Soṇapoṭiriya — The Book of the Twos · Chapter Four · Poem 7 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; two separately quoted four-line verses in sharply different registers
Speaker
Two quoted statements, whose relationship to each other the poem itself doesn't specify
Form
A reflective verse on night and waking, then a battlefield declaration
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
★★☆☆☆ — two verses in strikingly different registers, left unexplained by the text
Why this text
The first verse states that night, garlanded with stars, isn't only for sleeping but for waking, for those who know; the second verse turns abruptly to a soldier's declaration — better to die trampled in battle than to live on in defeat — and the poem itself never explains how the two connect.
Reading guide
Night, reframed as a time for waking
The first verse addresses the night itself, ‘with her garland of stars’, insisting it ‘is not only for sleeping’ but, ‘for those who know’, a time meant ‘for waking’ — a reflective, almost lyrical register.
A sudden shift to the battlefield
The second verse changes register entirely, without transition: falling from an elephant's back, trampled by the tuskers behind it, is called preferable to ‘live on in defeat’. Both bilara-data's Pali and Sujato's translation mark each verse with its own quotation marks, suggesting two separate quoted statements rather than one continuous voice.
A relationship the poem doesn't spell out
Nothing in the text states whether the same speaker utters both verses, whether one quotes the other, or whether they represent two different voices entirely — a warrior's ethic of dying rather than losing, set alongside a monk's ethic of using the night for waking rather than sleep. This guide states the juxtaposition as a fact of the text, without resolving it into a single reading the poem itself doesn't supply.
Key terms
nakkhattamālinī — “garlanded with stars” — the poetic epithet for night opening the first verse.
vijānatā — “for those who know” — who the first verse says night is really meant for waking.
hatthikkhandhāvapatitaṁ — “fallen from an elephant's back” — the opening image of the second verse's battlefield scene.
kuñjaro — “tusker” — the elephant said to trample the fallen rider.
parājito — “defeated” — the state the second verse says is worse than death itself.
The text
The text in full: two separately quoted verses. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Night, with her garland of stars, is not only for sleeping. For those who know, this night is really for waking.
§2Were I to fall from the back of an elephant, trampled by the tuskers that follow, better for me to die in battle, than to live on in defeat.
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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 say about night?
Correct: B. A reflective, lyrical register opens the poem.
Question 2 of 10
What scene does the second verse describe?
Correct: B. A sudden shift to a battlefield register.
Question 3 of 10
What does the second verse say is preferable to living on in defeat?
Correct: A. A soldier's stated ethic of death over defeat.
Question 4 of 10
Does the poem explain how the two verses relate to each other?
Correct: D. An honest gap the text itself leaves open.
Question 5 of 10
How are the two verses marked in the Pali and translation?
Correct: D. Suggesting two distinct quoted statements rather than one voice.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'nakkhattamālinī' mean?
Correct: C. The poetic epithet for night opening the first verse.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'parājito' mean?
Correct: A. The state the second verse says is worse than death.
Question 8 of 10
What kind of animal is said to trample the fallen rider in the second verse?
Correct: D. Kuñjaro, following behind the one who has fallen.
Question 9 of 10
What is this poem's overall register, taken as a whole?
Correct: C. A juxtaposition the poem itself doesn't explain.
