Dhammapada verse 308
Chapter 22, Hell (Nirayavagga) · verses 306–319
“It’d be better for the immoral and unrestrained to eat an iron ball, scorching, like a burning flame, than to eat the nation’s alms.”
Seyyo ayoguḷo bhutto, tatto aggisikhūpamo; Yañce bhuñjeyya dussīlo, raṭṭhapiṇḍamasaññato.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 308 mean?
Verse 308 belongs to chapter 22, Hell (Nirayavagga), which gathers verses 306–319 on the destination of the guilty. It is filed under self-discipline. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 307 and verse 309 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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