The Sutta Pitaka

Khuddaka Nikaya
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Therigatha

Verses of the Elder Nuns

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Selected suttas from the Therigatha

Chapter I

• 1. An Anonymous Bhikkhuni. Like a pot of pickled greens boiled dry.

• 3. Punna. Bursting the mass of darkness.

• 11. Mutta. Free at last from three crooked things!

• 17. Dhamma. Collapsing to the ground from weakness -- the Dhamma appears!

Chapter II

• 3. Sumangala's Mother. What bliss -- free at last from my shameless husband!

Chapter III

• 2. Uttama. Seven days of continuous meditation. On the eighth: Victory!

• 3. Dantika & the Elephant [Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans. | C.A.F. Rhys Davids, trans.]. Taming the mind: "Why I'd gone to the woods in the first place."

• 5. Ubbiri. A mother conquers her grief over her daughter's death.

Chapter V

• 2. Vimala, the Former Courtesan. A former prostitute joins the ranks of the arahants.

• 4. Nanda's Vision. Contemplating the foulness of the body, Nanda uproots all passions.

• 6. Mittakali. No time for heedlessness!

• 8. Sona, Mother of Ten. Sona conquers aging: "I spit on old age!"

• 10. Patacara. "And taking a pin, I pulled out the wick..."

• 11. Patacara's Thirty Students. Patacara's instructions lead all her students to arahantship.

• 12. Canda, the Beggar. A former beggar becomes an arahant.

Chapter VI

• 1. Pañcasata Patacara. "As he came, so he has gone -- so what is there to lament?" A mother conquers her grief over her son's death.

• 2. Vasitthi, the Madwoman. A mother conquers her grief over her son's death.

• 5. Anopama, the Millionaire's Daughter. A wealthy heiress realizes the Dhamma, goes forth as a nun, and becomes an arahant.

Chapter XII

• Punnika & the Brahman. Punnika convinces a brahman to abandon his purifying water-rites -- after all, if bathing were sacred, then frogs, turtles, and fish would all be pure!

Chapter XIII

• 1. Ambapali. A former courtesan -- now an arahant -- reveals how aging has eroded every trace of her youthful beauty. An exquisite portrait of the effects of aging.

• 2. Rohini. Before her ordination, Rohini answers her father's accusation that monks are lazy. In fact, she points out, "They do the best work."

Chapter XIV

• Subha & the Libertine. Subha, an arahant nun living alone in the forest, is hounded by a man who lusts after her. The "special gift" that she finally hands to him instantly brings about a change in his heart. A magnificent story.

 Table of Contents| I  | II | III | V | VI | XII | XIII | XIV

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Khuddaka Nikaya contents:

Dhammapada | Therigatha | Udana

Theragatha| Sutta Nipata | Itivuttaka

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