Thig 3:4 Dantikā & the Elephant
34 selected poems · translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
Coming out from my day’s abiding
on Vulture Peak Mountain,
I saw on the bank of the river
an elephant
emerged from its plunge.
A man holding a hook requested:
“Give me your foot.”
The elephant
extended its foot.
The man
got up on the elephant.
Seeing what was untrained now tamed
brought under human control,
with that I centered my mind—
why I’d gone to the woods
in the first place.
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