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Buddha Quotes in Pali With Meaning: Bio, WhatsApp Status and Dhammapada Verses

The Buddha taught in a language close to what people spoke — and what his followers memorised and wrote down is in Pali, not Sanskrit. The most widely read collection of his verses is the Dhammapada, 423 short verses on anger, effort, the mind and freedom. Here are the Buddha verses people reach for most for an Instagram bio, a WhatsApp status or a tattoo — each one complete in Pali, never cut in half, with how to read it and its meaning in Hindi and English.

Every verse comes with its real source — the Dhammapada verse number, or the sutta it comes from. A great many "Buddha quotes" online were never said by him; we've marked the most shared ones near the end.

Buddha quotes in Pali with meaning

The most resolute first. The Pali below is printed in Devanagari, the way Pali is usually printed in India — copied from the Vipassana Research Institute's Chattha Sangayana edition of the Tipitaka, and checked against the Mahasangiti text on SuttaCentral. Each card is a whole verse, with how to read it and its meaning in English and Hindi.

यो सहस्सं सहस्सेन, सङ्गामे मानुसे जिने ।
एकञ्च जेय्यमत्तानं, स वे सङ्गामजुत्तमो ॥
yo sahassaṃ sahassena, saṅgāme mānuse jine
ekañca jeyyamattānaṃ, sa ve saṅgāmajuttamo
“One may conquer a thousand times a thousand men in battle — but the one who conquers himself is the greatest victor in battle.”
कोई युद्ध में हज़ारों-हज़ार मनुष्यों को जीत ले — पर जो एक अपने-आप को जीत लेता है, वही संग्राम का सबसे बड़ा विजेता है।
Dhammapada 103 · Sahassa Vagga · Pali · the Buddha
न हि वेरेन वेरानि, सम्मन्तीध कुदाचनं ।
अवेरेन च सम्मन्ति, एस धम्मो सनन्तनो ॥
na hi verena verāni, sammantīdha kudācanaṃ
averena ca sammanti, esa dhammo sanantano
“Hatred is never calmed by hatred in this world. By non-hatred it is calmed — this is an eternal law.”
इस संसार में वैर से वैर कभी शान्त नहीं होता। अवैर (वैर न करने) से ही वैर शान्त होता है — यही सनातन धर्म (नियम) है।
Dhammapada 5 · Yamaka Vagga · Pali · the Buddha
अत्ता हि अत्तनो नाथो, को हि नाथो परो सिया ।
अत्तना हि सुदन्तेन, नाथं लभति दुल्लभं ॥
attā hi attano nātho, ko hi nātho paro siyā
attanā hi sudantena, nāthaṃ labhati dullabhaṃ
“You are your own master — who else could be master? With yourself well tamed, you gain a master hard to find.”
मनुष्य स्वयं ही अपना स्वामी है, दूसरा कौन स्वामी हो सकता है? अपने-आप को भली-भाँति साध लेने पर वह ऐसा स्वामी पाता है जो दुर्लभ है।
Dhammapada 160 · Atta Vagga · Pali · the Buddha
तुम्हेहि किच्चमातप्पं, अक्खातारो तथागता ।
पटिपन्ना पमोक्खन्ति, झायिनो मारबन्धना ॥
tumhehi kiccamātappaṃ, akkhātāro tathāgatā
paṭipannā pamokkhanti, jhāyino mārabandhanā
“You must do the work yourselves, with effort; the Buddhas only show the way. Those who walk it and meditate are freed from the bonds of Mara.”
परिश्रम तुम्हें स्वयं करना है; तथागत (बुद्ध) तो केवल मार्ग बताने वाले हैं। जो इस मार्ग पर चलते हैं और ध्यान करते हैं, वे मार के बन्धनों से छूट जाते हैं।
Dhammapada 276 · Magga Vagga · Pali · the Buddha
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तस्मातिहानन्द, अत्तदीपा विहरथ अत्तसरणा अनञ्ञसरणा,
धम्मदीपा धम्मसरणा अनञ्ञसरणा ।
tasmātihānanda, attadīpā viharatha attasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā,
dhammadīpā dhammasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā
“So, Ananda, live with yourselves as your island, yourselves as your refuge, with no other refuge — with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, with no other refuge.”
इसलिए, आनन्द, स्वयं अपना द्वीप बनकर रहो, स्वयं अपनी शरण बनकर, किसी और की शरण न लेकर — धम्म को अपना द्वीप और अपनी शरण बनाकर, किसी और की शरण न लेकर।
Mahaparinibbana Sutta · Digha Nikaya 16 (2.26) · Pali prose · the Buddha to Ananda, in his last months
