Sippa-kaṇḍa — On Knowledge and the Arts
Dhamma Nīti · 13 verses (gāthā) with translation and explanation
14–15. The eighteen arts and sciences
สุติ สมฺมุติ สงฺขฺยา จ โยคา นีติ วิเสสิกา คนฺธพฺพา คณิกา เจว ธนุพฺเพทา จ ปูรณา ติกิจฺฉา อิติหาสา จ โชติ มายา จ ฉนฺทสา เหตุ มนฺตา จ สทฺทา จ สิปฺปาฏฺฐารสกา อิเม ฯ
The revealed scriptures (Veda); traditional custom (Smṛti); Sāṅkhya; Yoga; Nyāya (logic); Vaiśeṣika; music (Gandharva); mathematics; archery; the Purāṇas; medicine; history; astrology; the science of illusion (Māyā); prosody; the science of reasoning (logic); mantra; and the science of language (grammar) — these are the eighteen arts and sciences.
This verse gathers the list of the "eighteen arts and sciences" (sippāṭṭhārasaka), the essential body of knowledge in the ancient world of Jambudīpa. It spans the sacred scriptures (Veda, Smṛti, Purāṇa), the six philosophies (Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, and so on), the practical sciences (music, mathematics, archery, medicine, astrology), and the sciences of language and reasoning (prosody, logic, mantra, grammar).
A list of this kind appears in the Milindapañha and in the Kavidappaṇanīti as well (with slight variations), showing it to be a standard inventory of knowledge that one reckoned wise in that age was expected to master. The author places this catalogue of subjects at the head of the chapter to signal just how vast the "knowledge" he is about to discuss truly is.
16. The chain of decline
อลสสฺส กุโต สิปฺปํ อสิปฺปสฺส กุโต ธนํ อธนสฺส กุโต มิตฺตํ อมิตฺตสฺส กุโต สุขํ อสุขสฺส กุโต ปุญฺญํ อปุญฺญสฺส กุโต นิพฺพานํ ฯ
Whence has the lazy man knowledge? Whence has the man without knowledge wealth? Whence has the man without wealth friends? Whence has the friendless man happiness? Whence has the unhappy man merit? And whence can the man without merit reach Nibbāna?
This verse is a "chain of causes and conditions," showing that the rise and fall of a life begins with "diligence versus laziness." Laziness means no knowledge is gained → without knowledge no wealth can be sought → without wealth one is without friends → friendless one is without happiness → unhappy one cannot generate merit (for the mind is not bright and clear) → without merit one cannot reach Nibbāna, the highest goal.
This verse appears in similar form in the Loka Nīti (which ends with "reaches noble virtue"), but the Dhamma Nīti version states plainly that the endpoint is Nibbāna, thus linking the worldly chain directly to the spiritual goal.
17. Inner wealth surpasses outer wealth
สิปฺปสมํ ธนํ นตฺถิ สิปฺปํ โจรา น คณฺหนฺติ อิธ โลเก สิปฺปํ มิตฺตํ ปรโลเก สุขาวหํ ฯ
There is no wealth equal to knowledge; thieves cannot carry knowledge away. In this world knowledge is a friend, and in the world to come it brings happiness.
This verse extols knowledge — a skill trained to mastery — as a treasure nobler than external riches. Unlike money and gold, which may decay, be lost to deceit, or be plundered by thieves, knowledge is a treasure embedded within, which no one can seize away. It is both a companion for one's livelihood in this world and a bringer of happiness in the next. When used honestly, it is therefore the safest "investment," yielding fruit both worldly and spiritual. (This verse likewise matches the Loka Nīti.)
18. Do not trouble the teacher
โพธ ปุตฺร สทา นิตฺยํ มา เขทาจริยํ ครุํ สเทเส ปูชิโต ราชา พุโธ สพฺพตฺถ ปูชิโต ฯ
My child, understand this always: never trouble the heart of the teacher who instructs you. A king is honored only within his own realm, but the wise are honored everywhere.
