Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Therigatha · 3.6

Sukkā

Sukkā — The Book of the Threes · Poem 6 of 8

Setting
Rājagaha, a city named directly in the poem's opening line
Speaker
Not identified; an outside voice describing and praising Sukkā throughout, never speaking as her
Form
Three four-line verses, entirely in the third person
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
★★☆☆☆ — notable chiefly for who is not speaking

Why this text

Every poem so far in this book has spoken in Sāmā's, Uttamā's, Dantikā's, or Ubbirī's own first-person voice, at least in part. This poem never does: an unnamed outside voice describes the nun Sukkā throughout, contrasting a distracted crowd in Rājagaha with those wise enough to ‘drink up’ her teaching, then explains her very name as a description of her own bright qualities.

Reading guide

A poem with no first-person voice at all

Unlike every poem before it in this book, Sukkā never speaks in her own voice here. An outside speaker describes her throughout — asking, in effect, why the crowds of Rājagaha ‘sprawl like they've been drinking mead’ instead of attending her teaching.

A crowd distracted, and the wise who drink it in

The poem's central image is a contrast: ordinary people in Rājagaha ignore Sukkā as if intoxicated, while ‘the wise’ take in her teaching ‘as if they drink it up... like travelers enjoying a cool cloud’ — her Dhamma teaching itself described as refreshment.

A name explained as a description

‘She's known as Sukkā because of her bright qualities’ states the pun directly: Sukkā, ‘bright’, named for being exactly that — joining Dantikā's ‘tamed’ earlier in this book and Muttā's ‘freed’ in Thig 1.2 and 1.11 as another name the collection treats as a description, not just a label.

A martial image, closing an outsider's praise

The poem's final line — ‘having vanquished Māra with his legions’ — is this book's first mention of Māra by name, delivered as an outsider's claim about Sukkā's attainment rather than her own account of it, ahead of the direct Māra confrontations still to come in Thig 3.7 and 3.8.

Key terms

Sukkā — this poem's subject, whose name, meaning ‘bright’, is explained directly in the closing verse.
Rājagaha — the city named in this poem's opening line, whose crowds are described as distracted.
appaṭivānīya — “irresistible” — describing Sukkā's teaching as the wise experience it.
sukkā sukkehi dhammehi — “Sukkā, by her bright qualities” — this poem's own etymological explanation of her name.
Māra savāhinī — “Māra with his legions” — named as vanquished in this poem's closing line, this book's first mention of Māra.

The text

The text in full: three verses, entirely in the third person. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“What’s up with these people in Rājagaha? They sprawl like they’ve been drinking mead! They don’t attend on Sukkā as she teaches the Buddha’s instructions.

§2But the wise—it’s as if they drink it up, so irresistible, delectable, and nutritious, like travelers enjoying a cool cloud.”

§3“She’s known as Sukkā because of her bright qualities, free of greed, serene. She bears her final body, having vanquished Māra with his legions.”

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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 city does this poem's opening line say people ignore Sukkā's teaching?
Correct: D. Named directly in the poem's opening question.
Question 2 of 10
How does the poem describe the crowd who ignore Sukkā's teaching?
Correct: A. A simile for their distraction, opening the poem.
Question 3 of 10
How does the poem describe the wise, by contrast?
Correct: C. The poem's central contrasting image.
Question 4 of 10
Whose voice speaks throughout this poem?
Correct: C. Unlike every poem before it in this book, no first-person voice appears here.
Question 5 of 10
What does the poem's closing verse say Sukkā's name means?
Correct: D. 'Sukkā sukkehi dhammehi' — the pun stated directly.
Question 6 of 10
What earlier name-pun in this book does Sukkā's join?
Correct: B. Dantikā (Thig 3.4) and Muttā (Thig 1.2, 1.11) are the collection's other examples.
Question 7 of 10
What does this poem's closing line claim Sukkā has done?
Correct: C. This book's first mention of Māra by name, ahead of the direct confrontations in 3.7 and 3.8.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'appaṭivānīya' describe?
Correct: B. Paired with 'asecanaka', 'delectable', in the poem's second verse.
Question 9 of 10
What position does this poem hold in the Book of the Threes?
Correct: D. Following Thig 3.5, opening this book's only entirely third-person poem so far.
Question 10 of 10
How does this poem's voice differ from every poem before it in the Book of the Threes?
Correct: A. The book's first fully third-person poem.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousThig 3.5 · Ubbirī