Dhammapada verse 51
Chapter 4, Flowers (Pupphavagga) · verses 44–59
“Just like a glorious flower that’s colorful but lacks fragrance; eloquent speech is fruitless for one who does not act on it.”
Yathāpi ruciraṁ pupphaṁ, vaṇṇavantaṁ agandhakaṁ; Evaṁ subhāsitā vācā, aphalā hoti akubbato.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 51 mean?
Verse 51 belongs to chapter 4, Flowers (Pupphavagga), which gathers verses 44–59 on flowers, and what they stand for. It is filed under speech. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 50 and verse 52 are part of the same passage.
Sixteen verses that use flowers as their working image — garlands made from a heap, a blossom that falls, a fragrance that travels with the wind or does not. The chapter moves from that image to speech, to the person who gathers what is worth gathering, and to the end of the body. It also holds the verse on knowing the body as foam and a mirage.
More verses on this