Dhammapada Commentary - Jara Vagga

Dhammapada Commentary ( Dhammapada Atthakatha )

Edited by
Bhikkhu Pesala


11 — Jarā Vagga
Old Age
Seek the Light
1. Ko nu hāso kimānando, niccaṃ pajjalite sati
Andhakārena onaddhā, padīpaṃ na gavesatha.146
1. What is laughter, what is delight, when the world is ever burning?
Shrouded by darkness, would you not seek a light?
Visākhā’s Companions
Visākhā once visited the Buddha accompanied by some women who, without
her knowledge, had become drunk. They danced and sang before the Buddha. He
used his psychic powers to create a darkness which brought them to their senses.
The Buddha then uttered the above verse.
This Decorated Body is Foul
2. Passa cittakataṃ bimbaṃ, arukāyaṃ samussitaṃ
Āturaṃ bahusaṅkappaṃ, yassa natthi dhuvaṃ ṭhiti.147
2. Behold this beautiful body, a mass of sores, a heaped-up (lump),
diseased, much thought of, in which nothing lasts, nothing persists.
Sirimā the Courtesan
A young monk fell in love with Sirimā, a beautiful courtesan. He was so
obsessed that he could not eat the almsfood her servants had offered, and it
remained rotting in his almsbowl. Unexpectedly Sirimā died. The Buddha told
the king not to let her body be cremated, but to protect it from dogs. When it was
worm-infested, he asked the king to beat a drum throughout the city to see if
anyone wanted to take her body. No one wanted it at any price, though formerly
men had paid a thousand to spend one night with her. When the young monk
was told that the Buddha was going to see Sirimā he went there at once. Showing
the worm-infested body to the monks and nuns, the Buddha spoke on the
loathsomeness of the body.


Life Ends in Death
3. Parijiṇṇam idaṃ rūpaṃ,
roganīḷaṃ1 pabhaṅguraṃ
Bhijjati pūtisandeho, maraṇantañhi jīvitaṃ.148
3. Thoroughly worn out is this body, a nest of diseases, perishable.
This putrid mass breaks up. Truly, life ends in death.
The Elder Nun Uttarā
According to her own wish, an old nun gave all of her almsfood to a certain
monk on three consecutive days, though she had none left for herself. On the
fourth day, seeing her trip and fall, the Buddha spoke on the fragile nature of
life.
What Delight in Seeing White Bones?
4. Yānimāni apatthān, alābūn’eva2 sārade
Kāpotakāni aṭṭhīni, tāni disvāna kā rati.149
4. Like gourds cast away in autumn are these dove-hued bones.
What delight is there in looking at them?
Many Monks Who Over-estimated
Five hundred monks, having obtaining a meditation object meditated in the
forest. Having obtained jhāna, they thought they had attained Arahantship, so
went to pay respect to the Teacher. The Buddha told the Elder Ānanda to send
them to the cemetery to meditate. Lust arose in them on seeing freshly dead
corpses, so they realised their error. Seated in his Perfumed Chamber, the Buddha
sent forth radiance and uttered the above verse in admonition as if he was in
front of them. They all attained Arahantship and then came to pay homage to
him.
This Body is Made of Flesh and Blood
5. Aṭṭhīnaṃ nagaraṃ kataṃ, maṃsalohitalepanaṃ
Yattha jarā ca maccū ca, māno makkho ca ohito.150

1
roganiḍḍhaṃ
2
alāpūn’eva


5. Of bones is (this) city made, plastered with flesh and blood. Herein are
stored decay, death, conceit, and detraction.
The Nun Janapadakalyāṇī
Janapadakalyāṇī became a nun because her eldest brother (the Buddha) had
renounced his kingdom to become a monk, his son Rāhula had become a monk,
her own husband, Nanda, had become a monk, and her mother, had all gone
forth. Due to her great beauty, she became known as Rūpanandā Therī. Hearing
that the Buddha deprecated beauty, she avoided visiting him. However, hearing
the lavish praise of the Buddha by the nuns and women devotees, she wished to
see and hear the Buddha, so one day went with the other nuns, sitting behind
them. The Buddha used his psychic powers to create a vision of a beautiful young
woman fanning him. Rūpanandā was captivated by her beauty. The Buddha then
caused the young woman to age gradually, slowly taking on the form of an old
woman, then one dying in agony. Finally he made her body became a bloated
corpse, pecked at by crows. Becoming thoroughly disgusted, Rūpanandā reflected
that her own body was the same. Then the Buddha uttered the above verse and
Rūpanandā gained Arahantship.
Righteousness Does Not Decay
6. Jīranti ve rājarathā sucittā,
atho sarīram pi jaraṃ upeti.
Satañca dhammo na jaraṃ upeti,
santo have sabbhi pavedayanti.151
6. Even ornamented royal chariots wear out. So too the body reaches old
age, but the Dhamma of the Good does not age. Thus do the Good reveal
it among the Good.
The Death of Queen Mallikā
While taking a bath, Queen Mallikā bent over to wash her legs. Her pet dog
started misbehaving. She remained there, enjoying the contact. King Pasenadi
was able to see this from his window, so when she returned he called her an
outcaste and told her to go away. She told the king that the bathroom created
illusions, and told him to go and stand in the bathroom while she looked through
the window. He did so, and she told him that she saw him misbehaving with a
she-goat. The king was simple-minded enough to believe this, but Mallikā was
remorseful about deceiving him, and when she died she was reborn in Avīci hell,


