Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Therigatha · 9.1

Vaḍḍha’s Mother

Vaḍḍhamātā — The Book of the Nines · Poem 1 of 1

Setting
No narrative setting beyond what the verses state; a fragmentary closing attribution names the speaker
Speaker
Two voices throughout: a mother addressing her son Vaḍḍha, and Vaḍḍha's own extended reply
Form
Nine verses, mostly four lines, the entire Book of the Nines
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 sustained dialogue whose second half is shared, by the source text's own note, with a poem outside this collection entirely

Why this text

This poem's title names its speaker only through her son: ‘Vaḍḍha's Mother’, not by any name of her own. Their exchange runs both directions at length — she urges him toward the path, he marvels at her assurance, she confirms her own complete attainment, and he then speaks at length of the urgency her teaching struck in him and the peace he found — verses that Bhikkhu Sujato's own note identifies as continuing, without a closing quotation mark, into Vaḍḍha's own poem in the Theragāthā, the companion collection for monks.

Reading guide

A title naming her only through her son

Every other poem in this collection so far names its speaker by her own name or an epithet of her own qualities. This one is different: ‘Vaḍḍhamātā’, ‘Vaḍḍha's Mother’, identifies her purely through her relationship to him.

A real exchange, not one address and a brief reply

The mother's opening urging — ‘Vaḍḍha, please never ever get snarled in the world’ — draws an actual reply: Vaḍḍha marvels that she speaks ‘with such assurance’ and wonders aloud whether she herself has any entanglement left. She confirms directly: ‘not a jot or a skerrick... is found in me’.

An excellent goad, and the son's own extended testimony

‘Oh so excellent was the goad my mother spurred me with!’ opens Vaḍḍha's own account of what her words produced in him — a struck sense of ‘righteous urgency’, sustained effort, and finally, in his own words, ‘I realized supreme peace’.

A quotation deliberately left open, into another collection

Sujato's own note on this poem's final line states plainly: ‘these verses continue in Thag 5.5, so I leave off the close quote’ — confirming that Vaḍḍha's own testimony here is shared, word for word, with his own poem in the Theragāthā, not yet part of this site's collection.

Key terms

Vaḍḍhamātā — “Vaḍḍha's Mother” — this poem's title, naming its speaker only through her son, unlike any other poem in this collection so far.
vanatha — “entanglement” or being ‘snarled’ — the central image both mother and son use repeatedly throughout this exchange.
dhammasaṅvega — “righteous urgency” — the specific term Vaḍḍha uses for what his mother's teaching struck into him.
yogakkhema — “sanctuary from the yoke” — what Vaḍḍha says he sought, once struck with that urgency.
Thag 5.5 — the poem in the Theragāthā, the companion collection for monks, that Sujato's own note says this poem's closing verses continue into.

The text

The text in full: a mother's address, her son's reply, her confirmation, and his own extended testimony, closing without a formal quotation mark. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“Vaḍḍha, please never ever get snarled in the world. My child, do not partake in suffering again and again. For happy dwell the sages, Vaḍḍha, unstirred, their doubts cut off, cooled and tamed, and free of defilements. Vaḍḍha, foster the path that the seers have walked, for the attainment of vision, and for making an end of suffering.”

§2“Mother, you speak with such assurance to me on this matter. My dear mom, I can’t help thinking that no snarls are found in you.”

§3“Vaḍḍha, not a jot or a skerrick of entanglement is found in me for any conditions at all, whether low, high, or middling. All defilements are ended for me, meditating and diligent. I’ve attained the three knowledges and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.”

§4“Oh so excellent was the goad my mother spurred me with! Owing to her compassion, she spoke verses on the ultimate goal. On hearing her words, advised by my mother, I was struck with righteous urgency for the sake of sanctuary from the yoke. Striving, resolute, tireless all day and night, urged on by my mother, I realized supreme peace.

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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 does this poem's title name its speaker by?
Correct: C. Unlike every other poem in this collection so far, which names speakers by their own name or qualities.
Question 2 of 10
How does Vaḍḍha respond to his mother's opening urging?
Correct: B. A genuine reply, not silence, opening a real exchange.
Question 3 of 10
How does the mother answer her son's question about her own attainment?
Correct: B. A complete, direct claim of her own attainment.
Question 4 of 10
What image does Vaḍḍha use for his mother's teaching?
Correct: C. 'Oh so excellent was the goad my mother spurred me with!'
Question 5 of 10
What does Sujato's own note say about this poem's closing verses?
Correct: B. A confirmed textual connection to the companion collection for monks.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'dhammasaṁvega' mean?
Correct: D. His own term for the effect of her teaching.
Question 7 of 10
What does Vaḍḍha say he achieved by the poem's end?
Correct: C. 'I realized supreme peace' — his own stated result.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'vanatha' mean?
Correct: A. Used by both mother and son throughout this exchange.
Question 9 of 10
How many poems does the Book of the Nines contain?
Correct: A. Another of this collection's single-poem books, like the Fours, Sevens, and Eights before it.
Question 10 of 10
What makes this poem's structure distinctive compared to most others in this collection?
Correct: D. A substantial male relative's own testimony, embedded within a nun's attributed poem.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

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