Dhammapada verse 250
Chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga) · verses 235–255
“Those who have cut that out, dug it up at the root, eradicated it, they will, by day or by night, become immersed in samādhi.”
Yassa cetaṁ samucchinnaṁ, mūlaghaccaṁ samūhataṁ; Sa ve divā vā rattiṁ vā, samādhimadhigacchati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 250 mean?
Verse 250 belongs to chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga), which gathers verses 235–255 on stains and their removal. It is filed under no theme. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 249 and verse 251 are part of the same passage.
Twenty-one verses on stains — the defilements as dirt on a surface that can be cleaned. The chapter lists the specific stains it means, including hardness, carelessness, deceit and jealousy, and it treats purity not as innocence but as the result of scrubbing.