Dāsaka — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Two · Poem 7 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; a short cautionary verse warning against a specific failing
Speaker
An unnamed voice criticizing a drowsy, overfed dullard
Form
One four-line verse
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
★☆☆☆☆ — a vivid, unflattering warning rather than a positive portrait
Why this text
Every poem in this chapter so far has praised a quality or described delight. This verse breaks that pattern: someone ‘drowsy from overeating’, rolling in bed ‘like a great hog stuffed with grain’, is called a dullard who ‘returns to the womb again and again’ — the chapter's only warning against a failing, rather than praise for an attainment.
Reading guide
This chapter's only cautionary verse
Cūḷavaccha's joy, Mahāvaccha's checklist, Vanavaccha's delight, Sīvaka's freedom, Kuṇḍadhāna's formula, Belaṭṭhasīsa's ease — every poem before this one describes something to aspire to. This verse instead names a failing directly and criticizes it, the chapter's first and only poem built entirely as a warning.
A deliberately unflattering simile
‘Like a great hog stuffed with grain, rolling round the bed’ is among the least dignified images anywhere in this collection so far — a pointed contrast to Belaṭṭhasīsa's fine thoroughbred just two poems earlier, and a deliberate choice to make laziness look as unappealing as possible.
A stated consequence, not just a criticism
The verse does not simply call this behavior unattractive; it names a direct outcome — ‘that dullard returns to the womb again and again’, tying gluttony and oversleeping to repeated rebirth, teaching through the threat of consequence rather than through praise of an alternative.
Key terms
middhī — “drowsy” or “sluggish” — the verse's opening description, caused by overeating.
mahagghasa — “a great eater” or “gluttonous” — paired directly with drowsiness in the verse's first line.
mahāvarāha — “a great hog” or “great boar” — the verse's central, deliberately unflattering simile.
manda — “dullard” or “fool” — the verse's judgment on the person it describes.
punappunaṁ gabbhamupeti — “returns to the womb again and again” — the stated consequence of this behavior, naming repeated rebirth directly.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1One who gets drowsy from overeating, fond of sleep, rolling round the bed like a great hog stuffed with grain: that dullard returns to the womb 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
How does this poem differ from every other poem in this chapter so far?
Correct: A. Every poem before it praised a quality; this one criticizes a failing instead.
Question 2 of 10
What simile does the verse use for the person it describes?
Correct: B. A deliberately unflattering image.
Question 3 of 10
What two causes does the verse name for this person's drowsiness?
Correct: D. Named directly in the verse's opening line.
Question 4 of 10
What consequence does the verse say follows from this behavior?
Correct: C. A direct outcome, tying the behavior to repeated rebirth.
Question 5 of 10
How does this verse's tone compare to Belaṭṭhasīsa's thoroughbred simile two poems earlier?
Correct: B. A deliberate contrast in register between the two poems.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'manda' mean?
Correct: D. The verse's judgment on the person it describes.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'mahagghasa' describe?
Correct: A. Paired with drowsiness in the verse's opening line.
Question 8 of 10
Does this verse describe a positive attainment or warn against a failing?
Correct: B. Teaching through the threat of consequence, not through praise.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'middhī' mean?
Correct: A. The verse's opening description of this dullard's state.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Two?
Correct: C. Continuing the chapter's sequence of ten poems.
