors are guarded and well restrained; I’ve ejected the root of gloom and attained the ending of defilements.
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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 this verse say has been given up?
Correct: A. Chaphassāyatane hitvā, the verse's opening claim.
Question 2 of 10
What vivid verb does the verse use for removing 'the root of gloom'?
Correct: A. Aghamūlaṁ vamitvāna, a vivid image of ejecting something toxic.
Question 3 of 10
According to Sujato's own comment, what does the name Pārāsariya trace back to?
Correct: D. Shared by two more elders later in the Theragātha.
Question 4 of 10
How many elders in the Theragātha, including this one, does the comment identify as sharing this clan name?
Correct: D. This elder, Thag 16.2, and Thag 16.10.
Question 5 of 10
Does the comment assert that the brahmin teacher named in MN 152 is the same person as this elder?
Correct: D. A distinction this reading guide preserves rather than collapsing.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'guttadvāra' mean?
Correct: A. Gutta ('guarded') plus dvāra ('door').
Question 7 of 10
What does 'aghamūla' mean?
Correct: C. Agha ('evil, misery') plus mūla ('root').
Question 8 of 10
How many sense spheres make up the standard set named in this verse?
Correct: C. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
Question 9 of 10
What is unusual about how this name's lineage is documented, according to this reading guide?
Correct: B. A rare case where a comment directly traces a name's lineage.
