Verses
Why this laughter, why this jubilation, when the world is constantly ablaze? Shrouded in darkness, why do you not seek a light?
Verse 1
Look at this painted puppet, a heap of sores, a diseased body assembled together, full of many fantasies, in which there is neither permanence nor stability.
Verse 2
Decayed is this body, a fragile nest of diseases; this putrid mass breaks apart, for life indeed ends in death.
Verse 3
These dove-gray bones, cast away like gourds discarded in the autumn — seeing them, what delight can there be?
Verse 4
A city is built of bones, plastered with flesh and blood, wherein are hidden decay, death, pride, and hypocrisy.
Verse 5
Even the well-decorated royal chariots wear out; this physical body too approaches old age; but the Dhamma of the virtuous never ages: so the good proclaim to the good.
Verse 6
This person of little learning grows old like an ox: his flesh increases, but his wisdom does not grow.
Verse 7
Through many a birth in saṃsāra have I wandered, seeking but not finding the builder of this house (craving); sorrowful is repeated birth.
Verse 8
O house-builder, you are seen! You shall build no house again! All your rafters are broken, your ridgepole is shattered. My mind has attained the Unconditioned (Nibbāna); the destruction of cravings is achieved!
Verse 9
Those who have not led the holy life, who have not acquired wealth in their youth, languish like old herons by a dried-up marsh with no fish.
Verse 10
Those who have not led the holy life, who have not acquired wealth in their youth, lie like spent arrows shot from a bow, sorrowfully lamenting the past.
Verse 11
Background
This chapter belongs to the Pali Dhammapada (Khuddaka Nikaya, Pali Canon), Jaravagga, verses 146–156. Delivered across Sāvatthi and the Bodhi tree at Uruvelā, this chapter includes the most historically revered stanzas in the Tipitaka. According to tradition, Verses 153–154 ('Anekajātisaṃsāraṃ...') constitute the supreme Song of Victory (Paṭhama-buddha-vacana) uttered silently by the Buddha in his heart upon attaining supreme Enlightenment at dawn under the Bodhi tree. Other verses recount the fading beauty of courtesans Sirimā and Janapadakalyāṇī, reminding monks that beauty is transient.
About this Text
Composed by: Gautama Buddha · Founder of Buddhism · c. 5th–6th century BCE, Northern India/Nepal
Born Siddhartha Gautama in Lumbini, he attained enlightenment and spent the rest of his life teaching the Dhamma across northern India. His discourses (Suttas), preserved orally for generations before being written down in the Pali Canon, form the doctrinal foundation of Buddhism.
Did You Know?
The First Words of the Awakened One (Verses 153–154)
In these world-famous verses, the newly enlightened Buddha addresses the builder of rebirth (craving/taṇhā): 'Through many a birth I wandered seeking the builder... O house-builder! You are seen. You shall build no house again! All your rafters are broken, your ridgepole is shattered.'
Why Laugh in a Burning World? (Verse 146)
When the entire world is ablaze with the fires of greed, hatred, and delusion, what cause is there for thoughtless frivolous laughter? Shrouded in darkness, why do you not seek the torch of wisdom?
The Fortress of Bones (Verse 150)
The human body is a fortress built of calcium bones and plastered over with raw meat and blood; within it reside decay, mortality, conceit, and hypocritical pretension.
Ox-Like Ignorance (Verse 152)
The unreflecting person who acquires no spiritual wisdom grows old like an ox in a stall: his physical bulk and flesh increase, but his wisdom does not expand by a hair's breadth.
Herons by an Empty Pond (Verses 155–156)
Those who fail to practice spiritual discipline and waste their youth in frivolous distraction end their lives in bitter remorse, like decrepit herons brooding by a dried-up marsh where no fish remain.
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