In MN 63, Māluṅkyaputta demands answers to speculative questions about the cosmos, the soul, and the fate of a realized person after death. The Buddha responds with the analogy of a man struck by a poisoned arrow who refuses treatment until irrelevant details are answered.
Source and historical status
The poisoned-arrow analogy is in an early discourse. The article is rewritten around MN 63 rather than an invented man who simply ‘asked too many questions.’
The narrative in context
In MN 63, Māluṅkyaputta demands answers to speculative questions about the cosmos, the soul, and the fate of a realized person after death. The Buddha responds with the analogy of a man struck by a poisoned arrow who refuses treatment until irrelevant details are answered.
What the story teaches
The point is practical: teachings are evaluated by whether they address suffering and the path to its cessation.
How to read it responsibly
This article treats the narrative according to its documented textual or traditional status. Literary details, devotional interpretation, and historical reconstruction are not presented as the same kind of evidence.
