Dhammapada verse 423
Chapter 26, Brahmins (Brāhmaṇavagga) · verses 383–423
“One who knows their past lives, sees heaven and places of loss, and has attained the end of rebirth; a sage of perfect insight at the summit of spiritual perfection: that’s who I declare a brahmin. The Sayings of the Dhamma are complete.”
Pubbenivāsaṁ yo vedi, saggāpāyañca passati; Atho jātikkhayaṁ patto, abhiññāvosito muni; Sabbavositavosānaṁ, tamahaṁ brūmi brāhmaṇaṁ. Brāhmaṇavaggo chabbīsatimo. Ettāvatā sabbapaṭhame yamakavagge cuddasa vatthūni, appamādavagge nava, cittavagge nava, pupphavagge dvādasa, bālavagge pannarasa, paṇḍitavagge ekādasa, arahantavagge dasa, sahassavagge cuddasa, pāpavagge dvādasa, daṇḍavagge ekādasa, jarāvagge nava, attavagge dasa, lokavagge ekādasa, buddhavagge nava, sukhavagge aṭṭha, piyavagge nava, kodhavagge aṭṭha, malavagge dvādasa, dhammaṭṭhavagge dasa, maggavagge dvādasa, pakiṇṇakavagge nava, nirayavagge nava, nāgavagge aṭṭha, taṇhāvagge dvādasa, bhikkhuvagge dvādasa, brāhmaṇavagge cattālīsāti pañcādhikāni tīṇi vatthusatāni. Satevīsacatussatā, catusaccavibhāvinā; Satattayañca vatthūnaṁ, pañcādhikaṁ samuṭṭhitāti. Dhammapade vaggānamuddānaṁ Yamakappamādo cittaṁ, pupphaṁ bālena paṇḍito; Arahanto sahassañca, pāpaṁ daṇḍena te dasa. Jarā attā ca loko ca, buddho sukhaṁ piyena ca; Kodho malañca dhammaṭṭho, maggavaggena vīsati. Pakiṇṇaṁ nirayo nāgo, taṇhā bhikkhu ca brāhmaṇo; Ete chabbīsati vaggā, desitādiccabandhunā. Gāthānamuddānaṁ Yamake vīsati gāthā, appamādamhi dvādasa; Ekādasa cittavagge, pupphavaggamhi soḷasa. Bāle ca soḷasa gāthā, paṇḍitamhi catuddasa; Arahante dasa gāthā, sahasse honti soḷasa. Terasa pāpavaggamhi, daṇḍamhi dasa satta ca; Ekādasa jarā vagge, attavaggamhi tā dasa. Dvādasa lokavaggamhi, buddhavaggamhi ṭhārasa; Sukhe ca piyavagge ca, gāthāyo honti dvādasa. Cuddasa kodhavaggamhi, malavaggekavīsati; Sattarasa ca dhammaṭṭhe, maggavagge sattarasa. Pakiṇṇe soḷasa gāthā, niraye nāge ca cuddasa; Chabbīsa taṇhāvaggamhi, tevīsa bhikkhuvaggikā. Ekatālīsagāthāyo, brāhmaṇe vaggamuttame; Gāthāsatāni cattāri, tevīsa ca punāpare; Dhammapade nipātamhi, desitādiccabandhunāti. Dhammapadapāḷi samattā.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 423 mean?
Verse 423 belongs to chapter 26, Brahmins (Brāhmaṇavagga), which gathers verses 383–423 on the true brahmin. It is filed under the buddha & teachers. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 422 and verse 1 are part of the same passage.
Forty-one verses on the true brahmin, and the final and longest chapter. Its argument is a sustained redefinition: you are not a brahmin by birth, by hair or by ancestry, but by what you have done and given up. It closes the book by taking the highest title available and handing it to the person who has ended the work.
More verses on this