Sañjaya — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Five · Poem 8 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; a report of experience since ordination
Speaker
Sañjaya, describing his own mind since going forth
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 precise claim about the absence of one specific kind of thought
Why this text
‘Since I went forth from the lay life to homelessness, I've not been aware of any thought that is ignoble and hateful’. This verse's second line matches Samiddhi's verse (Thag 1.46), two poems earlier, word for word — though what follows diverges completely.
Reading guide
A shared line, with different openings and different endings
Agārasmānagāriyaṁ, ‘from the household to homelessness’, appears verbatim in both this verse and Samiddhi's (Thag 1.46). Their opening lines differ slightly — Samiddhi names faith as his reason, Sañjaya simply marks a moment in time — and their content diverges entirely after that one shared line.
A precise claim, not a general one
Sañjaya does not claim a general purity of mind; he names exactly what has not arisen: thought that is ‘ignoble and hateful’, anariyaṁ dosasaṁhitaṁ — a specific target, in the same spirit as this collection's other verses that name their objects precisely rather than vaguely.
Reported absence, not active elimination
Nābhijānāmi, ‘I've not been aware of’, frames this as a report of direct experience rather than a claim of having actively eliminated something — the thought simply hasn't arisen to be noticed, not ‘I destroyed it’.
Key terms
pabbajita — “gone forth” — marking the moment this verse measures from.
agārasmānāgāriyaṁ — “from the household to homelessness” — the line shared verbatim with Samiddhi's verse (Thag 1.46).
abhijānāti — “to know directly” or “to be aware of” — negated in this verse to report an absence, not an elimination.
saṅkappa — “thought” or “intention” — the object this verse says has not arisen.
dosasaṁhita — “connected with hatred” or “ill-will” — describing the specific kind of thought named.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Since I went forth from the lay life to homelessness, I’ve not been aware of any thought that is ignoble and hateful.
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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 this verse's second line share with Samiddhi's verse (Thag 1.46)?
Correct: D. Agārasmānagāriyaṁ, shared verbatim between the two verses.
Question 2 of 10
How do the two verses' opening lines compare?
Correct: D. A shared second line, but different first lines.
Question 3 of 10
What specific kind of thought does Sañjaya say he has not been aware of?
Correct: B. A precise target, not a vague general claim.
Question 4 of 10
How is this claim framed — as active elimination, or reported absence?
Correct: B. 'I've not been aware of', not 'I destroyed'.
Question 5 of 10
What does 'saṅkappa' mean?
Correct: A. The object this verse says has not arisen.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'dosasaṁhita' describe?
Correct: A. The specific quality of the thought this verse names.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'abhijānāti' mean?
Correct: A. Negated in this verse to report an absence.
Question 8 of 10
Does Sañjaya's verse diverge from Samiddhi's after their shared line?
Correct: B. One shared line, otherwise two distinct verses.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'pabbajita' mean?
Correct: C. Marking the moment this verse measures from.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Five?
Correct: C. Continuing the chapter's sequence of ten poems.
