Dhammapada verse 126
Chapter 9, Wickedness (Pāpavagga) · verses 116–128
“Some are born in a womb; evildoers go to hell; the virtuous go to heaven; the undefiled are fully extinguished.”
Gabbhameke uppajjanti, nirayaṁ pāpakammino; Saggaṁ sugatino yanti, parinibbanti anāsavā.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 126 mean?
Verse 126 belongs to chapter 9, Wickedness (Pāpavagga), which gathers verses 116–128 on wickedness and its ripening. It is filed under good & evil, purity & stains. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 125 and verse 127 are part of the same passage.
Thirteen verses on wickedness and its ripening. The chapter’s repeated claim is that an evil deed is not done in one motion — it is done, then repeated, then made a habit — and that the person who does it grieves in both places, here and after. It is one of the chapters most explicitly concerned with consequence rather than intention.
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