Summary: The Nāgavagga ("The Elephant") is the twenty-third chapter of the dhammapada, fourteen verses (Dhp 320–333) on endurance, self-taming, diligence, wise companionship, solitude, contentment, filial and religious respect, and the lasting blessing of virtue. The elephant imagery is not ornamental: the chapter repeatedly contrasts being driven, trapped, or bogged down with the higher discipline of being truly tamed. Its central claim is that self-mastery is better than external power, and that good companionship is precious — but solitude is still better than fellowship with fools.
Themes
- Enduring abuse is a mark of taming (Dhp 320–321): like an elephant enduring arrows in battle, the truly tamed person bears harsh speech without collapse, and this endurance is counted foremost among humans.
- Self-taming surpasses any noble mount (Dhp 322–323): mules, thoroughbreds, and tuskers may be well-trained, but the person who has tamed themselves is better, because only that self-mastery reaches the "untrodden place."
- The elephant images trace bondage and longing (Dhp 324): the bound elephant Dhanapāla refusing food because he remembers the forest becomes an image of constrained being that remembers another life of freedom.
- Indulgence and mental wandering lead back to birth (Dhp 325–326): overeating, drowsiness, and the previously ungoverned mind are answered by renewed discipline and wise restraint.
- Heedfulness lifts one from the bog (Dhp 327): diligence and guarding the mind are presented as self-rescue, like an elephant pulling itself from the mud.
- Good companionship matters, but only if it is truly wise (Dhp 328–330): if a prudent companion is found, one should go with them; if not, one should wander alone, since there is no fellowship with fools.
- Blessings include contentment, merit, reverence, and the ending of suffering (Dhp 331–333): the chapter closes not with elephant imagery but with distilled goods — a friend in need, contentment, merit at life's end, service to parents and religious figures, enduring virtue, steady faith, wisdom, and refraining from evil.
Verses
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Verse 320
Pali (dhp320:1–320:4)
Ahaṁ nāgova saṅgāme,
cāpato patitaṁ saraṁ;
Ativākyaṁ titikkhissaṁ,
dussīlo hi bahujjano.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp320:1–320:4)
Like an elephant struck
with arrows in battle,
I shall endure abuse,
for so many folk are badly behaved.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
යම් හෙයකින් ලෞකික මහ ජනතෙම දුශ්ශීලද එහෙයින් යුද්ධ භූමියෙහි දුන්නෙන් මිදුණු සර (ඉවසන්නාවූ) ඇතකු මෙන් මම ඵරුෂ වචන ඉවසන්නෙමි.
Key terms: elephant in battle, ativākya (abuse, harsh speech), titikkhā (endurance), many people badly behaved Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 321
Pali (dhp321:1–321:4)
Dantaṁ nayanti samitiṁ,
dantaṁ rājābhirūhati;
Danto seṭṭho manussesu,
yotivākyaṁ titikkhati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp321:1–321:4)
The well-tamed beast is the one led to the crowd;
the tamed elephant’s the one the king mounts;
the tamed person who endures abuse
is the best of human beings.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
දැමුනු සතකුම බොහෝදෙනා රැස්වන තැනට (සභාවට) පමුණුවති. රජතෙමේද දැමුනු ඇතකු අසකුටම නැගෙන්නේය. යමෙක් තෙම පරොස් තෙපුල් ඉවසාද ඒ දැමුනු පුද්ගලතෙම මිනිසුන් අතුරෙන් උත්තමයි.
Key terms: danta (tamed), the tamed person enduring abuse, best among humans through restraint Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 322
Pali (dhp322:1–322:4)
Varamassatarā dantā,
ājānīyā ca sindhavā;
Kuñjarā ca mahānāgā,
attadanto tato varaṁ.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp322:1–322:4)
Those who have tamed themselves are better
than fine tamed mules,
thoroughbreds from Sindh,
or giant tuskers.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
අශ්වතරයෝද දැමුනාහුම උත්තමයහ. ආජානේය නම් අශ්වයාද සෛන්ධව අශ්වයෝද, මහා නාගයයි කියන ලද ඇත්තුද දැමුනාහුම උත්තමයහ. ඔවුන් හැම දෙනාටම වඩා තමා දැමුනේ උත්තමයි.
Key terms: noble mounts versus attadanta (self-tamed), self-mastery surpassing external training Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 323
Pali (dhp323:1–323:4)
Na hi etehi yānehi,
gaccheyya agataṁ disaṁ;
Yathāttanā sudantena,
danto dantena gacchati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp323:1–323:4)
For not on those mounts
would you go to the untrodden place,
whereas, with the help of one <j>whose self is well tamed,
you go there, tamed by the tamed.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
මේ යානවලින් අගත (-නොගිය) නම්වූ දිශාවට නොයන්නේ වේද, එහෙයින් දැමුණේ, දැමුණාවූ, ඉතා මනාව දැමුණාවූ සිතින් (එහි) යයි.