उट्ठानेनप्पमादेन, संयमेन दमेन च ।
दीपं कयिराथ मेधावी, यं ओघो नाभिकीरति ॥
uṭṭhānenappamādena, saṃyamena damena ca
dīpaṃ kayirātha medhāvī, yaṃ ogho nābhikīrati
“By rising up, by heedfulness, by restraint and self-control, let the wise one make an island that no flood can overwhelm.”
उद्यम, अप्रमाद, संयम और आत्म-दमन से बुद्धिमान मनुष्य अपने लिए ऐसा द्वीप बना ले जिसे कोई बाढ़ डुबो न सके।
Dhammapada 25 · Appamada Vagga · Pali · the Buddha
अक्कोधेन जिने कोधं, असाधुं साधुना जिने ।
जिने कदरियं दानेन, सच्चेनालिकवादिनं ॥
akkodhena jine kodhaṃ, asādhuṃ sādhunā jine
jine kadariyaṃ dānena, saccenālikavādinaṃ
“Conquer anger with calm, conquer wrong with good. Conquer the miser with giving, and the liar with truth.”
क्रोध को अक्रोध से जीतो, बुराई को भलाई से जीतो। कंजूस को दान से जीतो, और झूठ बोलने वाले को सत्य से।
Dhammapada 223 · Kodha Vagga · Pali · the Buddha
सेलो यथा एकघनो, वातेन न समीरति ।
एवं निन्दापसंसासु, न समिञ्जन्ति पण्डिता ॥
selo yathā ekaghano, vātena na samīrati
evaṃ nindāpasaṃsāsu, na samiñjanti paṇḍitā
“As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, so the wise are not moved by blame or praise.”
जैसे ठोस चट्टान हवा से नहीं हिलती, वैसे ही बुद्धिमान लोग निन्दा और प्रशंसा से विचलित नहीं होते।
Dhammapada 81 · Pandita Vagga · Pali · the Buddha
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सब्बपापस्स अकरणं, कुसलस्स उपसम्पदा ।
सचित्तपरियोदपनं, एतं बुद्धान सासनं ॥
sabbapāpassa akaraṇaṃ, kusalassa upasampadā
sacittapariyodapanaṃ, etaṃ buddhāna sāsanaṃ
“Not doing any evil, taking up what is good, purifying one's own mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas.”
कोई पाप न करना, पुण्य (कुशल) का संचय करना, अपने चित्त को शुद्ध करना — यही बुद्धों की शिक्षा है।
Dhammapada 183 · Buddha Vagga · Pali · the Buddha
बुद्धं सरणं गच्छामि ।
धम्मं सरणं गच्छामि ।
सङ्घं सरणं गच्छामि ॥
buddhaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi
dhammaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi
saṅghaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi
“I go to the Buddha for refuge. I go to the Dhamma for refuge. I go to the Sangha for refuge.”
मैं बुद्ध की शरण जाता हूँ। मैं धम्म की शरण जाता हूँ। मैं संघ की शरण जाता हूँ।
Tisarana, the Three Refuges · Khuddakapatha 1 · Pali · recited three times
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“सब्बे सङ्खारा अनिच्चा”ति, यदा पञ्ञाय पस्सति ।
अथ निब्बिन्दति दुक्खे, एस मग्गो विसुद्धिया ॥
sabbe saṅkhārā aniccā'ti, yadā paññāya passati
atha nibbindati dukkhe, esa maggo visuddhiyā
“"All conditioned things are impermanent" — when one sees this with wisdom, one grows weary of suffering. This is the path to purity.”
"सभी संस्कार अनित्य हैं" — जब कोई यह प्रज्ञा से देख लेता है, तब वह दुख से विरक्त हो जाता है। यही विशुद्धि का मार्ग है।
Dhammapada 277 · Magga Vagga · Pali · the Buddha
हन्द दानि, भिक्खवे, आमन्तयामि वो,
वयधम्मा सङ्खारा अप्पमादेन सम्पादेथ ।
handa dāni, bhikkhave, āmantayāmi vo,
vayadhammā saṅkhārā appamādena sampādetha
“Listen now, monks, I tell you this: all conditioned things are bound to pass away. Strive on with care.”
सुनो भिक्षुओ, मैं तुमसे कहता हूँ — सभी संस्कार (बनी हुई चीज़ें) नाशवान हैं। अप्रमाद के साथ, सजग रहकर अपना लक्ष्य पूरा करो।
Mahaparinibbana Sutta · Digha Nikaya 16 (6.7) · Pali prose · the Buddha's last words

Two words that are easy to get wrong. Dipa in Pali means both "island" and "lamp". Most translators read "attadipa" as "be an island to yourselves" — a dry place to stand in a flood, as in Dhammapada 25 — while "be a lamp unto yourself" is the reading that became famous. Both are honest readings of the word. And appamada, in the Buddha's last words, is not just "diligence": it means staying awake and careful, the opposite of drifting.

