Abhaya — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Three · Poem 6 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; a short verse about hearing and immediately penetrating truth
Speaker
Abhaya, describing his own moment of understanding
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 famous precision simile compressed into two lines
Why this text
Abhaya's verse compresses cause and effect into two steps: hearing the Buddha's fine words, then penetrating ‘the subtle truth’ — described with one of this collection's most exact images, ‘like a hair-tip with an arrow’.
Reading guide
An epithet naming a traditional lineage
‘Kinsman of the Sun’ translates ādiccabandhu, a traditional epithet for the Buddha referring to the Sakyan clan's own claimed solar lineage — a title of ancestry rather than a description of his teaching itself.
Precision measured against something nearly impossible to hit
‘Like a hair-tip with an arrow’ describes piercing something almost too fine a target to strike at all — not a general image of skill, but a specific measure of exactness applied to understanding a subtle truth.
Hearing and penetrating, with no described interval
The verse moves directly from ‘having heard’ to ‘I penetrated’, with no account of prolonged practice in between — a compressed cause-and-effect structure, unlike verses elsewhere in this collection that describe years or seasons of training.
Key terms
ādiccabandhu — “Kinsman of the Sun” — a traditional epithet for the Buddha, referring to the Sakyan clan's claimed solar lineage.
subhāsita — “fine words” or “well-spoken” — describing what Abhaya heard.
nipuṇa — “subtle” — describing the truth Abhaya says he penetrated.
paccabyadhi — “pierced through” — the verb naming this verse's central action.
vālagga — “hair-tip” — the verse's image of an almost impossibly precise target.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Having heard the fine words of the Buddha, Kinsman of the Sun, I penetrated the subtle truth, like a hair-tip with an arrow.
· · ·
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 Abhaya say he did after hearing the Buddha's fine words?
Correct: C. The verse's central claim, following directly from hearing.
Question 2 of 10
What simile does the verse use for this penetration?
Correct: B. An image of extreme, almost impossible precision.
Question 3 of 10
What does 'Ādiccabandhu' mean?
Correct: D. Referring to the Sakyan clan's claimed solar lineage.
Question 4 of 10
How much time passes between hearing and penetrating, according to the verse?
Correct: A. A compressed structure, unlike verses describing prolonged practice.
Question 5 of 10
What does 'nipuṇa' describe?
Correct: C. Named directly as the object of Abhaya's penetration.
Question 6 of 10
What kind of image is 'a hair-tip pierced with an arrow'?
Correct: A. A precise, almost impossibly fine target.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'subhāsita' mean?
Correct: A. Describing what Abhaya heard from the Buddha.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'paccabyadhi' mean?
Correct: B. The verb naming this verse's central action.
Question 9 of 10
How does this verse's structure compare to verses describing years of training?
Correct: D. Hearing and penetrating, with no described interval between.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Three?
Correct: B. Continuing the chapter's sequence of ten poems.