Key terms: not by mounts reaching the agataṁ disaṁ (untrodden place), the tamed reaching it through the tamed Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 324
Pali (dhp324:1–324:4)
Dhanapālo nāma kuñjaro,
Kaṭukabhedano dunnivārayo;
Baddho kabaḷaṁ na bhuñjati,
Sumarati nāgavanassa kuñjaro.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp324:1–324:4)
The tusker named Dhanapāla
is musky in rut, hard to control.
Bound, he eats not a morsel,
for he misses the elephant forest.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
ධනපාල නම්වූ ඇත්තෙම (දෙකන්සිළින් වෑහෙන) තීව්රවූ මද ඇත්තේ (කිසිවක්හු විසින්) නොවැළැකිය හැකි වූයේ, (ඇත් ගලට ගෙණවුත්) බඳනා ලද්දේ අහර නොකයි. ඇත්තෙම ඇත් වනයම සිහි කරන්නේය.
Key terms: Dhanapāla the bound elephant, difficult to restrain, remembering the elephant forest Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 325
Pali (dhp325:1–325:4)
Middhī yadā hoti mahagghaso ca,
Niddāyitā samparivattasāyī;
Mahāvarāhova nivāpapuṭṭho,
Punappunaṁ gabbhamupeti mando.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp325:1–325:4)
One who gets drowsy from overeating,
fond of sleep, rolling round the bed
like a great hog stuffed with grain:
that dullard returns to the womb again and again.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
යම් කලෙක පුරුෂතෙම මිද්ධ (නිදිමත) බහුල කොට ඇත්තේ වේද, බොහෝකොට කන්නේද (කුඩු ආදී ඌරු අහරින් පෝෂණය කරන ලද මහා ඌරෙකු මෙන්) නිදන්නේ පෙරළි පෙරළී වැද හෝනේ වේද, ප්රඥා රහිතවූයේ නැවත නැවත මව් කුසට පැමිණෙන්නේය.
Key terms: drowsiness, overeating, hog simile, repeated return to the womb through dullness Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 326
Pali (dhp326:1–326:4)
Idaṁ pure cittamacāri cārikaṁ,
Yenicchakaṁ yatthakāmaṁ yathāsukhaṁ;
Tadajjahaṁ niggahessāmi yoniso,
Hatthippabhinnaṁ viya aṅkusaggaho.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp326:1–326:4)
In the past my mind wandered
how it wished, where it liked, as it pleased.
Now I’ll carefully guide it,
as a trainer with a hook guides a rutting elephant.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
මේ සිත මෙයින් පූර්වයෙහි (රූපාදී අරමුණෙහි ලෝභාදී) යම් ආකාරයකින් පවත්නා කැමැත්තේද යමෙක (රූපාදී යම් අරමුණෙක්හි) පවත්නා කැමැත්තේ වේද සුවසේ බොහෝ කලක් සැරිසරා ඇවිද්දේ වේද, ඒ සිත අද මම වැගිරෙන මද ඇති ඇතක්හු නිග්රහ කරන්නාවූ දක්ෂවූ හස්තියාචාර්යයක්හු මෙන් නුවණින් නිග්රහ කරන්නෙමි.
Key terms: the mind formerly wandering as it pleased, yoniso (wisely, properly), elephant-goad simile for discipline Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 327
Pali (dhp327:1–327:4)
Appamādaratā hotha,
sacittamanurakkhatha;
Duggā uddharathattānaṁ,
paṅke sannova kuñjaro.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp327:1–327:4)
Delight in diligence!
Take good care of your mind!
Pull yourself out of this pit,
like an elephant sunk in a bog.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
නොපමා බවෙහි ඇලෙව්. තොපගේ සිත රකිව්. (ගැඹුරු) මඩෙහි ගැලුනු ඇතු වෑයම් කොට එයින් නැගී ගොඩ පිහිටිය) මෙන් තමා ඒ කෙලෙස් මඩින් ගොඩ නගවු.
Key terms: appamāda (diligence), guarding one's own mind, elephant in the bog pulling itself free Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 328
Pali (dhp328:1–328:4)
Sace labhetha nipakaṁ sahāyaṁ,
Saddhiṁ caraṁ sādhuvihāridhīraṁ;
Abhibhuyya sabbāni parissayāni,
Careyya tenattamano satīmā.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp328:1–328:4)
If you find an alert companion,
an attentive friend to live happily together,
then, overcoming all adversities,
wander with them, joyful and mindful.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
ප්රඥාවත්වූ, තමා හා වසන්නට සුදුසුවූ, යහපත් වාස ඇති, ධෘති සම්පන්නවූ, (කළ්යාණ) මිත්රයෙකු ඉදින් (ලබා නම්) ඒ සියලු උපද්රවයන් මැඩ ඒ කළ්යාණ මිත්රයා හා සමග සතුටු සිත් ඇතිව සිහි නුවණින් යෙදී වසන්නේය.
