Dhammapada verse 139
Chapter 10, The Rod (Daṇḍavagga) · verses 129–145
“hazards from rulers; vicious slander; loss of kin; destruction of wealth;”
Rājato vā upasaggaṁ, Abbhakkhānaṁ va dāruṇaṁ; Parikkhayaṁ va ñātīnaṁ, Bhogānaṁ va pabhaṅguraṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 139 mean?
Verse 139 belongs to chapter 10, The Rod (Daṇḍavagga), which gathers verses 129–145 on the rod, and not harming. 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 138 and verse 140 are part of the same passage.
Seventeen verses on the rod, meaning punishment and harm. It opens with the line that all tremble at the rod and love their life, and from that derives the instruction to treat others as oneself. Later verses hold the person who answers harm with harm and the person who stills themselves like a broken gong.