> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.urantia.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Dhammapada API

> Dhammapada API: get any passage by its reference, as JSON. F. Max Muller, 1881. 414 passages, public domain, no key needed.

The API serves **The Dhammapada** (F. Max Muller, 1881) as JSON, one passage at a time, by the reference people use. A collection of the Buddha's sayings in verse. It has 414 passages in 26 chapters. No key and no account.

## Get a passage

```bash theme={null}
# Dhp 183
curl https://api.urantia.dev/scriptures/dhammapada/183
```

```json theme={null}
{
  "data": {
    "corpus": {
      "slug": "dhammapada",
      "title": "The Dhammapada",
      "translator": "F. Max Muller",
      "year": 1881
    },
    "passages": [
      {
        "ref": "Dhp 183",
        "division": 14,
        "text": "Not to commit any sin, to do good, and to purify one's mind, that is the teaching of (all) the Awakened."
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

The slug `dhammapada`, the id `dhammapada-muller-1881`, and the prefix `dhp` all name this text.

## References

The verses are numbered straight through the book, so `Dhp 183` is verse 183, not chapter 183. Muller combines a few pairs of verses, such as `Dhp 58-59`. Asking for either number returns the pair.

`GET /scriptures/dhammapada` lists every chapter with its first and last reference.

## Search

```bash theme={null}
# By meaning
curl -X POST https://api.urantia.dev/scriptures/search/semantic \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"q":"your question","corpus":"dhammapada","limit":5}'
# By keyword
curl 'https://api.urantia.dev/works/search?q=your%20words&work=dhammapada'
```

Each passage also links to the closest paragraphs of the Urantia Papers: `GET /scriptures/dhammapada/183/urantia-parallels`. The [world religions guide](https://docs.urantia.dev/scriptures.md) explains how the links are made, and the [MCP server](https://docs.urantia.dev/mcp-servers.md) has the same calls for AI agents.

## Source

* **Text:** The Dhammapada, translated by F. Max Muller (1881)
* **Source:** [www.gutenberg.org](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2017)
* **License:** Public domain in the United States


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