Dhammapada verse 309
Chapter 22, Hell (Nirayavagga) · verses 306–319
“Four things befall a heedless man who sleeps with another’s wife: wickedness, poor sleep, ill-repute, and rebirth in hell.”
Cattāri ṭhānāni naro pamatto, Āpajjati paradārūpasevī; Apuññalābhaṁ na nikāmaseyyaṁ, Nindaṁ tatīyaṁ nirayaṁ catutthaṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 309 mean?
Verse 309 belongs to chapter 22, Hell (Nirayavagga), which gathers verses 306–319 on the destination of the guilty. 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 308 and verse 310 are part of the same passage.
Fourteen verses on the destination of the person who denies what they have done. The chapter is heavy and deliberately so: it describes the judgement that follows the person who wronged someone without cause, and it is one of the places where the Dhammapada is least interested in consolation.
More verses on this