Skip to reading
Search

Therīgāthā · Poems of the Elder Nuns

Early poetry · women’s voices

Contents
Wild violet irises at the edge of a marsh.

34 selected poems · translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu

Thig 1:1  An Anonymous Nun

Sleep, little therī, sleep comfortably,

wrapped in the robe you’ve made,

for your passion is stilled—

like a pot of pickled greens

boiled dry.

Contents

  1. Thig 1:1 An Anonymous Nun
  2. Thig 1:3 Puṇṇā
  3. Thig 1:11 Muttā
  4. Thig 1:17 Dhammā
  5. Thig 2:3 Sumaṅgala’s Mother
  6. Thig 2:4 Aḍḍhkāsī
  7. Thig 3:2 Uttamā
  8. Thig 3:4 Dantikā & the Elephant
  9. Thig 3:5 Ubbiri
  10. Thig 5:2 Vimalā, the Former Courtesan
  11. Thig 5:4 Nandā’s Vision
  12. Thig 5:6 Mittakālī
  13. Thig 5:8 Soṇā, Mother of Ten
  14. Thig 5:10 Paṭācārā
  15. Thig 5:11 Paṭācārā’s Thirty Students
  16. Thig 5:12 Candā, the Beggar
  17. Thig 6:1 Paṭācārā’s 500 Students
  18. Thig 6:2 Vāsiṭṭhī the Madwoman
  19. Thig 6:3 Khemā
  20. Thig 6:4 Sujātā
  21. Thig 6:5 Anopamā, the Millionaire’s Daughter
  22. Thig 6:6 Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī
  23. Thig 6:7 Guttā
  24. Thig 6:8 Vijayā
  25. Thig 7:2 Cālā
  26. Thig 7:3 Upacālā
  27. Thig 8 Sīsūpacālā
  28. Thig 9 Vaḍḍha’s Mother
  29. Thig 10 Kīsā Gotamī
  30. Thig 12 Puṇṇikā & the Brahman
  31. Thig 13:1 Ambapālī
  32. Thig 13:2 Rohiṇī
  33. Thig 13:5 Subhā the Goldsmith’s Daughter
  34. Thig 14 Subhā & the Libertine
Translations & sourcesEditions & translators
Source edition · dhammatalks.org — 34 selected poems ↗dhammatalks.org
Explore poems at Dhammatalks.org ↗

Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu’s anthology of poems attributed to elder nuns. This source offers selections from the larger collection.

Edition & attribution

Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. These 34 selected poems are reproduced from dhammatalks.org under CC BY-NC 4.0. Formatting adapted for Buddhist Atlas; wording unchanged. This is a selection, not the complete Therīgāthā.

An introduction. Follow the source link below to read the translated text.

Introductions, reflection questions and added section headings are editorial material, separate from the attributed translation.

The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork created for Buddhist Atlas. It is an evocative companion, not a depiction of the text’s historical setting.

Selected translations · free

Source link checked October 1, 2026. The linked publisher provides the text and its usage terms.

Connections
TalksIndexed references to this text19MeditationsIndexed references to this text0
Guru Viking0

No connected episodes found for this text.

People & teachers11
Traditions & history3
Books1
Topics4

Make yourself comfortable

Text size
About this textContext & reading guide

Therīgāthā — selected poems