Dhammapada verse 418
Chapter 26, Brahmins (Brāhmaṇavagga) · verses 383–423
“Giving up desire and discontent, they’re cooled and free of attachments; a hero, master of the whole world: that’s who I declare a brahmin.”
Hitvā ratiñca aratiñca, sītibhūtaṁ nirūpadhiṁ; Sabbalokābhibhuṁ vīraṁ, tamahaṁ brūmi brāhmaṇaṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 418 mean?
Verse 418 belongs to chapter 26, Brahmins (Brāhmaṇavagga), which gathers verses 383–423 on the true brahmin. It is filed under craving & attachment, happiness, self-discipline, giving & merit. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 417 and verse 419 are part of the same passage.
Forty-one verses on the true brahmin, and the final and longest chapter. Its argument is a sustained redefinition: you are not a brahmin by birth, by hair or by ancestry, but by what you have done and given up. It closes the book by taking the highest title available and handing it to the person who has ended the work.
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