Dhammapada verse 54
Chapter 4, Flowers (Pupphavagga) · verses 44–59
“The fragrance of flowers doesn’t spread upwind, nor sandalwood, pinwheel, or jasmine; but the fragrance of the good spreads upwind; a true person’s virtue spreads in every direction.”
Na pupphagandho paṭivātameti, Na candanaṁ tagaramallikā vā; Satañca gandho paṭivātameti, Sabbā disā sappuriso pavāyati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 54 mean?
Verse 54 belongs to chapter 4, Flowers (Pupphavagga), which gathers verses 44–59 on flowers, and what they stand for. 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 53 and verse 55 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.