Key terms: nipaka companion (prudent, discerning friend), mindful joyful wandering with the wise Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 329
Pali (dhp329:1–329:4)
No ce labhetha nipakaṁ sahāyaṁ,
Saddhiṁ caraṁ sādhuvihāridhīraṁ;
Rājāva raṭṭhaṁ vijitaṁ pahāya,
Eko care mātaṅgaraññeva nāgo.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp329:1–329:4)
If you find no alert companion,
no attentive friend to live happily together,
then, like a king who flees his conquered realm,
wander alone like a tusker in the wilds.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
ප්රඥාවත්වූ තමා හා සමග වසන්නට සුදුසුවූ යහපත්වූ වාස ඇති ධෘති සම්පන්නවූ (කළ්යාණ) මිත්රයකු ඉදින් නොලබා නම්, දිනන ලද රට හැර (වනයට වැද පැවිදිවූ) මහා ජනක රජු මෙන්ද, වනයෙහි මේ පාරිල්යෙය ඇතු මෙන්ද එකලාව වසන්නේය.
Key terms: if no prudent companion is found, wander alone like a tusker in the wilds Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 330
Pali (dhp330:1–330:4)
Ekassa caritaṁ seyyo,
Natthi bāle sahāyatā;
Eko care na ca pāpāni kayirā,
Appossukko mātaṅgaraññeva nāgo.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp330:1–330:4)
It’s better to wander alone,
there’s no fellowship with fools.
Wander alone and do no wrong,
at ease like a tusker in the wilds.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
හුදෙකලා වූවහුගේ විසීම උතුම්ය. අඥානයා කෙරෙහි සහාය බවක් නැත. (එහෙයින්) එකලාව වසන්නේය. පව් නොකරන්නේය. වනයෙහි පාරිලෙය්ය ඇතු මෙන්ම එකලාව වසන්නේය.
Key terms: no fellowship with fools, wandering alone without doing evil, at ease like a wild tusker Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 331
Pali (dhp331:1–331:4)
Atthamhi jātamhi sukhā sahāyā,
Tuṭṭhī sukhā yā itarītarena;
Puññaṁ sukhaṁ jīvitasaṅkhayamhi,
Sabbassa dukkhassa sukhaṁ pahānaṁ.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp331:1–331:4)
A friend in need is a blessing;
it’s a blessing to be content with whatever;
good deeds are a blessing at the end of life,
and giving up all suffering is a blessing.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
ප්රයෝජනයක් උපන් කල්හි, සහායයෝ සැපය, (යම්කිසි ප්රත්යයකින්) එකින් එක උපදනාවූ යම් තුෂ්ටියක් ඇද්ද, ඒ තුෂ්ටිතොම සුවය. මරණාසන්න කාලයෙහි කරණ ලද කුශල කර්මය සුවය. සියලු සංසාර දුක්ඛයාගේ ප්රහාණය (ගෙවා ලීම) සුවයි.
Key terms: friend in need, contentment with whatever comes, puñña (merit) at life's end, abandoning suffering Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 332
Pali (dhp332:1–332:4)
Sukhā matteyyatā loke,
atho petteyyatā sukhā;
Sukhā sāmaññatā loke,
atho brahmaññatā sukhā.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp332:1–332:4)
In this world it’s a blessing to serve
one’s mother and one’s father.
And it’s a blessing also to serve
ascetics and brahmins.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
ලෝකයෙහි මවුන් කෙරෙහි මනා පිළිවෙත් ඇති බව සුවය. නැවත පියන් කෙරෙහි මනා පිළිවෙත් ඇති බව සුවය. ලෝකයෙහි ශ්රමණයන් කෙරෙහි මනා පිළිවෙත් ඇති බව සුවය. නැවත ක්ෂීණාශ්රව බ්රාහ්මණයන් කෙරෙහි මනා පිළිවෙත් ඇති බව සුවයි.
Key terms: service to mother and father, service to ascetics and brahmins, reverence as blessing Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 333
Pali (dhp333:1–333:4)
Sukhaṁ yāva jarā sīlaṁ,
sukhā saddhā patiṭṭhitā;
Sukho paññāya paṭilābho,
pāpānaṁ akaraṇaṁ sukhaṁ.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp333:1–333:4)
It’s a blessing to keep precepts until you grow old;
a blessing to be grounded in faith;
the getting of wisdom’s a blessing;
and it’s a blessing to avoid doing wrong.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
ශීලය ජරා වයස දක්වා සුවය. ශ්රද්ධාතොම නිශ්චලව පිහිටියා සුවය. ප්රඥාව ලැබීමද සුවයි. පව් නොකිරීම සුවයි.
Key terms: sīla (virtue) until old age, established faith, gaining wisdom, refraining from evil Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Textual notes
- The elephant imagery in Dhp 320–327 is morally and contemplatively loaded, not merely picturesque. Taming, bearing, bogging down, being bound, and being guided all name states of training rather than only states of animals.
- Dhp 328–330 carefully balances companionship and solitude. The chapter does not glorify isolation as such; it values wise companionship first and solitude only when the available alternative is fellowship with fools.
- Dhp 331–333 broaden the chapter from renunciant endurance into generally legible blessings. The close joins everyday goods — contentment, filial honor, virtue, faith — with the larger goal of abandoning suffering, so the chapter should not be reduced to a narrow "forest ascetic" page alone.