The Theragatha, the eighth book of the Khuddaka Nikaya, consists of 264 poems — 1,291 stanzas in all — in which the early monks (bhikkhus) recount their struggles and accomplishments along the road to arahantship. Their stories are told with often heart-breaking honesty and beauty, revealing the deeply human side of these extraordinary men, and thus serve as inspiring reminders of our own potential to follow in their footsteps.

An excellent print translation of the complete Therigatha is Elders' Verses I translated by K.R. Norman (Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1995).

The translator appears in the square brackets []. Pali verse numbers appear in the braces {}.

Chapter I — Single Verses {vv. 1-120}

Chapter II — Pairs of Verses {vv. 121-218}

Chapter III — Groups of Three Verses {vv. 219-266}

Chapter IV — Groups of Four Verses {vv. 267-314}

Chapter V — Groups of Five Verses {vv. 315-374}

Chapter VI — Groups of Six Verses {vv. 375-458}

Chapter VII — Groups of Seven Verses {vv. 459-493}

Chapter VIII — Groups of Eight Verses {vv. 494-517}

Chapter IX — The Group of Nine Verses {vv. 518-526}

Chapter X — Groups of Ten Verses {vv. 527-596}

Chapter XI — The Group of Eleven Verses {597-607}

Chapter XII — Groups of Twelve Verses {vv. 608-631}

Chapter XIII — The Group of Thirteen Verses {vv. 632-644}

Chapter XIV — Groups of Fourteen Verses {vv. 645-672}

Chapter XV — Groups of Sixteen Verses {vv. 673-704}

Chapter XVI — Groups of (about) Twenty Verses {vv. 705-948}

Chapter XVII — Groups of Thirty Verses {vv. 949-1050}

Chapter XVIII — The Group of Forty Verses {vv. 1051-1090}

Chapter XIX — The Group of Fifty Verses {vv. 1091-1145}

Chapter XX — The Group of Sixty Verses {vv. 1146-1208}

Chapter XXI — The Great Group of Verses {vv. 1209-1279}