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# Ud 7:5 · The Dwarf (Lakuṇṭha Sutta)
- URL: https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/ud-7-5/
- Published: 2026-06-01T01:05:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-13T16:49:18.000Z
- Description: Udāna · Ud 7:5. Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu.
- Author: Ninth Heaven Literature & Arts Association (NHLAA)
- Tags: Buddhism, Sutta Piṭaka, Text, Indian, The Buddha, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Udāna, Verse, Pali, Early Buddhist, Library, #Import 2026-07-06 03:28

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī at Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. And on that occasion Ven. Bhaddiya the Dwarf, following behind a large number of monks, was going to the Blessed One. From afar, the Blessed One saw Ven. Bhaddiya the Dwarf coming, following behind a large number of monks: ugly, unsightly, stunted, treated with condescension[1](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Ud/ud7%5F5.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) by most of the monks. On seeing him, the Blessed One addressed the monks, “Monks, do you see that monk coming from afar, following behind a large number of monks: ugly, unsightly, stunted, treated with condescension by most of the monks?”

“Yes, lord.”

“That, monks, is a monk of great power, great might. The attainment already attained by that monk is not of a sort easily attained. And by means of it he has reached & remains in the supreme goal of the holy life for which clansmen rightly go forth from home into homelessness, knowing & realizing it for himself right in the here-&-now.”

Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:

Faultless,

canopied in white,

the single-spoked chariot rolls along.

See him coming, untroubled:

one whose stream is cut,

free from bonds.[2](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Ud/ud7%5F5.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co)

Notes

1\. The Commentary notes that misbehaving monks liked to stroke his hands and catch hold of his ears.

2\. In [SN 41:5](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-41-5/), Citta the householder explains this verse as follows:

*“Faultless* stands for virtues.

*“Canopied in white* stands for release.

*“Single-spoked* stands for mindfulness.

*“Rolls along* stands for coming and going.

*“Chariot* stands for this body composed of the four elements….

“Passion is a trouble; aversion is a trouble; delusion is a trouble. These have been abandoned by a monk whose effluents have ended–their root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising. That’s why the monk whose effluents have ended is said to be *untroubled.*

*“Him coming* stands for the arahant.

*“Stream* stands for craving. That has been abandoned by a monk whose effluents have ended–its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising. That’s why the monk whose effluents have ended is said to be *one whose stream is cut.*

“Passion is a bond; aversion is a bond; delusion is a bond. These have been abandoned by a monk whose effluents have ended–their root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising. That’s why the monk whose effluents have ended is said to be *free from bonds.”* 

[SN 21:6](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-21-6/) starts with the same prose passage as this udāna but ends with a different verse:

Swans, cranes, & peacocks,

elephants & spotted antelope

all fear the lion

(though) in body there’s no comparison.

In the same way, among human beings,

even if one is small

but endowed in discernment,

one is great for that–

not the fool endowed in physique.

See also: SN 21:5

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*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/Ud/ud7%5F5.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) (Metta Forest Monastery).*