Uruveḷakassapa — The Book of the Sixes · Chapter One · Poem 1 of 14
Setting
After witnessing the Buddha's demonstrations of power (pāṭihīrāni), without further attribution
Speaker
Uruveḷakassapa, the eldest of three fire-worshipping brothers
Form
Six four-line verses — jealousy, a scolding, going forth, and all six direct knowledges named in sequence
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 narrative vocabulary, a name familiar from the vinaya
Why this text
Even seeing the Buddha's own demonstrations of power wasn't enough to make Uruveḷakassapa bow — ‘I was blinded by jealousy and conceit,’ he admits — until the Buddha, reading his thoughts, scolded him directly. What follows is this collection's first poem to name all six direct knowledges in sequence, closing where the trio of fire-worshipping Kassapa brothers, begun in the book before this one, is finally complete.
Reading guide
Jealousy that even a miracle couldn't dissolve
Despite seeing the Buddha's pāṭihīrāni (demonstrations of power), Uruveḷakassapa admits ‘issāmānena vañcito’, ‘I was blinded by jealousy and conceit’ — the miracle alone wasn't enough. Only when the Buddha read his thoughts directly and scolded him (‘codesi narasārathi’, ‘the trainer of men scolded me’) did saṅvega, a sense of spiritual urgency, take hold.
Petty powers set aside for a greater going forth
The third verse dismisses his own prior ascetic accomplishments as a jaṭila (matted-hair ascetic) with a single word: siddhi parittikā, ‘petty powers’. Whatever he had achieved through fire asceticism, it's framed here as minor next to what follows.
All six direct knowledges, named in a single poem
The fifth and sixth verses name past lives (pubbenivāsa), clairvoyance (dibbacakkhu), psychic power (iddhi), knowledge of others' minds (paracittaññū), clairaudience (dibbasota), and, in the closing line, the ending of all fetters — the full chalabhiññā, six direct knowledges, rather than the more common tisso vijjā (three knowledges) formula recurring elsewhere in this collection. This is the first poem on this site to list the complete six in sequence.
The last of three fire-worshipping brothers
This poem opens a new book, but its speaker closes an old thread: alongside Thag 5.6 (Nadīkassapa) and Thag 5.7 (Gayākassapa), Uruveḷakassapa completes the well-known trio of fire-worshipping brahmin brothers converted together with their many followers — the occasion, in the wider canon, for the teaching already translated on this site as SN 35.28, the Fire Sermon. As the eldest, his name (from Uruvelā, near the river Nerañjarā) anchors the group, though this poem itself doesn't narrate the conversion episode, focusing instead on the psychological beat of jealousy overcome.
Opening the Book of the Sixes, a structure confirmed fresh
Fourteen poems, one chapter — matching the single-chapter pattern of the three books before this one (Threes, Fours, Fives), though this had to be checked against bilara-data rather than assumed. The baseline verse form is six four-line verses; several poems in this book extend or contract that pattern, each noted as it comes.
Key terms
pāṭihīrāni — “demonstrations of power” — witnessed but insufficient, on their own, to inspire respect.
issāmānena vañcito — “blinded by jealousy and conceit” — the obstacle named in the poem's first verse.
narasārathi — “trainer of men” — an epithet for the Buddha, echoing the standard purisadammasārathi.
jaṭila — “matted-hair ascetic” — Uruveḷakassapa's former identity and fire-worshipping practice.
sabbasaṅyojanakkhayo — “the ending of all fetters” — the poem's final line, marking full awakening.
The text
The text in full: six verses, with no separate attribution line in this chapter, opening the Book of the Sixes. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Seeing the demonstrations of the renowned Gotama was not enough for me to bow to him—I was blinded by jealousy and conceit.
§2Knowing my thoughts, the trainer of men scolded me. I was struck with a sense of urgency, so astonishing and hair-raising!
§3Setting aside the petty powers I had before as a matted-hair ascetic, I then went forth in the victor’s instruction.
§4I used to be content with sacrifice, the realm of sensual pleasures was my priority. But later I eradicated desire, and hatred and also delusion.
§5I know my past lives; my clairvoyance is clarified; I have psychic powers, and know the minds of others; I have attained clairaudience.
§6I’ve attained the goal for the sake of which I went forth from the lay life to homelessness—the ending of all fetters.
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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 kept Uruveḷakassapa from bowing to the Buddha, even after seeing his demonstrations of power?
Correct: A. 'I was blinded by jealousy and conceit,' he admits in the first verse.
Question 2 of 10
What triggered his sense of spiritual urgency (saṅvega)?
Correct: B. 'Codesi narasārathi' — the trainer of men scolded me.
Question 3 of 10
What was Uruveḷakassapa's former identity, before going forth?
Correct: C. The third verse dismisses his prior siddhi parittikā, 'petty powers,' as a jaṭila.
Question 4 of 10
How many direct knowledges does this poem name in sequence, in its fifth and sixth verses?
Correct: D. Past lives, clairvoyance, psychic power, mind-reading, clairaudience, and the ending of fetters.
Question 5 of 10
What formula more commonly appears elsewhere in this collection instead of the full six knowledges?
Correct: A. This poem's full six-knowledge listing is the first of its kind on this site.
Question 6 of 10
Alongside Nadīkassapa and Gayākassapa, what trio does Uruveḷakassapa complete?
Correct: B. A well-known conversion narrative from the wider canon.
Question 7 of 10
What teaching, already translated on this site, is traditionally linked to the Kassapa brothers' conversion?
Correct: C. Its imagery of burning fits the brothers' former fire-worship directly.
Question 8 of 10
What does the third verse call Uruveḷakassapa's former ascetic accomplishments?
Correct: D. Framed as minor next to what follows his going forth.
Question 9 of 10
How many poems make up the Book of the Sixes, and how many chapters?
Correct: A. Confirmed fresh against bilara-data, following Threes, Fours, and Fives.
Question 10 of 10
What is this poem's final line?
Correct: B. The goal for which he went forth, now attained.