This verse teaches the pupil not to grieve his teacher — not merely as a matter of manners, but out of recognition that the teacher is the wellspring of knowledge beyond price.
The latter half draws a comparison to show the value of wisdom: the power and honor of a king are confined to his own borders and his own age, but the wisdom of a truly wise person is revered across borders and across the ages. Thus honoring the teacher is the foundation for acquiring the wisdom that gives rise to boundless respect. (This final line is repeated in verse 34.)
19. Why be lazy?
โพธ ปุตฺร กิมาลสฺเส อโพโธ ภารวาหโก โพธโก ปูชิโต โลเก โพธ ปุตฺร ทิเน ทิเน ฯ
My child, understand: why be lazy? The one without wisdom must bear burdens, while the one with wisdom is honored in the world. My child, understand this day after day.
This verse uses reason to subdue laziness. One without wisdom and without knowledge is destined to bear the burdens of life — heavy labor, dependence on others, and ignorance itself — whereas one with wisdom is instead lightened of burden and held in esteem.
The phrase "understand day after day" (dine dine) is a practical instruction: use this reflection as a daily remedy against procrastination. See each day as an opportunity to escape the weight of foolishness and to move toward the ease and dignity that wisdom brings.
20. Fair of form, but worthless without knowledge
รูปโยพฺพนฺนสมฺปนฺนา วิสาลกุลสมฺภวา วิทฺยาหีนา น โสภนฺติ นิคนฺธา อิว กึสุกา ฯ
Those endowed with beauty and youth, born of high lineage, yet lacking in knowledge, are not beautiful — like the kiṃsuka flower that has no fragrance.
Beauty, youth, and high birth are prized by the world, yet they are hollow if they lack the inner light of knowledge. Just as the kiṃsuka (flame-of-the-forest) flower is bright and striking in color yet has no fragrance, so a person furnished with worldly advantages but lacking education and virtue is without substance and can make no genuine impression. True beauty is the beauty of a cultivated mind.
21. To leave a child untrained in youth is to be his enemy
มาตา สตฺรุ ปิตา เวรี พาลกาเล น สิกฺขิโต น โสภติ สภามชฺเฌ หํสมชฺเฌ พโก ยถา ฯ
The mother is an enemy, the father a foe, if the child is not trained in his youth. He will not shine in the midst of the assembly, like a heron among swans.
If parents neglect or indulge a child, failing to train and discipline him in his youth, they are not benefactors but adversaries to the child himself. A child left untrained lacks discipline and knowledge, and falls into a shameful position when he stands among the learned.
The simile of the "baka" (heron) among swans conveys awkwardness and inferiority, for he has no grace to blend in with the company. Training from an early age is therefore essential to one's capacities, both social and personal.
22. Honor comes from effort, not from a high seat
คุเณ อุฏฺฐงฺคตํ ยาติ น อุจฺเจ สยเน วเส ปาสาทสิขเร วาโส กาโก กึ ครุโฬ สิยา ฯ
(Honor) goes to the one who strives after virtue, not to one who reclines on a high bed or dwells atop a palace. Can a crow become a garuḍa (king of birds)?
True honor and spiritual advancement are not bestowed according to outward status or luxury. Reclining on a high bed or dwelling atop a palace is merely a mark of worldly privilege, not of virtue.
The respect of the wise and the blessings of the Dhamma flow to those who strive to cultivate virtue, whatever their station. A lowly creature like a crow can never become a garuḍa merely by changing its perch. Transformation comes from inner development, not from external surroundings.
23. Learn all, but do not use all
สพฺพํ สุตํ อธีเยถ หีนมุกฺกฏฺฐมชฺฌิมํ สพฺพสฺส อตฺถํ ชาเนยฺย น จ สพฺพํ ปโยชเย โหติ ตาทิสโก กาโล ยทิ อตฺตาวหํ สุตํ ฯ
One should study all that has been heard, whether low, high, or middling. One should know the meaning of everything, yet not put everything to use. There comes such a time when the knowledge one has learned proves of benefit to oneself.
