Dhammapada verse 311
Chapter 22, Hell (Nirayavagga) · verses 306–319
“When kusa grass is wrongly grasped it only cuts the hand. So too, the ascetic life, when wrongly taken, drags you to hell.”
Kuso yathā duggahito, hatthamevānukantati; Sāmaññaṁ dupparāmaṭṭhaṁ, nirayāyupakaḍḍhati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 311 mean?
Verse 311 belongs to chapter 22, Hell (Nirayavagga), which gathers verses 306–319 on the destination of the guilty. 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 310 and verse 312 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.