Uttarapāla — The Book of the Threes · Chapter One · Poem 12 of 16
Setting
A retrospective declaration, without a translated attribution
Speaker
Uttarapāla, recalling his fall and recovery
Form
Three four-line verses — a scholar's downfall, a trap escaped, and its resolution
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
★☆☆☆☆ — plain vocabulary, a familiar closing formula
Why this text
An astute scholar, competent to think on the meaning, fell to ‘the five kinds of sensual stimulation’, struck by a powerful dart in Māra's domain — but freed himself from the trap of the King of Death, closing on a formula this collection has used before, but not since the Book of the Ones.
Reading guide
A scholar's fall, named without excuse
The first verse states plainly what went wrong: ‘I was, indeed, an astute scholar, competent to think on the meaning’, but ‘the five kinds of sensual stimulation in the world, so delusory, were my downfall’. Intellectual competence did not protect him from this particular trap.
Māra's domain, a dart, a trap sprung and escaped
The second verse dramatizes the fall as an ambush: ‘leaping into Māra's domain, I was struck by a powerful dart’, then ‘the trap laid by the King of Death’ — from which he nonetheless frees himself, the verse's central turn.
A closing formula, returning after the Book of the Ones
The poem's final two lines — ‘transmigration through births is finished; now there'll be no more future lives’ — are word for word the same formula (vikkhīṇo jātisaṁsāro, natthi dāni punabbhavo) this reading guide found three times in the Book of the Ones (Thag 1.67, 1.87, and 1.90), but not since. Thag 2.41 and Thag 2.48 in the Book of the Twos shared only this formula's second line, each paired with a different opening line; this is the first time the complete two-line formula, matching the Book of the Ones' exact wording, has recurred.
Key terms
alamatthavicintakaṁ — “competent to think on the meaning” — the scholarly skill described in the opening line.
pañca kāmaguṇā — “the five kinds of sensual stimulation” — named as the cause of the speaker's downfall.
māravisaye — “Māra's domain” — where the speaker leapt, struck by a powerful dart.
maccurājassa pāsā — “the trap laid by the King of Death” — what the speaker frees himself from.
vikkhīṇo jātisaṁsāro, natthi dāni punabbhavo — “transmigration through births is finished; now there'll be no more future lives” — a formula matching Thag 1.67, 1.87, and 1.90 exactly, word for word.
The text
The text in full: three verses, with no separate attribution line in this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1I was, indeed, an astute scholar, competent to think on the meaning. The five kinds of sensual stimulation in the world, so delusory, were my downfall.
§2Leaping into Māra’s domain, I was struck by a powerful dart. But I was able to free myself from the trap laid by the King of Death.
§3I have given up all sensual pleasures; all rebirths are shattered; transmigration through births is finished; 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
What does the first verse say caused the speaker's downfall?
Correct: C. Scholarly competence did not protect against this particular trap.
Question 2 of 10
How does the second verse describe the fall?
Correct: D. Pakkhando māravisaye, daḷhasallasamappito.
Question 3 of 10
What does the speaker say he was able to do, at the end of the second verse?
Correct: B. Asakkhiṁ maccurājassa, ahaṁ pāsā pamuccituṁ.
Question 4 of 10
Where has this reading guide found the poem's exact closing two-line formula before?
Correct: C. Matching the Book of the Ones' exact wording, word for word.
Question 5 of 10
How did Thag 2.41 and Thag 2.48's use of a related formula differ from this poem's?
Correct: D. This is the first return of the complete, exact two-line version since the Book of the Ones.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'pañca kāmaguṇā' mean?
Correct: B. Named as the cause of the speaker's downfall.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'māravisaye' mean?
Correct: A. Where the speaker was struck by a powerful dart.
Question 8 of 10
What is said to be given up, in the third verse?
Correct: A. Sabbe kāmā pahīnā me, bhavā sabbe padālitā.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'alamatthavicintakaṁ' describe?
Correct: C. The scholarly skill named at the poem's opening.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem fall in the Book of the Threes?
Correct: D. Following Aṅgaṇikabhāradvāja through Upāli.
