Yasa — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Twelve · Poem 7 of 10
Setting
No narrative bridge; two contrasting self-descriptions placed directly side by side
Speaker
Yasa, in the first person
Form
One four-line verse, in two unconnected halves
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 striking juxtaposition
Why this text
Yasa opens describing himself ‘well-anointed and well-dressed, adorned with all my jewellery’ — then, with no transition at all, declares he has ‘attained the three knowledges and fulfilled the Buddha's instructions’. The verse never explains how one half connects to the other.
Reading guide
Luxury and liberation, side by side
Suvilitto suvasano, sabbābharaṇabhūsito — ‘well-anointed and well-dressed, adorned with all my jewellery’ — describes a state of lavish personal ornamentation. The very next line moves directly to tisso vijjā ajjhagamiṁ, ‘I've attained the three knowledges’, with nothing bridging the two halves — no account of leaving the luxury behind, no narrative of transformation, just the two states placed directly next to each other.
A name matching a famous conversion story
The wider Vinaya tradition tells of a wealthy young man named Yasa from Vārāṇasī who, disgusted one night by the sight of his own sleeping household, fled into the forest and became the sixth person to attain arahantship under the Buddha — a famous early conversion story built entirely on the contrast between opulent lay life and sudden renunciation. No comment survives to confirm this verse describes that same Yasa, but the specific shape of the contrast — luxury immediately followed by attainment, with the same jarring absence of transition — fits the story's own shape closely enough that this reading guide treats the connection as suggestive, while still not asserting it as confirmed.
A variant on the collection's familiar formula
Tisso vijjā ajjhagamiṁ, ‘I reached the three knowledges’, uses ajjhagamiṁ (‘I reached’) rather than anuppattā (‘attained’), the verb this collection's much more frequently repeated formula uses (Thag 1.24, 1.55, 1.66, 1.107, 1.108). Same basic claim, different verb — a variant rather than an exact repeat.
Key terms
suvilitta — “well-anointed” — describing perfumed or oiled skin, a mark of luxury.
sabbābharaṇabhūsita — “adorned with all ornaments” — sabba (‘all’) plus ābharaṇa (‘ornament’) plus bhūsita (‘adorned’).
tisso vijjā — “the three knowledges” — the same standard set named in Thag 1.107 and elsewhere.
ajjhagama — “reached, arrived at” — a variant verb for the same claim usually phrased with anuppatta.
Yasa — “glory, renown” — also the name of a wealthy young man's famous conversion story in the wider Vinaya tradition.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1I’m well-anointed and well-dressed, adorned with all my jewellery. I’ve attained the three knowledges and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.
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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
How does this verse describe the speaker in its opening two lines?
Correct: A. Suvilitto suvasano, sabbābharaṇabhūsito, the verse's opening description.
Question 2 of 10
Does the verse explain how the speaker moved from luxury to attainment?
Correct: B. No narrative of transformation is given.
Question 3 of 10
What famous story from the wider Vinaya tradition does this reading guide compare to this verse?
Correct: C. A story built on the same contrast between luxury and sudden renunciation.
Question 4 of 10
Does this reading guide confirm this verse is definitely about that same Yasa from the Vinaya story?
Correct: C. No comment survives to settle the question.
Question 5 of 10
What verb does this verse use for 'attained', and how does it differ from the collection's more frequent formula?
Correct: A. Same basic claim as Thag 1.24, 1.55, 1.66, 1.107, and 1.108, phrased with a different verb.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'suvilitta' mean?
Correct: D. Describing perfumed or oiled skin, a mark of luxury.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'sabbābharaṇabhūsita' mean?
Correct: D. Sabba ('all') plus ābharaṇa ('ornament') plus bhūsita ('adorned').
Question 8 of 10
What does the name Yasa mean?
Correct: D. Also the name of the famous Vinaya conversion story.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'ajjhagama' mean?
Correct: A. A variant verb for the same claim usually phrased with anuppatta.
