Sīvali — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Six · Poem 10 of 10
Setting
The hut Sīvali entered with a specific purpose
Speaker
Sīvali, reporting his own fulfilled wish
Form
One four-line verse, followed in the Pali by an untranslated chapter colophon and mnemonic summary 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 quiet, grammatically compact close to a unified chapter
Why this text
Sīvali's verse closes Chapter Six, and closes it as the tenth poem in a row to mention a hut — every single poem in this chapter, from Godhika's rain-soaked opening to this one, shares that one word. Sīvali reports that his purpose for entering his hut came true: seeking knowledge and liberation, he gave up the tendency to conceit.
Reading guide
Ten poems, one word, no exceptions
Godhika, Subāhu, Valliya, and Uttiya invited the rain from inside a hut; Añjanavaniya built one in the Añjana Wood; both monks called Kuṭivihārin were named for dwelling in one; Ramaṇīyakuṭika's own name was drawn from his; Kosalavihārin built his own in the wilderness; and now Sīvali closes the chapter by naming the hut he ‘entered’ for a specific purpose. No other chapter completed so far in this book shares a single image across all ten of its poems this consistently.
A grammatical note on the closing word
Sujato's comment on this verse identifies ‘ujjahaṁ’, the verb translated ‘I gave up’, as a reflexive first-person aorist — a grammatical detail confirming that Sīvali is describing an action he did to himself, his own tendency to conceit, rather than something done to him.
The conceit-tendency, named for the first time in this book
Mānānusaya, ‘the tendency to conceit’, is one of the underlying tendencies (anusaya) that recur across the wider canon as subtle, latent defilements rather than active thoughts — this is the first time this specific tendency is named outright in a Theragātha poem covered so far in this collection.
A name shared with a much later reputation
This Sīvali shares his name with an elder listed elsewhere in the canon among the Buddha's foremost disciples for receiving gifts and offerings. Nothing in this verse itself makes that connection, and this reading guide does not assert they are the same person — only that the name recurs, as Godhika's and others' names did earlier in this same chapter.
A chapter's own close, left untranslated
As at the end of Chapters One through Five, the Pali text here carries vaggo chaṭṭho, ‘the sixth chapter is finished’, followed by an uddāna naming all ten monks of this chapter in sequence: Godhika, Subāhu, Valliya, Uttiya, Añjanavaniya, the two Kuṭivihārins, Ramaṇīyakuṭika, and Kosalavihārin together with Sīvali, joined into one compound in the final line. Sujato's translation leaves both untranslated, and neither appears in this page's text below.
vijjāvimuttiṁ — “knowledge and liberation” — what Sīvali says he sought.
mānānusaya — “the tendency to conceit” — one of the underlying tendencies (anusaya), named here for the first time outright in this collection's poems so far.
ujjahaṁ — “I gave up” — per Sujato's comment, a reflexive first-person aorist verb.
kuṭiṁ — “hut” — the word this verse shares with all nine poems before it in this chapter, without exception.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1My wishes—the purpose I had for entering this hut—came true. Seeking knowledge and liberation, I gave up the tendency to conceit.
· · ·
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 word does this verse share with every other poem in Chapter Six, without exception?
Correct: A. Ten poems in a row, all sharing this one image.
Question 2 of 10
What does Sīvali say he gave up, according to this verse?
Correct: D. Mānānusaya, named outright for the first time so far in this collection.
Question 3 of 10
According to Sujato's comment, what grammatical form is 'ujjahaṁ'?
Correct: B. Confirming Sīvali gave up his own tendency, to himself.
Question 4 of 10
What did Sīvali say he sought, according to the verse?
Correct: D. Vijjāvimuttiṁ, naming his stated purpose.
Question 5 of 10
What does this reading guide say about a later elder in the canon who shares Sīvali's name?
Correct: B. The same cautious treatment applied to Godhika earlier in this chapter.
Question 6 of 10
What does the Pali text carry immediately after this poem, left untranslated by Sujato?
Correct: C. The same untranslated colophon pattern seen at the end of Chapters One through Five.
Question 7 of 10
Does this page's text include that closing uddāna?
Correct: B. Consistent with how this site handles untranslated structural material.
Question 8 of 10
How many monks' verses make up Chapter Six in total?
Correct: A. Godhika through Sīvali, named in sequence in the untranslated uddāna.
Question 9 of 10
How many more chapters remain in the Book of the Ones after this one?
Correct: C. Twelve chapters in total make up the Book of the Ones.
Question 10 of 10
What does 'vijjāvimuttiṁ' mean?
Correct: A. What Sīvali says he sought upon entering his hut.
