Dhammapada verse 196
Chapter 14, The Buddhas (Buddhavagga) · verses 179–196
“quenched, fearing nothing from any quarter— the merit of one venerating such as these, cannot be calculated by anyone, saying it is just this much.”
Te tādise pūjayato, nibbute akutobhaye; Na sakkā puññaṁ saṅkhātuṁ, imettamapi kenaci. Buddhavaggo cuddasamo. Paṭhamabhāṇavāraṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 196 mean?
Verse 196 belongs to chapter 14, The Buddhas (Buddhavagga), which gathers verses 179–196 on the Buddhas and the awakened. It is filed under giving & merit. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 195 and verse 197 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