Dhammapada verse 193
Chapter 14, The Buddhas (Buddhavagga) · verses 179–196
“It’s hard to find a thoroughbred man: they’re not born just anywhere. A family where that attentive one is born prospers in happiness.”
Dullabho purisājañño, na so sabbattha jāyati; Yattha so jāyati dhīro, taṁ kulaṁ sukhamedhati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 193 mean?
Verse 193 belongs to chapter 14, The Buddhas (Buddhavagga), which gathers verses 179–196 on the Buddhas and the awakened. It is filed under happiness. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 192 and verse 194 are part of the same passage.
Eighteen verses on the Buddhas, the awakened, and what makes a teacher worth following. It is the chapter that gives the famous line about not doing evil, doing good and purifying the mind, and it treats the awakened person as the one case in which a teacher is beyond reproach.
More verses on this