Dhammapada verse 304
Chapter 21, Miscellaneous (Pakiṇṇakavagga) · verses 290–305
“The good shine from afar, like the Himalayan peaks, but the wicked are not seen, like arrows scattered in the night.”
Dūre santo pakāsenti, himavantova pabbato; Asantettha na dissanti, rattiṁ khittā yathā sarā.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 304 mean?
Verse 304 belongs to chapter 21, Miscellaneous (Pakiṇṇakavagga), which gathers verses 290–305 on miscellaneous reflections. It is filed under good & evil. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 303 and verse 305 are part of the same passage.
Sixteen verses of miscellany, which is what the title means. The chapter collects short reflections that did not sit under one of the other headings — on speech and silence, on the mind, on what a person should hold to — and its lack of a single subject is itself part of the book’s shape.
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