![[info icon]](./../../../img/question_16.gif "Summary: Better to die in battle than to survive, defeated.")
It's not for sleeping,
the night garlanded
with zodiac stars.
The night, for one who knows,
is for staying awake.
If I were to fall from my elephant's shoulder,
and a tusker trampled me,
death in battle would be better for me,
than that I, defeated,
survive.
©2005 Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
The text of this page ("Sona Potiriyaputta", by Thanissaro Bhikkhu) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions.
Transcribed from a file provided by the translator. Last revised for Access to Insight on 4 August 2010.
How to cite this document (a suggested style): "Sona Potiriyaputta" (Thag 2.37), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 4 August 2010, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/thag/thag.02.37.than.html .