Dhammapada verse 40
Chapter 3, The Mind (Cittavagga) · verses 33–43
“Knowing this body breaks like a pot, and fortifying the mind like a citadel, attack Māra with the sword of wisdom, guard your conquest, and never settle.”
Kumbhūpamaṁ kāyamimaṁ viditvā, Nagarūpamaṁ cittamidaṁ ṭhapetvā; Yodhetha māraṁ paññāvudhena, Jitañca rakkhe anivesano siyā.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 40 mean?
Verse 40 belongs to chapter 3, The Mind (Cittavagga), which gathers verses 33–43 on the mind and its taming. It is filed under mind & intention, wisdom & folly. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 39 and verse 41 are part of the same passage.
Eleven verses on the mind, which the chapter describes as hard to hold back, flighty, subtle, and quick to alight wherever it will. The argument is not that the mind should be stopped but that it should be tamed: a guarded mind brings happiness, and a wrongly directed mind does more harm than an enemy. It is the shortest chapter in the book after the one on the perfected.
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