---
title: "Verses of the Senior Monks · Theragāthā"
author: "The Elder Monks"
translator: "Bhikkhu Sujato"
languages: [pi, en]
shelf: "Pali Canon"
section: 10 of 22
url: https://scriptura.si/works/pali-theragatha/10/
cite: "The Elder Monks, tr. Bhikkhu Sujato, Verses of the Senior Monks · Theragāthā, section 10. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/pali-theragatha/10/"
---

# Verses of the Senior Monks · Theragāthā

*The Elder Monks, tr. Bhikkhu Sujato*

Poems of awakening by more than two hundred and sixty monks of the Buddha’s time.

> Pali: the Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka (Buddha Jayanti edition, 2500), from SuttaCentral’s bilara-data, dedicated to the public domain (CC0).

> English: Bhikkhu Sujato, from SuttaCentral’s bilara-data, dedicated to the public domain (CC0). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the segment numbers the two texts share, gathered into paragraphs; verse keeps its lines.

## 10. Chapter Ten · Thag 1.91–1.99

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/pali-theragatha/10/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/pali-theragatha/10/#p-N

[¶0] Thag 1.91 · Paripuṇṇaka

> Pali: Thag 1.91 · Paripuṇṇakattheragāthā

[¶1] What I consumed today is considered better
than delicious grain of a hundred flavors—
the Dhamma taught by the Buddha,
Gotama of infinite vision.

> Pali: “Na tathā mataṁ satarasaṁ,
Sudhannaṁ yaṁ mayajja paribhuttaṁ;
Aparimitadassinā gotamena,
Buddhena desito dhammo”ti.

[¶2] > Pali: … Paripuṇṇako thero ….

[¶3] Thag 1.92 · Vijaya

> Pali: Thag 1.92 · Vijayattheragāthā

[¶4] One whose defilements have ended;
who’s not attached to food;
whose range is the liberation
of the signless and the empty:
their track is hard to trace,
like birds in the sky.

> Pali: “Yassāsavā parikkhīṇā,
āhāre ca anissito;
Suññato animitto ca,
vimokkho yassa gocaro;
Ākāseva sakuntānaṁ,
padaṁ tassa durannayan”ti.

[¶5] > Pali: … Vijayo thero ….

[¶6] Thag 1.93 · Eraka

> Pali: Thag 1.93 · Erakattheragāthā

[¶7] Sensual pleasures are suffering, Eraka!
Sensual pleasures aren’t happiness, Eraka!
One who enjoys sensual pleasures
enjoys suffering, Eraka!
One who doesn’t enjoy sensual pleasures
doesn’t enjoy suffering, Eraka!

> Pali: “Dukkhā kāmā eraka,
Na sukhā kāmā eraka;
Yo kāme kāmayati,
Dukkhaṁ so kāmayati eraka;
Yo kāme na kāmayati,
Dukkhaṁ so na kāmayati erakā”ti.

[¶8] > Pali: … Erako thero ….

[¶9] Thag 1.94 · Mettaji

> Pali: Thag 1.94 · Mettajittheragāthā

[¶10] Homage to that Blessed One,
the glorious Sakyan!
Having reached the best,
he beautifully taught the best teaching.

> Pali: “Namo hi tassa bhagavato,
sakyaputtassa sirīmato;
Tenāyaṁ aggappattena,
aggadhammo sudesito”ti.

[¶11] > Pali: … Mettaji thero ….

[¶12] Thag 1.95 · Cakkhupāla

> Pali: Thag 1.95 · Cakkhupālattheragāthā

[¶13] I’m blind, my eyes are ruined,
I’m traveling a desolate road.
Even if I have to crawl I’ll keep going—
though not with wicked companions.

> Pali: “Andhohaṁ hatanettosmi,
kantāraddhānapakkhando;
Sayamānopi gacchissaṁ,
na sahāyena pāpenā”ti.

[¶14] > Pali: … Cakkhupālo thero ….

[¶15] Thag 1.96 · Khaṇḍasumana

> Pali: Thag 1.96 · Khaṇḍasumanattheragāthā

[¶16] I offered a single flower
and then amused myself in heavens
for 800 million years;
with what’s left over I’ve become quenched.

> Pali: “Ekapupphaṁ cajitvāna,
asīti vassakoṭiyo;
Saggesu paricāretvā,
sesakenamhi nibbuto”ti.

[¶17] > Pali: … Khaṇḍasumano thero ….

[¶18] Thag 1.97 · Tissa (2nd)

> Pali: Thag 1.97 · Tissattheragāthā

[¶19] Giving up a hundred ounces of bronze,
and a hundred grains of gold,
I took a bowl made of clay:
this is my second initiation.

> Pali: “Hitvā satapalaṁ kaṁsaṁ,
Sovaṇṇaṁ satarājikaṁ;
Aggahiṁ mattikāpattaṁ,
Idaṁ dutiyābhisecanan”ti.

[¶20] > Pali: … Tisso thero ….

[¶21] Thag 1.98 · Abhaya

> Pali: Thag 1.98 · Abhayattheragāthā

[¶22] When you see a sight, mindfulness is lost
as you focus on a pleasant feature.
Experiencing it with a mind full of desire,
you keep clinging to it.
Your defilements grow,
leading to the root of rebirth.

> Pali: “Rūpaṁ disvā sati muṭṭhā,
Piyaṁ nimittaṁ manasikaroto;
Sārattacitto vedeti,
Tañca ajjhosa tiṭṭhati;
Tassa vaḍḍhanti āsavā,
Bhavamūlopagāmino”ti.

[¶23] > Pali: … Abhayo thero ….

[¶24] Thag 1.99 · Uttiya (3rd)

> Pali: Thag 1.99 · Uttiyattheragāthā

[¶25] When you hear a sound, mindfulness is lost
as you focus on a pleasant feature.
Experiencing it with a mind full of desire,
you keep clinging to it.
Your defilements grow,
leading to transmigration.

> Pali: “Saddaṁ sutvā sati muṭṭhā,
Piyaṁ nimittaṁ manasikaroto;
Sārattacitto vedeti,
Tañca ajjhosa tiṭṭhati;
Tassa vaḍḍhanti āsavā,
Saṁsāraṁ upagāmino”ti.

[¶26] > Pali: … Uttiyo thero ….