Kula — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Two · Poem 9 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; three trades named in sequence, then applied to self-training
Speaker
An unnamed voice describing three crafts, then those true to their vows
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
★☆☆☆☆ — three concrete trades, then one closing extension
Why this text
Three lines of craftspeople open this verse: irrigators guiding water, fletchers shaping arrows, carpenters carving timber. Only in its fourth and final line does the verse reveal its actual subject — ‘those true to their vows tame themselves’ — treating ethical training as a fourth craft, alongside the other three.
Reading guide
Three trades, then one closing extension
The verse spends three full lines on concrete, familiar work before pivoting to its real subject in the fourth — a classic pattern of naming several examples before drawing the point they all lead toward.
Each craft, a slightly different kind of shaping
The verbs vary precisely: water is guided, arrows are shaped, timber is carved — three distinct kinds of skilled work, each requiring patience and precision rather than force.
Self-taming named as a fourth craft
The verse's point is not that ethical training resembles a trade in some vague sense, but that it is structurally the same kind of activity — a skill requiring the same deliberate, patient shaping that water, arrows, and timber all require from their respective craftspeople.
Key terms
nettika — “irrigator” or “canal-builder” — the first of three trades named in this verse.
usukāra — “fletcher”, one who shapes arrows — the second trade named.
tacchaka — “carpenter” — the third trade named, carving timber.
subbata — “true to one's vows” or “good in observance” — describing those the verse compares to these three craftspeople.
damayanti — “they tame” — the verb closing the verse, attānaṁ damayanti, ‘they tame themselves’.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Irrigators guide water, fletchers shape arrows, carpenters carve timber; those true to their vows tame themselves.
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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 three trades does this verse name?
Correct: B. Each named in its own line before the verse's closing point.
Question 2 of 10
In what line does the verse reveal its real subject?
Correct: C. Three examples given before the point they lead to.
Question 3 of 10
What does the verse's final line say?
Correct: D. Ethical training presented as a fourth craft.
Question 4 of 10
What does 'nettika' mean?
Correct: B. The first trade named in this verse.
Question 5 of 10
How does the verse's imagery differ across its three trades?
Correct: A. Water guided, arrows shaped, timber carved — each distinct.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'usukāra' mean?
Correct: C. The second of the three trades named.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'subbata' describe?
Correct: A. Those the verse compares to skilled craftspeople.
Question 8 of 10
What kind of structure does this verse use?
Correct: B. A classic rhetorical pattern of examples then application.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'tacchaka' mean?
Correct: D. The third trade named, carving timber.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Two?
Correct: A. Second to last in the chapter's sequence of ten poems.
