Bharata — The Book of the Twos · Chapter Three · Poem 8 of 10
Setting
An invitation to visit their preceptor, spoken to a named companion
Speaker
Bharata, addressing a companion named Nandaka
Form
Two four-line verses — a direct invitation, then a shared report of attainment
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 warm, direct address between companions
Why this text
Bharata addresses a companion by name — ‘come, Nandaka, let's go to visit our preceptor’ — proposing they ‘roar their lion's roar’ before the Buddha together, since the goal their teacher set them going forth for, the ending of all fetters, has now been reached.
Reading guide
An invitation, addressed by name
Unlike most poems in this book, this one opens as direct speech to a named companion: ‘Come, Nandaka, let's go to visit our preceptor’. The poem is framed as an invitation rather than a solitary reflection or declaration.
A lion's roar, before the best of Buddhas
The proposed action is vivid and public: ‘we'll roar our lion's roar before the best of Buddhas’ — a standard idiom for a bold, public declaration of one's own attainment, made in this case as a shared act rather than a solitary one.
A goal reached together
The second verse explains why: the teacher gave them going forth ‘out of compassion’, and ‘that goal’ — the ending of all fetters — has now been reached. The poem reports a shared attainment (‘we have reached’), not only Bharata's own.
A plausible link to the poem just before it
The companion addressed here is named Nandaka, the same name as the speaker of Thag 2.27, immediately before this poem in the chapter. No comment confirms these are the same person, but the adjacency and the shared name make this the most natural reading; this guide presents it as a plausible connection rather than a confirmed one.
Key terms
upajjhāyassa — “of the preceptor” — the figure Bharata proposes visiting, named without further identification here.
sīhanādaṁ — “lion's roar” — a standard idiom for a bold, public declaration of one's own attainment.
buddhaseṭṭhassa — “the best of Buddhas” — the epithet used for the one before whom the roar will be made.
anukampāya — “out of compassion” — why the sage is said to have given the two companions going forth.
sabbasaṁyojanakkhayo — “the ending of all fetters” — the shared goal the poem reports as now reached.
The text
The text in full: two verses, without a translated attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Come, Nandaka, let’s go to visit our preceptor. We’ll roar our lion’s roar before the best of Buddhas.
§2The sage gave us the going forth out of compassion, so we could realize the ending of all fetters—now we have reached that goal.
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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
How does this poem open?
Correct: B. 'Come, Nandaka, let's go to visit our preceptor.'
Question 2 of 10
What does 'lion's roar' refer to in this poem?
Correct: B. Made here as a shared act, proposed to a companion.
Question 3 of 10
What does the second verse say has now been reached?
Correct: C. The goal their teacher gave them going forth for, reported as achieved.
Question 4 of 10
Why did the sage give the two companions going forth, according to the poem?
Correct: A. Anukampāya, named directly in the second verse.
Question 5 of 10
How does this guide characterize the link between the Nandaka addressed here and Thag 2.27?
Correct: D. A plausible, not confirmed, connection.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'sīhanādaṁ' mean?
Correct: C. The bold declaration Bharata proposes making, together with his companion.
Question 7 of 10
Is this poem's attainment reported as Bharata's alone, or shared?
Correct: C. A collective report, matching the poem's collective invitation.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'upajjhāyassa' mean?
Correct: A. The figure Bharata proposes visiting.
Question 9 of 10
What is unusual about this poem's form, compared to most poems in this book?
Correct: D. A direct address, distinct from the book's more common declarative or reflective register.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Three?
Correct: B. Following Uttara (2nd) through Nandaka (1st).
