Dhammapada verse 327
Chapter 23, Elephants (Nāgavagga) · verses 320–333
“Delight in diligence! Take good care of your mind! Pull yourself out of this pit, like an elephant sunk in a bog.”
Appamādaratā hotha, sacittamanurakkhatha; Duggā uddharathattānaṁ, paṅke sannova kuñjaro.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 327 mean?
Verse 327 belongs to chapter 23, Elephants (Nāgavagga), which gathers verses 320–333 on the elephant, and companionship. It is filed under mind & intention, self-discipline. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 326 and verse 328 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.
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