Kosalavihārin — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Six · Poem 9 of 10
Setting
A hut he built himself in the wilderness
Speaker
Kosalavihārin, named for the Kosala region
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 plain list of qualities, without simile or narrative
Why this text
Kosalavihārin's name simply records where he lived — the Kosala region — continuing this chapter's place-name pattern alongside Añjanavaniya. His verse states his own practice as a bare list of four qualities: heedful, ardent, aware, and mindful, with no simile or narrative framing at all.
Reading guide
A place name, matching Añjanavaniya's pattern
Like Añjanavaniya earlier in this chapter and Sītavaniya in Chapter Two, Kosalavihārin's name records a location rather than a clan or a family relation — here the Kosala region itself, rather than a single wood.
Built by his own hand, unlike the poem just before it
Where Ramaṇīyakuṭika's hut was ‘a gift given in faith’, Kosalavihārin says plainly that he built his own hut in the wilderness after going forth — two adjacent poems drawing a quiet contrast between a received dwelling and a self-built one.
Four qualities, listed without elaboration
Appamatto, ātāpī, sampajāno, patissato — heedful, ardent, aware, mindful — are stated back to back as a bare list, the same unadorned, catalog-like style already seen in this book with Kuṇḍadhāna's numbered categories in Chapter Two, though here the items are named outright rather than counted.
Key terms
saddhāya — “out of faith” — why Kosalavihārin says he went forth.
araññe — “in the wilderness” — where he built his own hut.
ātāpī — “ardent” — the second of the four qualities this verse names.
sampajāno — “aware” or “clearly comprehending” — the third quality named.
patissato — “mindful” — the fourth and final quality closing this verse.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1I went forth out of faith and built a hut in the wilderness. I’m heedful, ardent, aware, and mindful.
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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 the name Kosalavihārin record?
Correct: D. The same place-name pattern as Añjanavaniya and Sītavaniya.
Question 2 of 10
How did Kosalavihārin's hut come to be his, unlike the poem just before it?
Correct: C. A quiet contrast with Ramaṇīyakuṭika's received hut.
Question 3 of 10
What four qualities does this verse list about Kosalavihārin himself?
Correct: B. Appamatto, ātāpī, sampajāno, patissato — a bare list.
Question 4 of 10
How does this verse present its list of qualities, according to this reading guide?
Correct: D. Named outright, one after another, with no further explanation.
Question 5 of 10
What earlier poem in this book uses a similar catalog-like, unadorned style?
Correct: A. Though Kuṇḍadhāna's items are counted rather than named outright.
Question 6 of 10
Why does Kosalavihārin say he went forth?
Correct: C. Saddhāya, 'out of faith' — the verse's opening reason.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'sampajāno' mean?
Correct: A. The third of the four qualities this verse names.
Question 8 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Six?
Correct: B. Poem 9 of 10, one before the chapter's close.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'araññe' mean?
Correct: B. Where Kosalavihārin built his own hut.
Question 10 of 10
What word links this verse to the rest of Chapter Six?
Correct: A. Kuṭikā, continuing the chapter's shared theme.
