Nigrodha — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Three · Poem 1 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; a short verse opening Chapter Three
Speaker
Nigrodha, stating his own fearlessness directly
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 compact statement of fearlessness, grounded in a specific reason
Why this text
Chapter Three opens with a direct claim: ‘I'm not afraid of fear’. But Nigrodha does not leave this unexplained — the reason follows immediately: ‘our teacher is expert in freedom from death’, and mendicants advance along a path where, in the end, ‘no fear remains’.
Reading guide
Fearlessness, immediately grounded in a reason
The verse's opening claim could stand alone as a simple boast, but its second line supplies the reason at once: not personal bravado, but confidence placed in the teacher's own expertise in ‘freedom from death’ — amata, the deathless.
A path defined by what it lacks
The verse's closing description names the path mendicants walk not by what it contains but by what it does not: ‘where no fear remains’. The destination is characterized as an absence, not an added quality.
A short, declarative opener for a new chapter
Like Cūḷavaccha's joy opening Chapter Two, this verse opens Chapter Three with a single clear claim rather than an image or narrative — each of this book's chapters so far beginning on a plainly stated theme.
Key terms
bhaya — “fear” — named twice in this short verse, denied at the start and again at the close.
satthā — “teacher” — the source of the confidence this verse expresses, rather than personal bravado.
amata — “the deathless” or “freedom from death” — the specific expertise credited to the teacher.
bhikkhu — “mendicant” — those said to advance along the path this verse describes.
magga — “path” — defined in this verse's closing line by what it lacks, not what it contains.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1I’m not afraid of fear, for our teacher is expert in freedom from death. Mendicants advance by the path where no fear remains.
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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 open?
Correct: B. Chapter Three's opening statement.
Question 2 of 10
What reason does the verse give for this fearlessness?
Correct: C. Confidence placed in the teacher, not personal boldness.
Question 3 of 10
What does 'amata' mean?
Correct: D. The teacher's specific expertise, named in the verse's second line.
Question 4 of 10
How does the verse describe the path mendicants walk?
Correct: B. Defined as an absence, not an added quality.
Question 5 of 10
How does this poem's opening compare to Cūḷavaccha's verse opening Chapter Two?
Correct: D. A shared pattern across this book's chapter openers.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'satthā' mean?
Correct: A. The source of the confidence expressed in this verse.
Question 7 of 10
How many times is 'fear' (bhaya) named in this verse?
Correct: C. Denied at the verse's start and again at its close.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'magga' mean?
Correct: A. What mendicants are said to advance along.
Question 9 of 10
Is this verse's fearlessness attributed to personal bravado?
Correct: B. A reason given immediately, not left as an unsupported boast.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in the Theragātha?
Correct: A. The first of ten poems in this new chapter.