in spite of all the good deeds she had done, and her faith in the Buddha and his
disciples.
After her death, the king went to see the Buddha, wishing to ask her place of
rebirth, but the Buddha taught him the Dhamma and resolved that the king would
forget to ask. On returning to the palace, the king realised that he had not asked,
and resolved to ask the next day. For seven days, the same thing happened. On
the eighth day, Mallikā was reborn in Tusita heaven. The Buddha went for alms
to the palace, and sat down in the chariot hall. When the king asked, he said that
Mallikā had been reborn in Tusita. Then asking the king about the royal chariots
that belonged to his father and grandfather, he uttered the above verse.
One with Little Learning Lacks Wisdom
7. Appassutāyaṃ puriso, balibaddo’va1 jīrati
Maṃsāni tassa vaḍḍhanti, paññā tassa na vaḍḍhati.152
7. The man of little learning grows old like an ox.
His flesh grows; but his wisdom does not.
The Elder Lāḷudāyī
This elder always used to recite the most inappropriate discourses when
visiting householders. When monks reported this matter to the Buddha, he
related a story of the past:
The Brahmin Youth Somadatta
At one time Somadatta was the son of a simple farmer. Somadatta was a
favourite of the king. When one of his two oxen died, his father asked Somadatta
to request another from the king. Somadatta thought, “If I ask the king myself, I
will appear petty-minded” so he told his father to ask the king himself. However,
as his father was so simple, he had to instruct him on court manners and exactly
what to say. When the big moment came, his father asked the king to take his
second ox as one had died, when he meant to ask him to give him one. The king
smiled at the Brahmin's slip of the tongue, and said to Somadatta, “You must be
having a great many oxen at home.” Somadatta diplomatically replied, “There
will be as many as those given by you.” The king was pleased and gave him
sixteen oxen, and many other gifts.

1
balivaddo’va


Saying, “At that time, Venerable Ānanda was the king, Lāludāyi was the
Brahmin farmer, and I was Somadatta,” the Buddha uttered the above verse.
Craving is the Builder of this House
8. Anekajāti saṃsāraṃ, sandhāvissaṃ anibbisaṃ
Gahakāraṃ1 gavesanto:
dukkhā jāti punappunaṃ.153
9. Gahakāraka diṭṭho’si, puna gehaṃ na kāhasi:
Sabbā te phāsukā bhaggā, gahakūṭaṃ visaṅkhataṃ
Visaṅkhāragataṃ cittaṃ, taṇhānaṃ khayam ajjhagā.154
8. Through many births I wandered in saṃsāra, seeking, but not finding,
the builder of this house. Painful is repeated birth.
9. O house-builder! You are seen now. You will build no house again.
All your rafters are broken. Your ridge-pole is shattered.
My mind has gone to the unconditioned.
Achieved is the destruction of craving.
A Joyful Utterance
Immediately after gaining enlightenment the Buddha uttered the above joyful
verse of victory. He later told the Elder Ānanda about it.
The Negligent Are Later Remorseful
10. Acaritvā brahmacariyaṃ, aladdhā yobbane dhanaṃ
Jiṇṇakoñcā’va jhāyanti, khīṇamacche’va pallale.155
11. Acaritvā brahmacariyaṃ, aladdhā yobbane dhanaṃ
Senti cāpātikhīnā’va,
2
purāṇāni anutthunaṃ.156
10. They who in youth have neither led the holy life, nor acquired wealth,
pine away like old herons at a pond without fish.
11. They who in youth have neither led the holy life, nor acquired wealth, lie
like worn-out bows, sighing after the past.

1
Gahakārakaṃ
2
cāpātikhittā’va


The Son of A Millionaire
A multi-millionaire’s son with 800 million, married a woman with similar
wealth, but due to drinking and bad company, he squandered all their wealth
until reduced to begging. Seeing them, the Buddha smiled. When Venerable
Ānanda asked why, the Buddha explained that he could have attained
Arahantship, and his wife Non-returning if they had gone forth in youth. Had
they gone forth in middle age, he would have gained Non-returning and his wife
the path of Once-returning. If they had gone forth in old age, he would have
gained Once-returning, and she would have gained Stream-entry. Then he
uttered the above verse.