Not identified; direct address to a second nun also named Sumanā, distinguished by ordaining late in life
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
★☆☆☆☆ — simple in isolation, striking when read against Thig 1.1
Why this text
This poem repeats the Therigatha's very first verse almost word for word — but addresses an old woman rather than the unnamed ‘little nun’ of Thig 1.1, and closes on a different final line. Near the end of the Book of the Ones, the collection reaches back to echo its own opening.
Reading guide
The same lullaby, a different age
‘Sleep softly’, ‘wrapped in the cloth you sewed yourself’, ‘your desire has been quelled’ — three lines shared almost exactly with Thig 1.1, with one substitution: ‘little nun’ becomes ‘old lady’.
A closing line that changes the image entirely
Where Thig 1.1 closed with vegetables boiled dry in a pot, this verse closes plainly: ‘you're cooled and quenched’ — stating the attainment directly rather than through metaphor, the same phrase closing Thig 1.15's first-person report.
A title naming the distinguishing fact plainly
This poem's title does not simply repeat the name Sumanā from Thig 1.14; it adds ‘who went forth late in life’ — identifying her by the timing of her ordination, a detail the collection considers worth preserving.
Two lullabies bracketing most of this book
Thig 1.1 opens the Book of the Ones and this poem sits near its close, both using the same tender, second-person lullaby form — a structural echo across the book's first sixteen poems, before the book's final two verses shift into extended first-person testimony.
Key terms
Sumanā — a name shared with Thig 1.14's addressee; this poem's title distinguishes this second Sumanā by noting she went forth late in life.
pabbajjā — “going forth” — the act this poem's title says this Sumanā undertook later than most, rather than in youth.
sīti-bhūta, nibbuta — “cooled” and “quenched” — the same closing pair of terms used in Thig 1.15, here replacing Thig 1.1's vegetable image.
cīvara — “robe” or “cloth” — the self-sewn covering named in this verse's second line, shared word for word with Thig 1.1.
cariyā — not used here; another of this book's unattributed poems, notable chiefly for its close echo of the book's opening verse.
The text
The text in full: a single four-line verse, with no attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Sleep softly, old lady, wrapped in the cloth you sewed yourself; for your desire has been quelled, you’re 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
How closely does this poem's wording match Thig 1.1's?
Correct: B. A close echo, but not a perfect repetition.
Question 2 of 10
How does this poem's closing line differ from Thig 1.1's?
Correct: B. A different final image, shared instead with Thig 1.15's closing phrase.
Question 3 of 10
What does this poem's title add to the name 'Sumanā'?
Correct: B. Distinguishing her from Thig 1.14's Sumanā.
Question 4 of 10
What structural pattern do Thig 1.1 and this poem form together?
Correct: B. A structural echo across the book's first sixteen poems.
Question 5 of 10
What phrase does this poem share with Thig 1.15's closing line?
Correct: B. The same closing image, here in second person rather than first.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'pabbajjā' mean?
Correct: A. Named in this poem's distinguishing title, not within the verse itself.
Question 7 of 10
What object is named in this verse's second line, shared word for word with Thig 1.1?
Correct: B. One of the lines repeated almost exactly from the book's opening poem.
Question 8 of 10
What position does this poem hold in the Book of the Ones?
Correct: B. Following the first Uttarā's verse, near the book's close.
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 this poem's echo of Thig 1.1 suggest about the book's structure?
Correct: B. A structural echo worth noticing, whatever its original compositional history.
