Dhammapada verse 222
Chapter 17, Anger (Kodhavagga) · verses 221–234
“When anger surges like a lurching chariot, keep it in check. That’s what I call a charioteer; others just hold the reins.”
Yo ve uppatitaṁ kodhaṁ, rathaṁ bhantaṁva vāraye; Tamahaṁ sārathiṁ brūmi, rasmiggāho itaro jano.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 222 mean?
Verse 222 belongs to chapter 17, Anger (Kodhavagga), which gathers verses 221–234 on anger. It is filed under anger & peace. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 221 and verse 223 are part of the same passage.
Fourteen verses on anger. The chapter gives the practical instruction to overcome anger with kindness and to give up what feeds it, and it describes the angry person as one who loses their own good. It also holds the verse about giving rather than taking as the way anger is dissolved.
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