Dhammapada verse 307
Chapter 22, Hell (Nirayavagga) · verses 306–319
“Many who wear a scrap of ocher cloth are unrestrained and wicked. Being wicked, they are reborn in hell due to their bad deeds.”
Kāsāvakaṇṭhā bahavo, pāpadhammā asaññatā; Pāpā pāpehi kammehi, nirayaṁ te upapajjare.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 307 mean?
Verse 307 belongs to chapter 22, Hell (Nirayavagga), which gathers verses 306–319 on the destination of the guilty. It is filed under good & evil, self-discipline. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 306 and verse 308 are part of the same passage.
Fourteen verses on the destination of the person who denies what they have done. The chapter is heavy and deliberately so: it describes the judgement that follows the person who wronged someone without cause, and it is one of the places where the Dhammapada is least interested in consolation.
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