Kassapa the Prince — The Book of the Twos · Chapter Five · Poem 1 of 9
Setting
No narrative setting; an exclamation followed by a general statement, without a translated attribution, opening Chapter Five
Speaker
Kassapa the Prince (Kumārakassapa), praising the Buddha, the teaching, and the Teacher's accomplishments
Form
One four-line verse of exclamation, followed by an extended six-line verse
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
★★☆☆☆ — simple vocabulary, an unusual exclamatory register
Why this text
Kassapa the Prince opens Chapter Five not with a first-person report of his own attainment, but with an exclamation — ‘Oh, the Buddhas! Oh, the Dhammas! Oh, the accomplishments of the Teacher!’ — before widening into a general statement about disciples who, after countless eons, reach their very last body and see transmigration through births and deaths come to an end.
Reading guide
An exclamation, not a declaration
Most poems in this collection report the speaker's own attainment directly. This one opens instead with three exclamations in a row — praising the Buddhas, the teachings, and the Teacher's accomplishments — before naming what makes this teaching remarkable: ‘here a disciple may realize such a teaching for themselves’. The register is closer to celebration than autobiography, fitting for a monk this site can independently confirm was known for eloquence.
An extended second verse
Where most poems in this chapter run two four-line verses, this one's second verse runs to six lines, widening from a single disciple's realization to a general statement about beings who, ‘through countless eons’, obtain their last and final body and reach the end of transmigration through births and deaths — ‘now there’ll be no more future lives’.
A monk this site can confirm, not merely guess at
Sujato's own comment identifies this ‘Kassapa the Prince’ as Kumārakassapa, ordained at twenty, who appears in this site's own MN 23 (questioned by a deity about a riddling anthill) and DN 23 (winning over the skeptic Pāyāsi through a series of similes), and who is named foremost in brilliant speech at AN 1.209–218, §217. This is a materially different situation from Thag 1.82's bare ‘Kassapa’, one of the early canon's most common names, where no such identification was possible — here, the fuller name Kumārakassapa and a surviving comment together confirm a specific, well-documented monk.
Key terms
sakkāyādhigatā — “obtained individual existence” — describing what beings acquire through countless eons before their final body.
carimoyaṁ samussayo — “this final body” — the last embodiment before transmigration ends.
jātimaraṇasaṁsāro — “the transmigration through births and deaths” — what the verse says comes to an end.
natthi dāni punabbhavo — “now there’ll be no more future lives” — a closing formula found elsewhere in this collection, including later in this same chapter.
Kumārakassapa — “Kassapa the Prince” — the full name behind this poem's title, distinguishing this well-documented monk from the many other Kassapas in the early canon.
The text
The text in full: one four-line verse and one six-line verse, without a translated attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Oh, the Buddhas! Oh, the Dhammas! Oh, the accomplishments of the Teacher! Here a disciple may realize such a teaching for themselves.
§2Through countless eons they obtained substantial forms. This is their last, their very final body in the transmigration through births and deaths; now there’ll be no more future lives.
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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, unlike most declarations in this collection?
Correct: A. Celebration rather than autobiography, at least at first.
Question 2 of 10
What is unusual about this poem's second verse, compared to most of this chapter?
Correct: B. An extension found nowhere else in this chapter.
Question 3 of 10
According to the second verse, what happens to beings after countless eons?
Correct: A. Jātimaraṇasaṁsāro ends; no more future lives.
Question 4 of 10
Where does Sujato's comment say this Kassapa appears elsewhere on this site?
Correct: C. A well-documented monk, unlike the bare name at Thag 1.82.
Question 5 of 10
What is this monk named foremost in, according to AN 1.209–218?
Correct: D. Fitting for a poem that opens in an exclamatory, celebratory register.
Question 6 of 10
How does this identification differ from the bare 'Kassapa' at Thag 1.82?
Correct: B. A materially stronger case than a bare, common name allows.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'natthi dāni punabbhavo' mean?
Correct: B. A recurring closing formula in this collection.
Question 8 of 10
What Vammikasutta riddle-poem features this same monk, according to the comment?
Correct: A. Confirmed by Sujato's own comment on this verse.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'sakkāyādhigatā' describe?
Correct: D. What is obtained before the final body is reached.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in the Book of the Twos?
Correct: C. Opening the book's fifth and final chapter.
