Meḷajina — The Book of the Twos · Chapter One · Poem 6 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting; two four-line verses, without a translated attribution
Speaker
Meḷajina, describing his own confidence after hearing the Buddha teach
Form
Two four-line verses, an extended stack of epithets for the Buddha followed by a plain statement of certainty
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 straightforward declaration of confidence
Why this text
Meḷajina describes hearing the Teacher speak Dhamma and finding no doubt at all in him — piling up epithets, the all-knowing unconquered one, the caravan leader, the great hero, the most excellent of charioteers — before closing on his own doubtless confidence in the path and practice.
Reading guide
Confidence from hearing, not from personal attainment
Unlike most poems in this book, which close on a personal claim of attainment, this verse's certainty is about someone else: hearing the Teacher speak, Meḷajina says he ‘wasn't aware of any doubt’ in him. The poem records confidence arising from listening, not a report of Meḷajina's own realized state.
A stack of epithets, aimed outward
The first verse piles up titles for the Buddha rather than for the speaker himself: ‘all-knowing, unconquered’, ‘caravan leader’, ‘great hero’, ‘most excellent of charioteers’. The Book of the Ones repeatedly stacked epithets to describe a speaker's own attainment; here the same technique describes someone else entirely.
Doubtless in the path, not only in the teacher
The second verse extends confidence from the person of the Buddha to the path itself: ‘I have no doubt in the path or practice’. Trust in a teacher and trust in a method are named as two distinct things, both affirmed in turn.
A name carrying 'victor', beside the poem's own subject
Meḷajina's own name ends in ‘-jina’, ‘victor’ or ‘conqueror’ — the same root used elsewhere in this collection as an epithet for the Buddha (as in Thag 2.8's ‘victor's instruction’, jinasāsana, two poems ahead). Worth noting, though this poem itself makes nothing of the resonance between the speaker's own name and the figure he describes.
Key terms
dhamma — “teaching” — what Meḷajina heard the Buddha speaking, prompting this verse's declaration.
sabbaññū — “all-knowing” — the first epithet in this verse's stack of titles for the Buddha.
satthāvāha — “caravan leader” — one of several images for the Buddha as guide, alongside ‘charioteer’.
sārathi — “charioteer” — the closing epithet in this verse's list, ‘the most excellent of charioteers’.
kaṅkhā — “doubt” — denied twice in this poem, once regarding the Buddha and once regarding the path itself.
The text
The text in full: two verses, without a translated attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1When I heard the Teacher speaking Dhamma, I wasn’t aware of any doubt in the all-knowing, unconquered one,
§2the caravan leader, the great hero, the most excellent of charioteers. I have no doubt in the path or practice.
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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 prompts this poem's declaration of confidence?
Correct: C. Confidence arising from listening, named directly.
Question 2 of 10
Whose attainment does this poem primarily describe?
Correct: B. Unlike most Book of the Ones verses, this one's opening focus is outward.
Question 3 of 10
Which of these is NOT one of the epithets stacked for the Buddha in this verse?
Correct: D. The four epithets are all-knowing, unconquered, caravan leader, and charioteer.
Question 4 of 10
What does the second verse add to the first verse's confidence in the Buddha?
Correct: D. Trust extended from the teacher to the method.
Question 5 of 10
How does the Book of the Ones typically use stacked epithets, compared to this poem?
Correct: C. The same technique, redirected outward in this poem.
Question 6 of 10
What does Meḷajina's own name end in?
Correct: A. The same root later used as an epithet for the Buddha in this book.
Question 7 of 10
Does this poem itself comment on the resonance between Meḷajina's name and 'jina' as a Buddha-epithet?
Correct: B. An observation offered cautiously, not asserted as the poem's own point.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'satthāvāha' mean?
Correct: A. One of the images for the Buddha as guide in this verse.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'kaṅkhā' mean?
Correct: A. Denied twice in this short poem — regarding the Buddha, and regarding the path.
Question 10 of 10
What is this poem's overall register?
Correct: B. Straightforward confidence, without narrative or simile.
