---
title: "Verses of the Senior Monks · Theragāthā"
author: "The Elder Monks"
translator: "Bhikkhu Sujato"
languages: [pi, en]
shelf: "Pali Canon"
section: 9 of 22
url: https://scriptura.si/works/pali-theragatha/9/
cite: "The Elder Monks, tr. Bhikkhu Sujato, Verses of the Senior Monks · Theragāthā, section 9. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/pali-theragatha/9/"
---

# 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.

## 9. Chapter Nine · Thag 1.81–1.89

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/pali-theragatha/9/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/pali-theragatha/9/#p-N

[¶0] Thag 1.81 · Samitigutta

> Pali: Thag 1.81 · Samitiguttattheragāthā

[¶1] Any bad things I’ve done
in previous lives,
are to be experienced right here,
not in any other place.

> Pali: “Yaṁ mayā pakataṁ pāpaṁ,
pubbe aññāsu jātisu;
Idheva taṁ vedanīyaṁ,
vatthu aññaṁ na vijjatī”ti.

[¶2] > Pali: … Samitigutto thero ….

[¶3] Thag 1.82 · Kassapa

> Pali: Thag 1.82 · Kassapattheragāthā

[¶4] Go, child, to any place
where there’s plenty of food,
where it’s safe and free of peril—
may you not be overcome by sorrow!

> Pali: “Yena yena subhikkhāni,
sivāni abhayāni ca;
Tena puttaka gacchassu,
mā sokāpahato bhavā”ti.

[¶5] > Pali: … Kassapo thero ….

[¶6] Thag 1.83 · Sīha

> Pali: Thag 1.83 · Sīhattheragāthā

[¶7] Meditate diligently, Sīha,
tireless all day and night.
Develop skillful qualities,
and quickly discard this bag of bones.

> Pali: “Sīhappamatto vihara,
rattindivamatandito;
Bhāvehi kusalaṁ dhammaṁ,
jaha sīghaṁ samussayan”ti.

[¶8] > Pali: … Sīho thero ….

[¶9] Thag 1.84 · Nīta

> Pali: Thag 1.84 · Nītattheragāthā

[¶10] Sleeping all night,
happily socializing by day,
when will the simpleton
make an end of suffering?

> Pali: “Sabbarattiṁ supitvāna,
divā saṅgaṇike rato;
Kudāssu nāma dummedho,
dukkhassantaṁ karissatī”ti.

[¶11] > Pali: … Nīto thero ….

[¶12] Thag 1.85 · Sunāga

> Pali: Thag 1.85 · Sunāgattheragāthā

[¶13] Skilled in the patterns of the mind,
understanding the nectar of seclusion,
practicing absorption, alert, mindful:
such a person would realize pleasure not of the flesh.

> Pali: “Cittanimittassa kovido,
Pavivekarasaṁ vijāniya;
Jhāyaṁ nipako patissato,
Adhigaccheyya sukhaṁ nirāmisan”ti.

[¶14] > Pali: … Sunāgo thero ….

[¶15] Thag 1.86 · Nāgita

> Pali: Thag 1.86 · Nāgitattheragāthā

[¶16] Elsewhere there are many other doctrines;
paths that, unlike this, don’t lead to extinguishment.
For the Buddha himself instructs the Saṅgha;
the Teacher shows the palms of his hands.

> Pali: “Ito bahiddhā puthu aññavādinaṁ,
Maggo na nibbānagamo yathā ayaṁ;
Itissu saṅghaṁ bhagavānusāsati,
Satthā sayaṁ pāṇitaleva dassayan”ti.

[¶17] > Pali: … Nāgito thero ….

[¶18] Thag 1.87 · Paviṭṭha

> Pali: Thag 1.87 · Paviṭṭhattheragāthā

[¶19] The aggregates are seen as they truly are;
all rebirths are shattered;
transmigration through births is finished;
now there’ll be no more future lives.

> Pali: “Khandhā diṭṭhā yathābhūtaṁ,
bhavā sabbe padālitā;
Vikkhīṇo jātisaṁsāro,
natthi dāni punabbhavo”ti.

[¶20] > Pali: … Paviṭṭho thero ….

[¶21] Thag 1.88 · Ajjuna

> Pali: Thag 1.88 · Ajjunattheragāthā

[¶22] I was able to lift myself up
from the water to the shore.
While being swept away by the great flood,
I penetrated the truths.

> Pali: “Asakkhiṁ vata attānaṁ,
uddhātuṁ udakā thalaṁ;
Vuyhamāno mahogheva,
saccāni paṭivijjhahan”ti.

[¶23] > Pali: … Ajjuno thero ….

[¶24] Thag 1.89 · Devasabha (1st)

> Pali: Thag 1.89 · (Paṭhama) Devasabhattheragāthā

[¶25] I’ve crossed the bogs,
I’ve avoided the chasms,
I’m freed from floods and ties,
and I’ve wiped out all conceit.

> Pali: “Uttiṇṇā paṅkapalipā,
pātālā parivajjitā;
Mutto oghā ca ganthā ca,
sabbe mānā visaṁhatā”ti.

[¶26] > Pali: … Devasabho thero ….