Dhammapada verse 148
Chapter 11, Old Age (Jarāvagga) · verses 146–156
“This body is decrepit and frail, a nest of disease. This foul carcass falls apart, for life ends in death.”
Parijiṇṇamidaṁ rūpaṁ, roganīḷaṁ pabhaṅguraṁ; Bhijjati pūtisandeho, maraṇantañhi jīvitaṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 148 mean?
Verse 148 belongs to chapter 11, Old Age (Jarāvagga), which gathers verses 146–156 on old age. It is filed under happiness, impermanence & death. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 147 and verse 149 are part of the same passage.
Eleven verses on old age. Its images are the body as a city built of bones and plastered with flesh, and old age and death driving life the way a cowherd drives cattle. The chapter is not only lament: it also contains the verses telling the reader to make an island of themselves and strive while there is time.
More verses on this