Ajjuna — The Book of the Ones · Chapter Nine · Poem 8 of 10
Setting
A retrospective account, told through an extended flood-and-rescue image
Speaker
Ajjuna, in the first person
Form
One four-line verse, a single continuous image
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
★★☆☆☆ — plain vocabulary, one notable structural detail
Why this text
Ajjuna describes lifting himself from water to shore while ‘being swept away by the great flood’ — and in that same moment, still being swept along, he says he ‘penetrated the truths’. The insight doesn't come after the crisis is over; the verse places it in the middle of it.
Reading guide
Insight in the middle of the flood, not after
Vuyhamāno mahogheva, saccāni paṭivijjhahaṁ: ‘while being swept along by the great flood, I penetrated the truths’. Vuyhamāno is a present participle — the sweeping is still happening, ongoing, at the moment the verse describes the breakthrough. This is a different temporal structure from a more conventional telling, where crisis would come first, followed by escape, followed by insight: here the insight and the peril coincide.
Ogha, a standard image for what sweeps beings along
Ogha (‘flood’) is one of the wider canon's standard images for what carries beings through saṁsāra — traditionally enumerated as four: the floods of sensuality, of continued existence, of views, and of ignorance. This verse doesn't specify which, or how many; it simply names ‘the great flood’ as the thing being escaped.
'The truths', left unspecified
Saccāni (‘truths’) most likely points toward the four noble truths, the canon's most common referent for this word in the plural — but the verse itself doesn't say ‘four’, or name them individually. This reading guide treats the likely referent as background, not something the verse itself confirms.
A name that may mean 'bright, white'
Ajjuna can also function as an ordinary adjective meaning ‘white, bright, clear’ — it is also the name of a tree valued for its pale bark. Whether this elder's name draws on that sense, this reading guide does not press further.
Key terms
ogha — “flood” — a standard canonical image for what sweeps beings through saṁsāra, traditionally counted as four.
vuyhamāna — “being swept away” — a present passive participle, describing an action still underway.
paṭivijjhati — “penetrates, breaks through to understanding” — the verb behind this verse's central claim.
sacca — “truth” — here in the plural, most likely pointing toward the four noble truths, though the verse does not name them individually.
Ajjuna — possibly “white, bright, clear” — also the name of a tree valued for its pale bark.
The text
The text in full: one verse, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1I was able to lift myself up from the water to the shore. While being swept away by the great flood, I penetrated the truths.
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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 say Ajjuna was able to do?
Correct: A. Asakkhiṁ vata attānaṁ, uddhātuṁ udakā thalaṁ, the verse's opening claim.
Question 2 of 10
When, according to the verse, did Ajjuna 'penetrate the truths'?
Correct: B. Vuyhamāno mahogheva, saccāni paṭivijjhahaṁ — the insight coincides with the peril.
Question 3 of 10
What grammatical form is 'vuyhamāno', and what does it indicate about the timing?
Correct: D. The breakthrough happens in the middle of the crisis, not after it.
Question 4 of 10
How many floods (ogha) does the wider canon traditionally enumerate?
Correct: C. Sensuality, continued existence, views, and ignorance.
Question 5 of 10
Does this verse specify which flood, or how many, it refers to?
Correct: C. The verse relies on the image without enumerating it.
Question 6 of 10
What does this reading guide say 'saccāni' most likely refers to?
Correct: B. The canon's most common referent for 'truths' in the plural.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'paṭivijjhati' mean?
Correct: A. The verb behind this verse's central claim.
Question 8 of 10
What does this reading guide suggest the name Ajjuna may possibly mean?
Correct: D. Also the name of a tree valued for its pale bark.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'vuyhamāna' mean?
Correct: A. A present passive participle, describing ongoing action.
