Irrigators guide the water, arrow-makers straighten the arrow, carpenters shape the wood; the well-disciplined tame themselves.

This verse almost exactly repeats verse 80, with a final variation: where 80 says paṇḍitā (wise), 145 says subbatā (well-disciplined, of good vows). This repetition with variation is typical of the Pāli canon.

Subbatā — the well-disciplined: su- (good) + vata (vow, discipline, observance). Those who have taken and maintain good commitments of conduct. This term emphasizes the aspect of continuous ethical practice.

The repetition of the verse in a different context (here in the punishment chapter, earlier in the sage’s) enriches the teaching. In the sage chapter, it was a description of wisdom; here, in the punishment chapter, it offers an alternative to violence: true power is not in external daṇḍa (punishment) but in self-discipline.

The chapter’s closing with this verse is significant: after enumerating the dangers of punishment and violence, the text offers as alternative the artisanal work on oneself. Not external daṇḍa but the rod of one’s own inner commitment.