Verses depicting the path to liberation through the central metaphor of a serpent shedding its skin. Each stanza illustrates how a bhikkhu abandons defilements like anger, passion, craving, and conceit, thereby casting off attachment to this world and the next.

SNP 1.1  Uraga sutta - Serpent

Yo uppatitaṁ vineti kodhaṁ,
Visaṭaṁ sappavisaṁva osadhehi;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One who |restrains::curbs, controls [vineti]| arisen anger,
as the spread of snake venom is curbed with herbs;
That bhikkhu abandons |this world and the next::the here and beyond, the near and far shore [orapāra]|,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yo rāgamudacchidā asesaṁ,
Bhisapupphaṁva saroruhaṁ vigayha;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One who has entirely cut off |passion::intense desire, strong emotion, infatuation, obsession, lust [rāga]|,
as by diving into a lake to uproot lotus flower;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yo taṇhamudacchidā asesaṁ,
Saritaṁ sīghasaraṁ visosayitvā;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One who has entirely cut off |craving::wanting, yearning, longing, attachment, lit. thirst [taṇha]|,
having dried up its swift flowing stream;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yo mānamudabbadhī asesaṁ,
Naḷasetuṁva sudubbalaṁ mahogho;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One who has entirely obliterated |conceit::self-view expressed as comparison—seeing oneself as superior, inferior, or equal; the persistent “I am” conceit (asmimāna) that underlies identification and fuels rebirth [māna]|,
as a mighty flood sweeps a fragile bridge of reeds;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yo nājjhagamā bhavesu sāraṁ,
Vicinaṁ pupphamivā udumbaresu;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One who has found no |essence::core, the heartwood [sāra]| in states of |existence::continued conditional existence, the karmically conditioned mode of being that leads to future rebirth [bhava]|,
like one in search of flowers on a fig tree;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yassantarato na santi kopā,
Itibhavābhavatañca vītivatto;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One within whom no |perturbation::agitation, disturbance [kopa]| remains,
who has left behind notions of |being and non-being::such success and failure, gain and loss, eternity and annihilation, good and evil [bhava + abhava]|;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yassa vitakkā vidhūpitā,
Ajjhattaṁ suvikappitā asesā;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One whose thoughts have been entirely |dispelled::dispersed [vidhūpita]|,
internally clarified and settled without remainder;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yo nāccasārī na paccasārī,
Sabbaṁ accagamā imaṁ papañcaṁ;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One who neither |hastens forward::overreaching through speculative thought or prematurely drawing conclusions; giving in to assumption or expectation beyond what is grounded in clear seeing [nāccasārī]| nor |lags behind::falling short due to hesitation, doubt, or attachment to what has already been transcended; a reluctance to release the familiar or step into direct knowledge [paccasārī]|,
who has gone beyond all |mental proliferation::various opinions, endless conceptualization [papañca]|;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yo nāccasārī na paccasārī,
Sabbaṁ vitathamidanti ñatva loke;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One who neither hastens forward nor lags behind,
having known about the world, “All this diverges from the truth”;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yo nāccasārī na paccasārī,
Sabbaṁ vitathamidanti vītalobho;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One who neither hastens forward nor lags behind,
free from |greed::a grasping mental quality of craving, possessiveness, or lustful wanting that clings to objects or experiences; it fuels attachment and obstructs renunciation and contentment [lobha]|, [knowing] “All this diverges from the truth”;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yo nāccasārī na paccasārī,
Sabbaṁ vitathamidanti vītarāgo;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One who neither hastens forward nor lags behind,
free from passion, [knowing] “All this diverges from the truth”;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yo nāccasārī na paccasārī,
Sabbaṁ vitathamidanti vītadoso;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One who neither hastens forward nor lags behind,
free from |aversion::hatred, hostility, mental attitude of rejection, fault-finding, resentful disapproval [dosa]|, [knowing] “All this diverges from the truth”;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yo nāccasārī na paccasārī,
Sabbaṁ vitathamidanti vītamoho;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One who neither hastens forward nor lags behind,
free from |delusion::illusion, misperception, erroneous belief, false idea, misapprehension; a fundamental distortion of reality that sustains confusion, clouds discernment, and fuels further doubt [moha]|, [knowing] “All this diverges from the truth”;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yassānusayā na santi keci,
Mūlā ca akusalā samūhatāse;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One in whom no |underlying tendencies::latent dispositions [anusayā]| remain,
and whose unwholesome roots have been uprooted;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yassa darathajā na santi keci,
Oraṁ āgamanāya paccayāse;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One in whom no fear-born unease remains,
with no |causes::supporting conditions [paccaya]| for a return to this side of existence;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yassa vanathajā na santi keci,
Vinibandhāya bhavāya hetukappā;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇaṁ.

One in whom no craving-born constructs remain,
no bonds that would lead to |attachment::being bound [vinibandha]| to existence;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Yo nīvaraṇe pahāya pañca,
Anigho tiṇṇakathaṅkatho visallo;
So bhikkhu jahāti orapāraṁ,
Urago jiṇṇamivattacaṁ purāṇanti.

One who, having abandoned |the five hindrances::The five hindrances are: 1) sensual desire, 2) ill will, 3) dullness and drowsiness, 3) restlessness and worry, and 5) doubt [pañca + nīvaraṇa]|,
is |untroubled::undisturbed [anigha]|, free of doubt, and with dart removed;
That bhikkhu abandons this world and the next,
like a serpent casting off its old worn-out skin.

Qualities:

Discernment

Discernment

Clear seeing that distinguishes what is wholesome from unwholesome, true from false.

Also known as: ability to make out distinctions, ability to discriminate, distinguish, clear seeing, penetrating internal vision
Pāli: viveka, vipassanā, nipaka, niccheyya
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Dispassion

Dispassion

The fading of desire and attraction toward conditioned things. It arises through seeing the impermanent and unsatisfactory nature of experience. It is the natural fragrance of understanding and the forerunner of release.

Also known as: detachment, disinterest, fading of desire, disentanglement
Pāli: virāga, visaṃyutta
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Giving up

Giving up

The mental quality of renunciation and release from attachment. It delights in simplicity and freedom rather than in sensual pleasure. Giving up is not loss but the joyful abandoning of burden, opening the way to peace and insight.

Also known as: renunciation, relinquishment, letting go, abandonment
Pāli: nekkhamma
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Imperturbable

Imperturbable

A stable clarity of mind that does not react strongly to changing circumstances, remaining even and composed in both pleasant and difficult conditions.

Also known as: unagitated, unmoved, unruffled, unshaken, untroubled, unwavering, without mental unease
Pāli: aparitassa, anigha, aneja, avihaññamāna
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Non-proliferation

Non-proliferation

The cessation of the mind's tendency to spin out elaborate stories, interpretations, and conceptual elaborations. In non-proliferation, experience is met simply and directly without the overlay of mental commentary, preferences, and self-referential thinking.

Also known as: not forming various opinions
Pāli: nippapañca
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Last updated on December 13, 2025