Bhāradvāja — The Book of the Twos · Chapter Three · Poem 9 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting stated directly; a response of joy, most plausibly to a visit just received
Speaker
Bhāradvāja, expressing joy at a disciple's attainment
Form
Two four-line verses — a description of the wise roaring like lions, then a personal expression of joy
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, personal closing note
Why this text
Bhāradvāja describes how the wise roar like lions in mountain caves, heroes triumphant over Māra, then turns personal: having served the teacher and honored the Dhamma and Saṅgha, he is happy and joyful — because he has seen his son free of defilements.
Reading guide
The same roar, described from outside
The first verse pictures ‘how the wise roar’, comparing it to lions in mountain caves, heroes who have vanquished Māra and his legions — a description that reads naturally as an answer to Thag 2.28's own proposal, one poem earlier, to ‘roar our lion's roar before the best of Buddhas’.
A personal turn: joy at seeing a son free
The second verse shifts from general description to direct personal statement: Bhāradvāja has served the teacher and honored the Dhamma and Saṅgha, and closes ‘I'm happy and joyful, because I've seen my son free of defilements’. Putta, ‘son’, could be read literally or as the standard figurative term for a disciple; the poem itself doesn't specify which.
A three-poem arc across this chapter, plausibly connected
Read together, Thag 2.27 (Nandaka, declaring his own attainment), Thag 2.28 (Bharata, inviting a companion named Nandaka to go declare it before their preceptor), and this poem (a figure expressing joy at seeing ‘my son’ free of defilements) form a plausible narrative sequence — declaration, invitation, and a teacher's joyful response. No comment confirms this reading, and this guide presents it as the most natural inference from the sequence, not a settled fact.
A third Bhāradvāja touched by this project
This is the third figure named Bhāradvāja encountered so far in this project's work: Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja at Thag 2.2, the insulting fire-worshipping brahmin of this site's own Snp 1.7, and now this plain, unmodified Bhāradvāja. All three share only a common brahmin clan name; nothing connects them beyond that.
Key terms
sīhāva girigabbhare — “like lions in mountain caves” — the simile opening this poem's description of how the wise roar.
jetvā māraṁ savāhiniṁ — “having vanquished Māra with his legions” — describing the heroes the first verse compares the wise to.
paricinno — “served” — describing Bhāradvāja's own relationship to the teacher, opening the second verse.
vitto sumano — “happy and joyful” — Bhāradvāja's own stated emotional state, closing the poem.
puttaṁ disvā anāsavan — “having seen my son free of defilements” — the poem's closing reason for that joy, putta read either literally or as a term for a disciple.
The text
The text in full: two verses, without a translated attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1This is how the wise roar: like lions in mountain caves, heroes, triumphant in battle, having vanquished Māra with his legions.
§2I’ve served the teacher; I’ve honored the Dhamma and the Saṅgha; I’m happy and joyful, because I’ve seen my son free of defilements.
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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 compare the wise to, when they roar?
Correct: A. Heroes triumphant over Māra and his legions.
Question 2 of 10
How does this poem's opening relate to Thag 2.28, immediately before it?
Correct: B. A plausible continuation of the same scene.
Question 3 of 10
What reason does the second verse give for Bhāradvāja's joy?
Correct: B. Putta, read either literally or as a term for a disciple.
Question 4 of 10
How does this guide characterize the three-poem sequence of Thag 2.27, 2.28, and this poem?
Correct: D. An honest, calibrated level of confidence in an unconfirmed reading.
Question 5 of 10
How many figures named Bhāradvāja has this project encountered so far?
Correct: C. Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja, the insulting brahmin of Snp 1.7, and this plain Bhāradvāja.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'vitto sumano' mean?
Correct: D. Bhāradvāja's own stated emotional state, closing the poem.
Question 7 of 10
What does the second verse say Bhāradvāja did for the Dhamma and Saṅgha?
Correct: D. Alongside having served the teacher.
Question 8 of 10
Does the poem specify whether 'putta' (son) is literal or figurative here?
Correct: C. An honest ambiguity, left open by the text itself.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'sīhāva girigabbhare' mean?
Correct: A. The opening simile for how the wise roar.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in Chapter Three?
Correct: C. Following Bharata, with one poem left to close the chapter.
