Dhammapada verse 324
Chapter 23, Elephants (Nāgavagga) · verses 320–333
“The tusker named Dhanapāla is musky in rut, hard to control. Bound, he eats not a morsel, for he misses the elephant forest.”
Dhanapālo nāma kuñjaro, Kaṭukabhedano dunnivārayo; Baddho kabaḷaṁ na bhuñjati, Sumarati nāgavanassa kuñjaro.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 324 mean?
Verse 324 belongs to chapter 23, Elephants (Nāgavagga), which gathers verses 320–333 on the elephant, and companionship. 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 323 and verse 325 are part of the same passage.
Fourteen verses that use the elephant as their figure — the elephant in battle, the untamed elephant, the elephant that carries its own load. It is also the chapter about companionship: it contains the verses on finding an alert friend to travel with and on walking alone when no such friend can be found.