Dhammapada verse 260
Chapter 19, The Just (Dhammaṭṭhavagga) · verses 256–272
“You don’t become a senior by getting some grey hairs; for one ripe only in age, is said to have aged in vain.”
Na tena thero so hoti, yenassa palitaṁ siro; Paripakko vayo tassa, “moghajiṇṇo”ti vuccati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 260 mean?
Verse 260 belongs to chapter 19, The Just (Dhammaṭṭhavagga), which gathers verses 256–272 on what makes a person just. 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 259 and verse 261 are part of the same passage.
Seventeen verses on the just person. Most of the chapter is a series of distinctions: you do not become just by passing hasty judgment, by seniority, by eloquence, or by complexion. The chapter defines the just person by what they weigh, not by what they claim.