Nandaka — The Book of the Twos · Chapter Three · Poem 7 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; two four-line verses, without a translated attribution
Speaker
Nandaka, comparing himself to a resilient thoroughbred
Form
Two four-line verses — an animal simile, then its application and a personal request
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 resilient, confident self-comparison
Why this text
Nandaka compares himself to a fine thoroughbred that may stumble but soon stands firm, gaining even more urgency and carrying its load undeterred — then asks to be remembered the same way, as the Buddha's own rightful son.
Reading guide
A stumble, not a failure
The first verse pictures a thoroughbred horse stumbling, then recovering — not merely surviving the stumble but gaining ‘even more urgency’ from it, carrying its load ‘undeterred’. The image treats a setback as fuel rather than damage.
The simile applied, then a personal request
The second verse names what the horse stands for: ‘one accomplished in vision, a disciple of the Buddha’. Nandaka closes not with a declaration of attainment but with a request to be remembered a particular way — ‘a thoroughbred, the Buddha's rightful son’.
A name that recurs later in the collection
This is the first of two monks named Nandaka in the Theragātha; a Nandaka (2nd) appears later, in the Book of the Fours. The ordinal here signals that later recurrence, the same convention already used for names like Valliya, Uttara, and Tissa.
Key terms
bhaddo ājañño — “a fine thoroughbred” — the central image opening the poem, a horse of excellent breeding.
saṁvegaṁ — “urgency” — what the horse is said to gain even more of, after stumbling.
dassanasampannaṁ — “accomplished in vision” — what the second verse says the thoroughbred stands for.
sammāsambuddhasāvakaṁ — “a disciple of the Buddha” — the second verse's naming of what the simile is applied to.
puttaṁ buddhassa orasaṁ — “the Buddha's rightful son” — the poem's closing self-description, echoed almost word for word elsewhere in this collection.
The text
The text in full: two verses, without a translated attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Though a fine thoroughbred may stumble, it soon stands firm again. It gains even more urgency, and draws its load undeterred.
§2Even so is one accomplished in vision, a disciple of the Buddha. Remember me as a thoroughbred, the Buddha’s rightful son.
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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 first verse describe a fine thoroughbred doing?
Correct: B. A setback treated as fuel, not damage.
Question 2 of 10
What does the second verse say the thoroughbred stands for?
Correct: B. The simile applied directly to Nandaka's own path.
Question 3 of 10
How does the poem close?
Correct: D. A personal request rather than a plain declaration.
Question 4 of 10
What does the ordinal '(1st)' attached to Nandaka's name signal?
Correct: C. The same convention already used for Valliya, Uttara, and Tissa.
Question 5 of 10
What does 'saṁvegaṁ' mean?
Correct: C. What the thoroughbred is said to gain even more of, after stumbling.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'dassanasampannaṁ' mean?
Correct: A. What the second verse's simile is said to describe.
Question 7 of 10
How does the horse carry its load after stumbling, according to the first verse?
Correct: D. Adīno vahate dhuraṁ — carrying on without being cowed.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'puttaṁ buddhassa orasaṁ' mean?
Correct: A. The poem's closing self-description.
Question 9 of 10
What is the overall tone of this poem?
Correct: D. A setback recast as a source of renewed urgency.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Three?
Correct: B. Following Uttara (2nd), Bhaddaji, Sobhita, Valliya (3rd), Vītasoka, and Puṇṇamāsa (2nd).
