The Therigatha, the ninth book of the Khuddaka Nikaya, consists of 73 poems — 522 stanzas in all — in which the early nuns (bhikkhunis) 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 women, and thus serve as inspiring reminders of our own potential to follow in their footsteps.

A selected anthology of 32 suttas from the Therigatha (and 88 from the Theragatha), Poems of the Elders: An Anthology from the Theragāthā & Therīgāthā, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, is distributed free of charge by Metta Forest Monastery. It is also available to read online and in various ebook formats at dhammatalks.org

For a complete translation, see Poems of Early Buddhist Nuns, translated by C.A.F. Rhys Davids and K.R. Norman (Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1989).

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