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Monday, July 10, 2023

Dhammapada 324


The elephant called Dhanapalaka, his temples running with sap, and difficult to hold, does not eat a morsel when bound; the elephant longs for the elephant grove. 



3 comments:

  1. I'm a little lost. Is this a homesick elephant, or an isolated but fertile tree that keeps throwing up saplings being compared to an elephant? "Temples running with sap" and "does not eat a morsel when bound" threw me a little.

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    Replies
    1. "Temples running with sap" also translated as "brow sweating profusely and pungently"

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    2. That helps, thank you. I think the message of the poem, that a thing wants to be what it is, is true in either sense, but it's good to know what imagery the poet was going for.

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