Though one recite a thousand verses of useless words, better is one single verse that brings peace when heard.

Repeats the theme of the previous verse (100) with a different object: where 100 spoke of words (vācā), this speaks of gāthā (verses, metric stanzas). The Thousand chapter applies the same principle to different forms of expression.

Gāthā are sung verses, stanzas of sacred and profane texts. In ancient India, knowledge was transmitted principally through memorable verses. The Dhammapada itself is a collection of gāthā.

The irony of the verse is evident: the Dhammapada is a collection of verses asserting that useless verses are worthless. It authorizes itself by being gāthā that produce peace — not by being numerous or erudite.

The tradition of sacred hymns in all contemplative cultures shares this function: not the accumulation of much but the presence of the precise. A mantra is a single phrase or syllable that concentrates an infinite reality.