No narrative setting beyond what the verses state; no closing attribution
Speaker
The nun Cittā, speaking entirely in the first person
Form
Two four-line verses, 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
★★☆☆☆ — plain narrative, best read alongside the poem right after it
Why this text
Like Thig 1.17's Dhammā, this verse describes physical frailty directly rather than glossing over it: ‘skinny, sick, and very feeble’, Cittā climbs a mountain leaning on a staff, and awakens not despite the effort but through it, propped against a rock partway up.
Reading guide
Frailty named before anything else
The verse opens with three separate descriptions of physical weakness in a row: ‘skinny, sick, and very feeble’ — not a single mention of hardship but a stacked, insistent one.
An effortful climb, not a passive setting
Cittā does not simply happen to be somewhere difficult; she actively climbs, ‘leaning on a staff’ — the difficulty is chosen and undertaken, not accidental.
Concrete monastic gestures marking the moment
The second verse describes specific physical actions: laying down the outer robe, overturning the alms bowl, propping herself against a rock — ordinary monastic objects and postures, named individually rather than summarized.
The same closing image as Thig 1.3
‘I shattered the mass of darkness’ repeats the exact phrase closing Thig 1.3's instruction to Puṇṇā, here spoken in the first person as an accomplished fact rather than an instruction still to be followed.
Key terms
Cittā — this verse's speaker, whose physical frailty is named directly at the poem's opening.
daṇḍa — “staff” — the support Cittā leans on while climbing, the same object named in Thig 1.17's account of Dhammā's fall.
cīvara, patta — “robe” and “bowl” — the two basic monastic possessions named as set down before Cittā's awakening.
avijjākhandha — the “mass of darkness” — ignorance described as something solid enough to be shattered, the same image closing Thig 1.3.
cariyā — not used here; another of this book's poems with no closing attribution, best read alongside the very next poem, Thig 2.6.
The text
The text in full: two verses, with no attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Even though I’m skinny, sick, and very feeble, I climb the mountain, leaning on a staff.
§2Having laid down my outer robe, and overturned my bowl, propping myself against a rock, I shattered the mass of darkness.
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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 does the verse describe Cittā's physical condition?
Correct: B. A stacked, insistent description, not a single passing mention.
Question 2 of 10
What does Cittā do despite her frailty?
Correct: B. The difficulty is chosen and undertaken, not accidental.
Question 3 of 10
What specific actions does the second verse describe?
Correct: B. Ordinary monastic objects and postures, named individually.
Question 4 of 10
What phrase closes this verse, identical to Thig 1.3's closing?
Correct: B. Here spoken as an accomplished fact rather than an instruction still to be followed.
Question 5 of 10
What does 'avijjākhandha' mean?
Correct: A. The exact image closing both this verse and Thig 1.3.
Question 6 of 10
What object does Cittā's staff share with Thig 1.17's Dhammā?
Correct: A. A support named in both accounts of physical difficulty.
Question 7 of 10
Does this poem have a closing attribution?
Correct: B. No formal attribution note closes this poem.
Question 8 of 10
What position does this poem hold in the Book of the Twos?
Correct: B. Following Aḍḍhakāsi's verses.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'cīvara' and 'patta' refer to together?
Correct: A. Named as set down before Cittā's awakening.
Question 10 of 10
What poem is this one best read alongside, sharing a very similar structure?
Correct: B. A closely matching account follows immediately.
