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# Iti 42 · uttaka 42
- URL: https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/iti-42/
- Published: 2026-06-01T00:39:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-13T16:40:54.000Z
- Description: Itivuttaka · Iti 42. Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu.
- Author: Ninth Heaven Literature & Arts Association (NHLAA)
- Tags: Buddhism, Sutta Piṭaka, Text, Indian, The Buddha, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Itivuttaka, Verse, Pali, Early Buddhist, Library, #Import 2026-07-06 03:33

*This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard:* “Monks, these two bright qualities safeguard the world. Which two? Shame & compunction. If these two bright qualities did not safeguard the world, there would be no discerning of “mother,” “aunt,” “uncle’s wife,” “teacher’s wife,” or “wife of those deserving respect.” The world would fall into promiscuity, like rams with goats, roosters with pigs, or dogs with jackals. But because these two bright qualities do safeguard the world, there is the discerning of “mother,” “aunt,” “uncle’s wife,” “teacher’s wife,” & “wife of those deserving respect.”

Those in whom

shame & compunction

are not always found

have strayed

from the bright root,

are headed

to birth & death.

But those in whom

shame & compunction

always are rightly established,

who are mature in the holy life:

they are calm,

their further becoming

ended.

---

*Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. © 2014 / rev. 2017 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — released under the [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) licence, for free distribution only. Source: [dhammatalks.org](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Iti/iti42.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) (Metta Forest Monastery).*