Abhayamātu Therī Ovadana — The Book of the Twos · Poem 8 of 10
Setting
No narrative setting beyond what the verses state; no closing attribution
Speaker
A daughter, addressing her own mother, named in the collection as ‘Abhayā's Mother’
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
★★☆☆☆ — simple instruction, notable chiefly for who is speaking to whom
Why this text
This poem's title states its relationship directly: a verse addressed by a daughter to her own mother, identified in this collection only as ‘Abhayā's Mother’. Mother and daughter both appear to have entered monastic life, and here the child instructs the parent — a reversal of the more familiar direction of teaching.
Reading guide
A relationship named in the title itself
Where most poems in this collection identify their speaker or addressee by a personal name alone, this poem's title states a family relationship directly: written by a daughter, addressed to her own mother.
A comprehensive instruction to examine the body
The daughter's instruction covers the whole body systematically: ‘up from the soles of the feet, and down from the tips of the hairs’ — a complete range, not a selective glance.
Impurity named without qualification
The body examined this way is described plainly as ‘so impure and foul-smelling’ — the same unflinching register as Thig 2.1's instruction to Nandā, here addressed by a child to her own parent rather than by the Buddha to a trainee.
A direction of teaching reversed
The ordinary expectation of a parent instructing a child is set aside here: it is the daughter offering meditation instruction to her mother, a detail the collection preserves without further comment on how unusual it might seem.
Key terms
Abhayāmātā — “Abhayā's Mother” — this poem's addressee, identified through her daughter Abhayā, whose own verse follows immediately in Thig 2.9.
asubha — “the unattractive” or “foulness” — the same broad meditation category behind Thig 2.1's instruction, here directed by a daughter to her mother.
kāya — “body” — the object of examination named directly in this verse's opening line.
kesagga — “the tips of the hairs” — part of the comprehensive range this instruction covers, from feet to hair.
cariyā — not used here; another of this book's poems with no closing attribution, notable chiefly for the family relationship its title names.
The text
The text in full: two verses, with no attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1My dear mother, examine this body, up from the soles of the feet, and down from the tips of the hairs, so impure and foul-smelling.
§2Meditating like this, all my lust is eradicated. The fever of passion is cut off, 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
What relationship does this poem's title state directly?
Correct: B. Written by a daughter, addressed to her own mother, 'Abhayā's Mother'.
Question 2 of 10
What range does the daughter's instruction to examine the body cover?
Correct: B. A complete range, not a selective glance.
Question 3 of 10
How does the verse describe the body being examined?
Correct: B. The same unflinching register as Thig 2.1's instruction to Nandā.
Question 4 of 10
What is unusual about the direction of teaching in this poem?
Correct: B. A reversal the collection preserves without further comment.
Question 5 of 10
Who is 'Abhayā', as identified through this poem's title?
Correct: B. Her own verse follows immediately as Thig 2.9.
Question 6 of 10
What does the verse say is the result of meditating on the body this way?
Correct: B. Named directly in the second verse's closing lines.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'asubha' mean?
Correct: A. The same category behind Thig 2.1's instruction to Nandā.
Question 8 of 10
Does this poem have a closing attribution?
Correct: B. No formal attribution note closes this poem.
Question 9 of 10
What position does this poem hold in the Book of the Twos?
Correct: B. Following the second Mittā's verses.
Question 10 of 10
How does this poem's title differ from most others in this book?
Correct: B. A distinctive way of identifying speaker and addressee together.
