Khadiravaniya — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Five · Poem 2 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; three names addressed directly, in the vocative case
Speaker
The monk known as Revata of the Acacia Wood, addressing Cālā, Upacālā, and Sīsūpacālā
Form
One three-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 short verse carrying a genuine, unresolved question about who it addresses
Why this text
‘Cālā, Upacālā, Sīsūpacālā — meditate mindfully! I've come to you like a hair-splitter’. These three names are grammatically feminine in the Pali, matching three nuns whose own verses already appear elsewhere on this site — yet a long translation tradition rendered them as men.
Reading guide
Grammatically feminine names, naming three known nuns
Cāle, Upacāle, Sīsūpacāle carry the feminine vocative singular ending in Pali. These same three names belong to nuns whose own verses appear on this site as Thig 7.2 (Cālā), Thig 7.3 (Upacālā), and Thig 8.1 (Sīsūpacālā) — each confronting Māra directly in her own poem.
A contested translation history
Sujato's note reports that earlier translators, Rhys Davids and Norman, rendered these names as masculine, following the traditional commentary — despite what the note calls ‘grammatical implausibility’, and despite no other known group of three monks sharing these names anywhere else in the canon. A passing mention of a Cāla and Upacāla at AN 10.72 exists, but the note points out those monks are otherwise entirely unknown.
A precision image, echoing an earlier poem in this collection
‘I've come to you like a hair-splitter’ measures precision in a way that echoes Abhaya's verse (Thag 1.26) earlier in this book, which compared penetrating a subtle truth to piercing a hair-tip with an arrow — two different images from the same family, both measuring exactness against something almost too fine to strike.
What this page does, and does not, claim
This guide reports the grammatical fact and the cross-reference to the three nuns' own poems as Sujato's note presents them, without asserting a specific relationship between Revata of the Acacia Wood and the three women his verse's grammar addresses — the note itself flags ‘some confusion in the attributions’ across the sources it cites.
Key terms
vedhī — “hair-splitter”, one who splits a hair with precision — this verse's central image of exactness.
patissatā — “mindful” — the quality this verse urges onto the three it addresses.
Khadiravaniya — “of the Acacia Wood” — the epithet identifying this poem's speaker.
feminine vocative — the grammatical case ending ‘-e’ on Cāle, Upacāle, and Sīsūpacāle, marking these as names of women being directly addressed.
Cālā, Upacālā, Sīsūpacālā — three names matching nuns whose own verses appear on this site at Thig 7.2, Thig 7.3, and Thig 8.1.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Cālā, Upacālā, Sīsupacālā— meditate mindfully! I’ve come to you like a hair-splitter.
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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 grammatical case do the names Cālā, Upacālā, and Sīsūpacālā carry in this verse?
Correct: A. Marking these as the names of women being addressed directly.
Question 2 of 10
Where do these same three names appear elsewhere on this site?
Correct: B. Each confronting Māra directly in her own poem.
Question 3 of 10
According to Sujato's note, how did earlier translators Rhys Davids and Norman render these names?
Correct: D. A translation tradition the note pushes back against.
Question 4 of 10
Does the note claim a confirmed group of three male monks shares these names elsewhere in the canon?
Correct: D. The masculine reading's supporting evidence is thin, per the note.
Question 5 of 10
What simile does this verse use for precision?
Correct: B. An image of exact, fine-grained precision.
Question 6 of 10
How does this simile relate to an earlier poem in this collection?
Correct: B. Two related images of extreme precision, from the same family.
Question 7 of 10
Does this guide assert a specific relationship between Revata of the Acacia Wood and the three named women?
Correct: C. A deliberately cautious framing, matching what the source note itself supports.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'patissatā' urge?
Correct: A. The quality this verse asks the three addressed to maintain.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'Khadiravaniya' mean?
Correct: A. The epithet identifying this poem's speaker.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Five?
Correct: C. Continuing the chapter's sequence of ten poems.