Famous "Buddha quotes" that aren't from the Pali texts

  • Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal…
    Not in the Pali texts. The nearest image is in Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga (IX.23), written about 900 years after the Buddha: someone angry is like a man who picks up a burning ember or excrement to throw at another, and burns or soils himself first. The "hot coal" wording became popular through a 1987 self-help book.
    Modern paraphrase · not the Buddha
  • The mind is everything. What you think, you become.
    A loose modern rewording. The real verses it echoes are the first two of the Dhammapada — "mind goes before all things… if one speaks or acts with a corrupted mind, suffering follows like the wheel follows the ox" — which are about the results of what we do, not about thinking our way into anything.
    Modern paraphrase · compare Dhammapada 1–2
  • यत् भावो तत् भवति
    We print this on one of our own posters and people love it — but it is a Sanskrit saying, not Pali, and we could not trace it to any Buddhist text. The closest real teaching is Dhammapada 1–2, on the mind going before every action.
    Popular Sanskrit saying · source untraced
  • न कंचित् शाश्वतम्
    "Nothing is permanent" is on our Buddha mobile skin, laptop skin and posters. The idea is the Buddha's own, but these words are a modern Sanskrit-style phrase, not his. What he actually said is "sabbe sankhara anicca" — all conditioned things are impermanent (Dhammapada 277, above).
    Modern phrase · the idea is Dhammapada 277
  • Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.
    Not found in the Pali texts. It appears under the Buddha's name only in the 20th century, and earlier English versions of the thought come from Christian writers.
    Modern line · not the Buddha
  • Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle…
    The exact wording comes from "The Teaching of Buddha", a modern Japanese anthology. A similar lamp image appears in much later Mahayana texts, but not in the Pali texts.
    Modern anthology · not the Pali texts
  • You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
    From Sharon Salzberg's 1995 book Lovingkindness, loosely based on a story in the Pali Udana (5.1) — whose point runs the other way: since everyone holds themselves dear, one who loves himself should not harm others.
    Modern book · loosely after Udana 5.1
Gautam Buddha 3-Panel Split Poster – ‘यत् भावो तत् भवति’ | Bharatvarsh Arts
Not Pali, and we're happy to say so — just a line people love. Our ‘यत् भावो तत् भवति’ three-panel split poster.
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Questions people ask

What is the Buddha's most famous quote?

Probably “न हि वेरेन वेरानि” — hatred is never calmed by hatred, only by non-hatred (Dhammapada 5). Close behind is Dhammapada 103: the one who conquers himself is greater than one who conquers a thousand times a thousand men in battle.

Did the Buddha speak Sanskrit?

His teachings come down to us in Pali, a Middle Indo-Aryan language close to the everyday speech of his time, and the Dhammapada and suttas quoted here are Pali. Some later Buddhist schools wrote in Sanskrit, but these verses are not Sanskrit.

What does "attadipa" mean — island or lamp?

The Pali word dipa can mean either. "Be an island to yourselves" is the more common scholarly reading; "be a lamp unto yourself" is the famous one. The Buddha's point is the same: rely on yourself and the Dhamma, not on anyone else (Digha Nikaya 16).

What were the Buddha's last words?

“वयधम्मा सङ्खारा अप्पमादेन सम्पादेथ” — all conditioned things pass away; strive on with care. The Mahaparinibbana Sutta (Digha Nikaya 16) calls these the Tathagata's last words.

Is “न कंचित् शाश्वतम्” a Buddha quote?

Not word for word. It's a modern phrase that puts his teaching on impermanence into Sanskrit-style words. His own words are “सब्बे सङ्खारा अनिच्चा” (Dhammapada 277).

Where do these meanings come from?

The Pali is from the Chattha Sangayana Tipitaka (Vipassana Research Institute) and SuttaCentral's Mahasangiti edition. The English and Hindi renderings are our own.

Bring the Buddha home

Gautam Buddha Wall Frame – ‘न कंचित् शाश्वतम्’ | Bharatvarsh Arts
“न कंचित् शाश्वतम्”, framed — a quiet reminder for the wall you see every day.
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