Thig 3:2 Uttamā
34 selected poems · translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
Four times, five, I ran amok from my dwelling,
having gained no peace of awareness,
my thoughts out of control.
So I went to a trustworthy nun.
She taught me the Dhamma:
aggregates, sense media, properties.1
Hearing the Dhamma,
I did as she said.
For seven days I sat in one spot,
absorbed in rapture & bliss.
On the eighth, I stretched out my legs,
having burst the mass
of darkness.
Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu’s anthology of poems attributed to elder nuns. This source offers selections from the larger collection.
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.
No connected episodes found for this text.
A poem in the collection is attributed to Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī (Thig 6.6).
Poems in the collection are attributed to Khemā (Thig 6.3).
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The early community of nuns remembered in these poems.
Collection context: the poems are transmitted in the Khuddaka Nikāya.
Study context: this text is included in the Atlas guide to Theravāda.
Broader context: Pāli discourses on everyday life, renunciation and liberation, with thematic introductions.
Explore Impermanence & letting go across the Atlas.
Explore Mindfulness & awareness across the Atlas.
Explore Emptiness & not-self across the Atlas.
Explore Grief & loss across the Atlas.
Therīgāthā — selected poems