Dhajagga Sutta
| Pāli Canon |
|---|
| Theravāda Buddhism |
The Dhajagga Sutta (Pali: “Discourse on the Crest of the Banner”, SN 11.3) is a well-known early Buddhist discourse in which the Buddha teaches monks (and, by extension, all practitioners) how to overcome fear, terror, and horripilation through mindful recollection of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha.[1]
It is one of the most frequently recited protective chants (paritta) in the living Theravāda tradition.
Sources in the Pāli Canon
The sutta appears in the third Nikāya of the Pāli Canon, the Saṃyutta Nikāya (SN 11.3), as translated into English in the widely respected edition The Connected Discourses of the Buddha (Bhikkhu Bodhi, trans.).[2]
Summary
While staying at Jetavana in Sāvatthī, the Buddha tells the monks:
“Bhikkhus, when fear and terror arise in you while in a wilderness, at the root of a tree, or in an empty hut, you should recollect me thus: ‘Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy and perfectly enlightened… teacher of gods and humans, awakened, blessed.’ …Any fear and terror that has arisen will be abandoned. If you cannot recollect me, then recollect the Dhamma… If you cannot recollect the Dhamma, then recollect the Saṅgha…”
Sakka, king of the devas, then appears and confirms that even the gods use the same practice when afraid.
Traditional use as paritta
In Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, the Dhajagga Sutta is one of the “eleven great protective discourses” (Mahāparitta) and is chanted:
- by soldiers before battle
- at funerals
- during natural disasters
- to dispel nightmares and panic
- over frightened children or pregnant women
It is commonly included in printed paritta books published by the Buddhist Publication Society and similar organisations.[4]
Parallels
- Aṅguttara Nikāya 7.60 (Aggikkhandhopama Sutta in some editions)
- Chinese Āgama: Taishō 99, no. 512 (雜阿含經)
- Tibetan Kangyur: D 292 (མདོ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱལ་མཚན་མཆོག་ཅེས་བྱ་བ།)
References
- ^ "SN 11.3 Dhajagga Sutta: At the Top of the Banner". SuttaCentral. Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
- ^ Bhikkhu Bodhi (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Wisdom Publications. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
- ^ "SN 11:3 Dhajagga Sutta". Dhammatalks.org. Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
- ^ Piyadassi Thera (1999). The Book of Protection (Paritta) (PDF). Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
Further reading
- "SN 11.3 Dhajagga Sutta (multiple translations)". SuttaCentral.
- Bhikkhu Bodhi (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Wisdom Publications. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
- "SN 11:3 Dhajagga Sutta". Dhammatalks.org. Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Retrieved 2025-12-01.