Dhammapada verse 141
Chapter 10, The Rod (Daṇḍavagga) · verses 129–145
“Not nudity, nor matted hair, nor mud, nor fasting, nor lying on bare ground, nor wearing dust and dirt, or squatting on the heels, will cleanse a mortal not free of doubt.”
Na naggacariyā na jaṭā na paṅkā, Nānāsakā thaṇḍilasāyikā vā; Rajojallaṁ ukkuṭikappadhānaṁ, Sodhenti maccaṁ avitiṇṇakaṅkhaṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 141 mean?
Verse 141 belongs to chapter 10, The Rod (Daṇḍavagga), which gathers verses 129–145 on the rod, and not harming. It is filed under impermanence & death, purity & stains. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 140 and verse 142 are part of the same passage.
Seventeen verses on the rod, meaning punishment and harm. It opens with the line that all tremble at the rod and love their life, and from that derives the instruction to treat others as oneself. Later verses hold the person who answers harm with harm and the person who stills themselves like a broken gong.
More verses on this