Sobhita — The Book of the Twos · Chapter Three · Poem 3 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; two nearly-repeated four-line verses, without a translated attribution
Speaker
Sobhita, describing an extraordinary feat of recollection
Form
Two four-line verses, the second closely repeating the first with added detail
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 striking claim, made twice, with one line elliptical in the original
Why this text
Sobhita, mindful, wise, and energetic, recollects five hundred eons in a single night — a claim the poem states twice, the second time crediting the four mindfulness meditations and (in Sujato's translation) the seven factors of awakening and the eightfold path.
Reading guide
The same feat, stated twice
Both verses close on the identical line, ‘I recollected five hundred eons in a single night’ — the first verse framing it as accomplished through mindfulness and vigor in general, the second crediting a more specific set of developed qualities.
What the Pali actually says, versus the translation
Sujato's own comment on the second verse's middle line notes plainly that ‘the Pali text says only ‘developing the seven and eight’’ — the translation's ‘seven factors of awakening’ and ‘the eightfold path’ supply the specific categories the bare numbers imply, given the four mindfulness meditations named just before them. A terse original, filled out for the reader by the translator's own interpretive judgment.
A companion vision to the poem before it
This poem's plain statement of recollecting ‘five hundred eons in a single night’ supplies the natural doctrinal frame for Thag 2.22 (Bhaddaji), which immediately precedes it: a specific, vivid vision (King Panāda's golden monument) without stating the faculty behind it, followed by this poem's explicit account of the memory itself.
Key terms
āraddhabalavīriyo — “empowered and full of energy” — describing the monk in the first verse, before the feat of recollection is named.
kaṅkhā — not used in this poem — unlike several nearby poems, this verse names no doubt to be resolved, only an accomplished memory.
satipaṭṭhāne — “mindfulness meditations” — the specific practice named at the opening of the second verse.
satta aṭṭha ca bhāvayaṁ — “developing the seven and eight” — the Pali's own terse phrasing, expanded in translation to name the seven awakening factors and the eightfold path.
ekarattiṁ — “in a single night” — the striking time frame both verses give for recollecting five hundred eons.
The text
The text in full: two verses, without a translated attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1As a monk, mindful and wise, empowered and full of energy, I recollected five hundred eons in a single night.
§2Developing the four mindfulness meditations, the seven factors of awakening, and the eightfold path, I recollected five hundred eons in a single night.
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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 closing claim do both verses of this poem share?
Correct: A. An identical closing line, stated twice.
Question 2 of 10
What does Sujato's own comment say the Pali text literally says, in the second verse's middle line?
Correct: B. A terse original, expanded by the translator's own interpretive judgment.
Question 3 of 10
What four practices does the second verse name before the terse 'seven and eight'?
Correct: C. Context that likely justifies the translator's expansion of 'seven and eight'.
Question 4 of 10
How does this poem relate to Thag 2.22 (Bhaddaji), immediately before it?
Correct: B. A vivid vision, followed by the naming of the faculty behind it.
Question 5 of 10
What does 'ekarattiṁ' mean?
Correct: D. The striking time frame given for this feat of recollection.
Question 6 of 10
What does the first verse credit for this feat of recollection, in more general terms?
Correct: C. General qualities named before the second verse's more specific practices.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'satipaṭṭhāne' mean?
Correct: D. The specific practice opening the second verse.
Question 8 of 10
Does this guide treat Sujato's translated expansion as a textual fact stated by the Pali itself?
Correct: D. A careful distinction between source text and translator's supplied detail.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'āraddhabalavīriyo' mean?
Correct: C. Describing the monk in the first verse.