Be a vessel ready to receive: learn everything you hear — good, bad, and middling — so as to understand its ideas and consequences fully. It is this breadth of knowledge that enables one to select and apply things with wisdom.
But this does not mean putting everything into practice or endorsing it all. One should keep that knowledge in reserve, and when the right occasion and circumstance arrive, then draw out the correct knowledge and put it to effect. Know broadly, but use skillfully.
24. The truly knowing shine of themselves; the self-praising are worthless
น โลเก โสภเต มูฬฺโห เกวลตฺตปสํสโก อปิ สมฺปิหิโต กูเป กตวิชฺโช ปกาสิโต ฯ
The fool who does nothing but praise himself does not shine in the world; but one possessed of knowledge, even when hidden in a well, still stands out clearly.
The fool full of self-exaltation and disdain for others invites ridicule, not respect, for his boasting exposes the emptiness within.
By contrast, the truly educated — one with deep knowledge and virtue — cannot be concealed. His qualities will shine forth for the wise to perceive, even when he is in an obscure place or fallen on hard times, like a precious thing that gleams even at the bottom of a well. True worth reveals itself; it needs no self-advertisement.
25. The noble Dhamma may harm the fool
มทนฺตทมนํ สตฺถํ ขลานํ กุรุเต มทํ จกฺขุสงฺขารกํ เตชํ อุลูกานมิวนฺธกํ ฯ
The teaching that tames the passionate into calm instead breeds intoxication (delusion) in the wicked, just as light — the very condition for the eye's seeing — blinds the owl.
Even a lofty teaching — the Dhamma that tames the wild mind and makes it gentle — may yield the opposite result in the base-minded. Instead of making him humble, it makes him drunk with delusion, if he uses the Dhamma to argue, to flaunt his status, or to look down on others.
Just as sunlight, which helps the eye to see, is like darkness to the night-feeding owl, so the light of truth that illumines the virtuous may confuse and inflame those of the opposite disposition. The fault lies not in the teaching but in the defective nature of the one who receives it.
26. Knowledge is what separates humans from beasts
โภชนํ เมถุนํ นิทฺทา คเว โปเส จ วิชฺชติ วิชฺชา วิเสโส โปสสฺส ตํ หีโน โคสโม ภเว ฯ
Eating, mating, and sleeping exist in both cattle and humans. What makes a human distinct is knowledge; one who lacks knowledge is no different from an ox.
The basic needs — food, sleep, and reproduction — are instincts that humans and animals share. What raises the human higher is knowledge, especially knowledge of the Dhamma that leads to understanding, morality, and liberation.
If one fails to cultivate this potential unique to being human — wisdom and virtue — then life remains on the same plane as an animal's, driven by nothing but instinct and craving. It is a lamentable squandering of human potential.
27. Greedily learning much without depth is to gain nothing
โย สิสฺโส สิปฺปโลเภน พหุํ พหุํ ว คณฺหติ มูโค ว สุปินํ ปสฺสํ น สกฺกา กถิตุํ ปรํ ฯ
Whatever pupil, out of greed for knowledge, seizes much and many things, is like a mute who sees a dream and cannot tell it to another.
A pupil driven by the craving to acquire more, rather than by depth, tries to learn many subjects at once and in the end masters none of them; his understanding is shallow and scattered.
He is like a mute who sees a vivid dream: he may have inner experience or a jumble of information, but lacking integrated, harmonious mastery, he cannot explain it clearly or put it to effect. Learning should therefore aim at depth and genuine understanding, not breadth that is only superficial.
End of Sippa-kaṇḍa (On Knowledge and the Arts), verses 14–27, fourteen verses in all.