Dhammapada (Müller) · The Dhammapada: A Collection of Verses
Buddhism · Translated from the Pali by F. Max Müller, 1881
The Dhammapada: A Collection of Verses
The Dhammapada, ‘verses on the Dhamma’, is an anthology of 423 verses in Pali arranged in twenty-six chapters, part of the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Theravada Buddhist canon. Tradition holds that the Buddha spoke each verse on a particular occasion; the collection probably took shape by the third century BCE and is among the most widely read of all Buddhist scriptures. Its sayings present the mind as the forerunner of every action and teach restraint, vigilance, freedom from craving and the path to nirvana. Friedrich Max Müller, the German-born Oxford scholar of Sanskrit, first published an English version in 1870 and the revised translation given here in 1881, as volume ten of the Sacred Books of the East. The note on each chapter gives the continuous verse numbers of the whole collection; verse 127 is missing from the source text.
- 1. The Twin Verses Yamakavagga20 v.
- 2. On Earnestness Appamādavagga12 v.
- 3. Thought Cittavagga11 v.
- 4. Flowers Pupphavagga15 v.
- 5. The Fool Bālavagga16 v.
- 6. The Wise Man (Pandita) Paṇḍitavagga13 v.
- 7. The Venerable (Arhat) Arahantavagga10 v.
- 8. The Thousands Sahassavagga15 v.
- 9. Evil Pāpavagga12 v.
- 10. Punishment Daṇḍavagga17 v.
- 11. Old Age Jarāvagga10 v.
- 12. Self Attavagga10 v.
- 13. The World Lokavagga12 v.
- 14. The Buddha (The Awakened) Buddhavagga17 v.
- 15. Happiness Sukhavagga12 v.
- 16. Pleasure Piyavagga12 v.
- 17. Anger Kodhavagga13 v.
- 18. Impurity Malavagga21 v.
- 19. The Just Dhammaṭṭhavagga14 v.
- 20. The Way Maggavagga17 v.
- 21. Miscellaneous Pakiṇṇakavagga16 v.
- 22. The Downward Course Nirayavagga14 v.
- 23. The Elephant Nāgavagga14 v.
- 24. Thirst Taṇhāvagga26 v.
- 25. The Bhikshu (Mendicant) Bhikkhuvagga23 v.
- 26. The Brahmana (Arhat) Brāhmaṇavagga41 v.
Translated from the Pali by F. Max Müller, 1881. Public domain (first published 1881; translator died 1900).