No narrative setting beyond what the verses state; the addressee is named only as Māra, the Wicked One
Speaker
Two voices: Māra, tempting with a worldly argument, then Selā, refuting him directly
Form
Two four-line verses: Māra's temptation, then Selā's reply
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
★★★☆☆ — a direct confrontation, answered with a vivid counter-image
Why this text
This poem is the Book of the Threes' first direct confrontation with Māra: he argues plainly for indulgence — ‘enjoy erotic delights, don't regret it later’ — and Selā answers not with abstraction but with a specific, visceral counter-image, comparing sensual pleasure itself to a weapon turned against the very aggregates that make up a person.
Reading guide
A direct temptation, plainly argued
Māra's opening verse makes a specific worldly case: ‘there's no escape in the world, so what will seclusion do for you? Enjoy erotic delights; don't regret it later’ — not a vague threat, but an argument Selā answers point by point.
Pleasure recast as a weapon
Selā's reply reframes the very terms of the offer: ‘sensual pleasures are like swords and spears, the aggregates are their chopping block’ — what Māra calls delight, she names as violence turned inward, against one's own body and mind.
A word reclaimed and reversed
‘What you call “erotic delight” is now no delight for me’ takes Māra's own word back and empties it — not simply refusing the offer, but declaring the category itself no longer applies to her.
A closing formula shared word for word with the poem after it
‘Relishing is banished in every respect, and the mass of darkness is shattered... you're beaten, terminator!’ closes this poem exactly as it will close Thig 3.8 — the same victorious quatrain answering two separate temptations, and an echo of Thig 3.2's own ‘shattered the mass of darkness’.
Key terms
Selā — this poem's speaker, who answers Māra's temptation with a counter-image rather than a simple refusal.
Pāpimā — “Wicked One” — how Selā addresses Māra directly in this poem's closing line.
sattisūlūpamā — “like swords and spears” — Selā's own description of sensual pleasures, in her reply's opening line.
khandha — the aggregates, named here as the ‘chopping block’ for the weapon of sensual pleasure — the same term Uttamā's teacher used in Thig 3.2.
antaka — “terminator” or death itself — the name Selā gives Māra in this poem's final word.
The text
The text in full: Māra's temptation, followed by Selā's reply. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“There’s no escape in the world, so what will seclusion do for you? Enjoy erotic delights; don’t regret it later.”
§2“Sensual pleasures are like swords and spears the aggregates are their chopping block. What you call erotic delight is now no delight for me.
§3Relishing is banished in every respect, and the mass of darkness is shattered. So know this, Wicked One: you’re beaten, terminator!”
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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 argument does Māra make in this poem's opening verse?
Correct: C. A direct, worldly case for indulgence rather than seclusion.
Question 2 of 10
How does Selā describe sensual pleasures in her reply?
Correct: A. A visceral counter-image, reframing Māra's offer as violence turned inward.
Question 3 of 10
What does Selā say about the term 'erotic delight' that Māra uses?
Correct: D. She reclaims Māra's own word and empties it of its former hold on her.
Question 4 of 10
What name does Selā give Māra in this poem's final line?
Correct: B. Addressing him directly as death itself.
Question 5 of 10
What closing quatrain does this poem share word for word with Thig 3.8?
Correct: C. The identical victorious formula answers two separate temptations.
Question 6 of 10
What earlier phrase in this book does this poem's closing echo?
Correct: B. Nearly identical wording for a decisive breakthrough.
Question 7 of 10
What structural feature makes this poem distinct from Thig 3.6?
Correct: D. Māra speaks first, and Selā answers him directly.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'khandha' refer to in Selā's reply?
Correct: B. The same term used for Uttamā's teaching in Thig 3.2.
Question 9 of 10
What position does this poem hold in the Book of the Threes?
Correct: C. Following Thig 3.6, opening this book's pair of direct Māra confrontations.
Question 10 of 10
What does 'Pāpimā' mean, as Selā addresses Māra?
Correct: A. A direct address distinct from the closing word 'antaka'.
