---
title: "Verses of the Senior Monks · Theragāthā"
author: "The Elder Monks"
translator: "Bhikkhu Sujato"
languages: [pi, en]
shelf: "Pali Canon"
section: 5 of 22
url: https://scriptura.si/works/pali-theragatha/5/
cite: "The Elder Monks, tr. Bhikkhu Sujato, Verses of the Senior Monks · Theragāthā, section 5. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/pali-theragatha/5/"
---

# 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.

## 5. Chapter Five · Thag 1.41–1.49

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/pali-theragatha/5/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/pali-theragatha/5/#p-N

[¶0] Thag 1.41 · Sirivaḍḍha

> Pali: Thag 1.41 · Sirivaḍḍhattheragāthā

[¶1] Lightning flashes down
on the cleft of Vebhāra and Paṇḍava.
But in the mountain cleft he is absorbed in jhāna—
the son of the Buddha, inimitable and unaffected.

> Pali: “Vivaramanupatanti vijjutā,
Vebhārassa ca paṇḍavassa ca;
Nagavivaragato ca jhāyati,
Putto appaṭimassa tādino”ti.

[¶2] > Pali: … Sirivaḍḍho thero ….

[¶3] Thag 1.42 · Revata of the Acacia Wood

> Pali: Thag 1.42 · Khadiravaniyattheragāthā

[¶4] Cālā, Upacālā, Sīsupacālā—
meditate mindfully!
I’ve come to you like a hair-splitter.

> Pali: “Cāle upacāle sīsūpacāle (…),
Patissatā nu kho viharatha;
Āgato vo vālaṁ viya vedhī”ti.

[¶5] > Pali: … Khadiravaniyo thero ….

[¶6] Thag 1.43 · Sumaṅgala

> Pali: Thag 1.43 · Sumaṅgalattheragāthā

[¶7] Well freed! Well freed!
I’m very well freed from three crooked things:
my sickles, my ploughs,
and my little hoes.
Even if they were here, right here—
I’d be done with them, done!
Practice absorption Sumaṅgala! <j>Practice absorption Sumaṅgala!
Stay heedful, Sumaṅgala!

> Pali: “Sumuttiko sumuttiko,
Sāhu sumuttikomhi tīhi khujjakehi;
Asitāsu mayā naṅgalāsu mayā,
Khuddakuddālāsu mayā.
Yadipi idhameva idhameva,
Atha vāpi alameva alameva;
Jhāya sumaṅgala jhāya sumaṅgala,
Appamatto vihara sumaṅgalā”ti.

[¶8] > Pali: … Sumaṅgalo thero ….

[¶9] Thag 1.44 · Sānu

> Pali: Thag 1.44 · Sānuttheragāthā

[¶10] Mum, they weep for the dead,
or for one who’s alive but missing.
I’m alive and you can see me,
so mum, why do you weep for me?

> Pali: “Mataṁ vā amma rodanti,
Yo vā jīvaṁ na dissati;
Jīvantaṁ maṁ amma passantī,
Kasmā maṁ amma rodasī”ti.

[¶11] > Pali: … Sānutthero ….

[¶12] Thag 1.45 · Ramaṇīyavihārin

> Pali: Thag 1.45 · Ramaṇīyavihārittheragāthā

[¶13] Though a fine thoroughbred may stumble,
it soon stands firm again.
Even so is one accomplished in vision,
a disciple of the Buddha.

> Pali: “Yathāpi bhaddo ājañño,
khalitvā patitiṭṭhati;
Evaṁ dassanasampannaṁ,
sammāsambuddhasāvakan”ti.

[¶14] > Pali: … Ramaṇīyavihāritthero ….

[¶15] Thag 1.46 · Samiddhi

> Pali: Thag 1.46 · Samiddhittheragāthā

[¶16] I went forth out of faith
from the lay life to homelessness.
My mindfulness and wisdom have grown,
my mind is serene.
Make whatever illusions you want,
it doesn’t bother me.

> Pali: “Saddhāyāhaṁ pabbajito,
Agārasmānagāriyaṁ;
Sati paññā ca me vuḍḍhā,
Cittañca susamāhitaṁ;
Kāmaṁ karassu rūpāni,
Neva maṁ byādhayissasī”ti.

[¶17] > Pali: … Samiddhitthero ….

[¶18] Thag 1.47 · Ujjaya

> Pali: Thag 1.47 · Ujjayattheragāthā

[¶19] Homage to you, O Buddha, O hero,
freed in every way!
Meditating in the fruits of your practice,
I live without defilements.

> Pali: “Namo te buddha vīratthu,
vippamuttosi sabbadhi;
Tuyhāpadāne viharaṁ,
viharāmi anāsavo”ti.

[¶20] > Pali: … Ujjayo thero ….

[¶21] Thag 1.48 · Sañjaya

> Pali: Thag 1.48 · Sañjayattheragāthā

[¶22] Since I went forth
from the lay life to homelessness,
I’ve not been aware of any thought
that is ignoble and hateful.

> Pali: “Yato ahaṁ pabbajito,
Agārasmānagāriyaṁ;
Nābhijānāmi saṅkappaṁ,
Anariyaṁ dosasaṁhitan”ti.

[¶23] > Pali: … Sañjayo thero ….

[¶24] Thag 1.49 · Rāmaṇeyyaka

> Pali: Thag 1.49 · Rāmaṇeyyakattheragāthā

[¶25] Even with all the sounds,
the chirping and cheeping of the birds,
my mind doesn’t flounder,
for I’m devoted to oneness.

> Pali: “Cihacihābhinadite,
sippikābhirutehi ca;
Na me taṁ phandati cittaṁ,
ekattanirataṁ hi me”ti.

[¶26] > Pali: … Rāmaṇeyyako thero ….