The nun Uttarā, speaking entirely in the first person
Form
A single four-line verse, nothing more
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
★☆☆☆☆ — short and direct, a personal report rather than an instruction
Why this text
Where several of this book's poems instruct a nun toward a goal, this one reports an achievement already reached, in the first person: restraint practiced across body, speech, and mind, craving pulled out entirely, ending in the same image of coolness that closes Thig 1.16, later in this book.
Reading guide
Restraint named across three domains at once
Uttarā's report is comprehensive rather than partial: ‘restrained in body, speech, and mind’ names all three channels of action the tradition typically distinguishes, not just one.
Craving described as uprooted, not merely reduced
The verse's central image is agricultural and total: ‘having plucked out craving, root and all’ — not trimmed or weakened, but removed entirely, leaving nothing to regrow.
A closing image shared with a later poem
‘I'm cooled and quenched’ closes this verse in language nearly identical to Thig 1.16's closing line, ‘you're cooled and quenched’ — the same state of extinguishment, described here in the first person rather than as an instruction.
The title '(1st)' signaling more to come
As with Muttā and the two Tissās, the numbered title implies another Uttarā appears elsewhere in the wider collection — a common pattern across the Therigatha, where several names recur among the many women whose verses it preserves.
Key terms
Uttarā — this verse's speaker, distinguished by the title ‘(1st)’ from at least one other woman of the same name elsewhere in the wider collection.
saṁvara — “restraint” — named across the three domains of body, speech, and mind in this verse's opening line.
taṇhā — “craving” — described here as plucked out ‘root and all’, the central image of this verse.
sīti-bhūta — “cooled” — part of the closing phrase ‘cooled and quenched’, shared with Thig 1.16.
nibbuta — “quenched” — the second half of that closing phrase, describing extinguishment achieved.
The text
The text in full: a single four-line verse, with no attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1I was restrained in body, speech, and mind. Having plucked out craving, root and all, I’m cooled and quenched.
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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
In what tense and person is this verse spoken?
Correct: B. An achievement already reached, not an instruction toward one.
Question 2 of 10
How many domains of restraint does the verse name?
Correct: B. A comprehensive report, not a partial one.
Question 3 of 10
How does the verse describe craving being dealt with?
Correct: B. An agricultural image of total removal, not partial trimming.
Question 4 of 10
What phrase closes this verse, echoed in Thig 1.16?
Correct: B. Nearly identical to Thig 1.16's closing line, though here in the first person.
Question 5 of 10
What does the title '(1st)' after Uttarā's name suggest?
Correct: B. A common pattern in the Therigatha, where several names recur.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'taṇhā' mean?
Correct: B. The central image of this verse's second line.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'saṁvara' mean?
Correct: A. The comprehensive report opening this verse.
Question 8 of 10
What position does this poem hold in the Book of the Ones?
Correct: B. Following Sumanā's verse.
Question 9 of 10
Does this poem have a closing attribution?
Correct: B. Continuing the bare, unattributed pattern of several poems in this book.
Question 10 of 10
What does 'nibbuta' mean?
Correct: A. The second half of this verse's closing phrase.
