---
title: "Verses of the Senior Nuns · Therīgāthā"
author: "The Elder Nuns"
translator: "Bhikkhu Sujato"
languages: [pi, en]
shelf: "Pali Canon"
section: 10 of 16
url: https://scriptura.si/works/pali-therigatha/10/
cite: "The Elder Nuns, tr. Bhikkhu Sujato, Verses of the Senior Nuns · Therīgāthā, section 10. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/pali-therigatha/10/"
---

# Verses of the Senior Nuns · Therīgāthā

*The Elder Nuns, tr. Bhikkhu Sujato*

The first collection of women’s religious poetry: seventy-three nuns tell how they found freedom.

> 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. The Book of the Elevens · Thig 10.1

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

[¶0] Thig 10.1 · Kisāgotamī

> Pali: Thig 10.1 · Kisāgotamītherīgāthā

[¶1] “Pointing out how the world works,
the sages have praised good friendship.
Associating with good friends,
even a fool becomes astute.

> Pali: “Kalyāṇamittatā muninā,
lokaṁ ādissa vaṇṇitā;
Kalyāṇamitte bhajamāno,
api bālo paṇḍito assa.

[¶2] Associate with true persons,
for that is how wisdom grows.
Should you associate with true persons,
you would be freed from all suffering.

> Pali: Bhajitabbā sappurisā,
Paññā tathā vaḍḍhati bhajantānaṁ;
Bhajamāno sappurise,
Sabbehipi dukkhehi pamucceyya.

[¶3] And you would understand suffering,
its origin and cessation,
the eightfold path,
and so the four noble truths.”

> Pali: Dukkhañca vijāneyya,
Dukkhassa ca samudayaṁ nirodhaṁ;
Aṭṭhaṅgikañca maggaṁ,
Cattāripi ariyasaccāni”.

[¶4] “‘A woman’s life is painful,’
explained the Buddha, <j>guide for those fit to train,
‘and for a co-wife it’s especially so.
After giving birth just once,

> Pali: “Dukkho itthibhāvo,
Akkhāto purisadammasārathinā;
Sapattikampi hi dukkhaṁ,
Appekaccā sakiṁ vijātāyo.

[¶5] some women even cut their own throat,
while delicate ladies take poison.
Being guilty of killing a person,
they both undergo ruin.’”

> Pali: Galake api kantanti,
Sukhumāliniyo visāni khādanti;
Janamārakamajjhagatā,
Ubhopi byasanāni anubhonti”.

[¶6] “I was on the road, near to giving birth,
when I saw my husband dead.
I gave birth there on the road
before I’d reached my own house.

> Pali: “Upavijaññā gacchantī,
addasāhaṁ patiṁ mataṁ;
Panthamhi vijāyitvāna,
appattāva sakaṁ gharaṁ.

[¶7] My two children have died,
and on the road my husband lies dead—<j>oh woe is me!
Mother, father, and brother
all burning up on the same pyre.”

> Pali: Dve puttā kālakatā,
Patī ca panthe mato kapaṇikāya;
Mātā pitā ca bhātā,
Ḍayhanti ca ekacitakāyaṁ”.

[¶8] “Oh woe is you whose family is lost,
the suffering you have undergone has no measure;
you have been shedding tears
for many thousands of lives.”

> Pali: “Khīṇakulīne kapaṇe,
Anubhūtaṁ te dukhaṁ aparimāṇaṁ;
Assū ca te pavattaṁ,
Bahūni ca jātisahassāni.

[¶9] “While staying in the charnel ground,
I saw my son’s flesh being eaten.
With my family destroyed, condemned by all,
and my husband dead, I realized freedom from death.

> Pali: Vasitā susānamajjhe,
Athopi khāditāni puttamaṁsāni;
Hatakulikā sabbagarahitā,
Matapatikā amatamadhigacchiṁ.

[¶10] I’ve developed the noble eightfold path
leading to freedom from death.
I’ve realized extinguishment,
as seen in the mirror of the Dhamma.

> Pali: Bhāvito me maggo,
Ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko amatagāmī;
Nibbānaṁ sacchikataṁ,
Dhammādāsaṁ avekkhiṁhaṁ.

[¶11] I’ve plucked out the dart,
laid down the burden, <j>and done what needed to be done.”
The senior nun Kisāgotamī,
her mind released, said this.

> Pali: Ahamamhi kantasallā,
Ohitabhārā katañhi karaṇīyaṁ;
Kisā gotamī therī,
Vimuttacittā imaṁ bhaṇī”ti.

[¶12] > Pali: … Kisā gotamī therī ….

[¶13] > Pali: Ekādasakanipāto niṭṭhito.