Thig 4.1 — Bhaddā Daughter of Kapila

Reading guide

A book of one poem, built on comparison

Every other book in this collection so far gathers several poems under one length. The Book of the Fours holds exactly one, and its structure is unique among them: rather than narrating Bhaddā's own path alone, it opens by describing someone else's attainment first.

Kassapa's three knowledges, stated in full

The poem's first two verses describe Kassapa — ‘the son and heir of the Buddha, whose mind is immersed in samādhi’ — and name his three knowledges explicitly: knowing his own past lives, seeing heaven and places of loss, and having reached the end of rebirth.

The identical claim, made for Bhaddā without qualification

‘In exactly the same way, Bhaddā daughter of Kapila is master of the three knowledges, conqueror of death’ — not a lesser or derivative attainment, but the same three knowledges, the same standing, restated for a second, named individual.

A shared history, spoken in 'we'

The closing verse shifts from comparison into shared voice: ‘seeing the danger of the world, both of us went forth... we've become cooled and quenched’ — later tradition holds that Bhaddā Kāpilānī and Kassapa had been a married couple before renouncing together, a background this closing verse's ‘we’ fits without stating outright.

Key terms

Bhaddā Kāpilānī — “Bhaddā, daughter of Kapila” — this poem's speaker, whose attainment is compared directly to Kassapa's.

Kassapa — the senior monk named in this poem's opening verses, “the son and heir of the Buddha”, against whom Bhaddā's own attainment is measured.

tevijjā — “master of the three knowledges” — the identical title this poem applies to both Kassapa and Bhaddā.

maccuhāyinī — “conqueror of death” (or, by another gloss, “one who has abandoned death”) — Bhaddā's own epithet, in a martial register echoing ‘having vanquished Māra’ just below it.

pabbajita — “gone forth” — the shared act named in this poem's closing verse, spoken in the first person plural, ‘we’.

The text

The text in full: four verses, the entire Book of the Fours. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1Kassapa is the son and heir of the Buddha, whose mind is immersed in samādhi. He who knows his past lives, sees heaven and places of loss,

§2and has attained the end of rebirth: is a sage of perfect insight. It’s because of these three knowledges that the brahmin is a master of the three knowledges.

§3In exactly the same way, Bhaddā daughter of Kapila is master of the three knowledges, conqueror of death. She bears her final body, having vanquished Māra with his legions.

§4Seeing the danger of the world, both of us went forth. Now we are tamed, our defilements have ended; we’ve become 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 many poems does the Book of the Fours hold?

Correct: C. The shortest book in the Therigatha so far, a single poem.

Question 2 of 10

Whose attainment does this poem describe first, before turning to Bhaddā's?

Correct: A. The poem's first two verses describe Kassapa in detail.

Question 3 of 10

What three things does the poem name as Kassapa's 'three knowledges'?

Correct: D. Named explicitly in the poem's first two verses.

Question 4 of 10

How does the poem describe Bhaddā's attainment relative to Kassapa's?

Correct: B. A direct, unqualified claim of identical standing.

Question 5 of 10

What epithet does the poem give Bhaddā that echoes 'having vanquished Māra' just after it?

Correct: C. A martial register, glossed by commentary as either 'abandoner' or 'conqueror' of death.

Question 6 of 10

What voice does the poem's closing verse shift into?

Correct: D. 'Both of us went forth... we've become cooled and quenched.'

Question 7 of 10

What does later tradition hold about Bhaddā Kāpilānī and Kassapa's relationship, consistent with this poem's closing 'we'?

Correct: B. This guide notes the tradition as background, distinct from what the verse itself states outright.

Question 8 of 10

What does 'tevijjā' mean?

Correct: A. The shared title this poem gives to both figures.

Question 9 of 10

What structural feature makes this poem unique among the books completed so far in this collection?

Correct: C. No earlier poem in this collection builds itself as an explicit comparison to a named monk.

Question 10 of 10

What structural marker does bilara-data's underlying source place immediately after this poem, alongside an attribution stub naming Bhaddā Kāpilānī?

Correct: A. The same kind of bibliographic close seen at the end of the Book of the Threes.

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Bhaddā Daughter of Kapila

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