Gosāla — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Three · Poem 3 of 10
Setting
Veḷugumba, where Gosāla plans to eat, then his forest hill, where he plans to return
Speaker
Gosāla, stating his own plans for the day
Form
One six-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
★☆☆☆☆ — ordinary logistics voiced as verse, with one noted wordplay
Why this text
Gosāla's verse reads almost like a plan for the day: eat honey and milk-rice at Veḷugumba, then, dexterously probing the rise and fall of the aggregates, return to his forest hill to foster seclusion — ordinary logistics and meditative practice folded into the same short itinerary.
Reading guide
Ordinary planning, voiced as verse
Where many verses in this collection describe an attainment or a teaching, this one states something closer to a plan: a specific meal at a specific place, then a specific destination — the stuff of daily monastic life, given the same verse form as loftier declarations.
A wordplay Sujato's note unpacks
‘Dexterously probing’ translates padakkhiṇaṁ sammasanto. Sujato's note explains that padakkhiṇaṁ is used here adverbially, its sense reinforcing the rare verb sammasanto through a shared root: dakkha means ‘right-handed, dexterous’, while mas means ‘stroke, probe’ — a deliberate echo built into the line's own sound.
Meditation folded into an itinerary
The contemplation itself — the rise and fall of the aggregates — is not set apart as a separate, formal occasion, but placed directly between a meal and a walk home, practice woven into the ordinary movement of a day.
Key terms
madhupāyasa — “honey and milk-rice” — the specific meal Gosāla names in this verse's opening line.
padakkhiṇaṁ — used adverbially here as “dexterously”, per Sujato's note reinforcing the following verb through a shared root.
sammasanto — “probing” or “contemplating” — a rare verb, per Sujato's note, describing how Gosāla examines the aggregates.
khandhānaṁ udayabbayaṁ — “the rise and fall of the aggregates” — the specific object of Gosāla's contemplation.
viveka — “seclusion” — what Gosāla says he will foster upon returning to his forest hill.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1I’ll eat honey and milk-rice in Veḷugumba. And then, dexterously probing the rise and fall of the aggregates, I’ll return to my forest hill and foster seclusion.
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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 Gosāla say he will eat, and where?
Correct: B. The verse's opening, stated plan.
Question 2 of 10
What does Gosāla plan to do after his meal?
Correct: C. The rest of the verse's stated itinerary.
Question 3 of 10
According to Sujato's note, what does 'padakkhiṇaṁ' do in this verse?
Correct: B. A deliberate sound-based echo built into the line.
Question 4 of 10
What does 'khandhānaṁ udayabbayaṁ' mean?
Correct: A. The specific object of Gosāla's contemplation.
Question 5 of 10
How does this verse's style compare to declarations of attainment elsewhere in this collection?
Correct: A. Daily logistics given the same verse form as loftier declarations.
Question 6 of 10
Where is Gosāla's meal, according to the verse?
Correct: D. Named directly in the verse's opening line.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'sammasanto' mean?
Correct: B. A rare verb, per Sujato's note, describing how Gosāla examines the aggregates.
Question 8 of 10
Where does the verse say Gosāla will return to?
Correct: D. Named as his destination after the meal and contemplation.
Question 9 of 10
How is the contemplation of the aggregates positioned within this verse?
Correct: A. Practice woven into the ordinary movement of a day.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Three?
Correct: C. Continuing the chapter's sequence of ten poems.
