The eighth book of the Khuddakanikāya, a collection of poems, most of which are believed to have been composed by elders during the lifetime of the Buddha.

Some poems contain life-histories of the elders, while others are paeans of joy, extolling their new-found freedom.

The work has been published by the P.T.S. (1883) and translated by Mrs. Rhys Davids, as Psalms of the Brethren.

Dhammapāla wrote a commentary on the Theragāthā, as part of the Paramatthadīpanī.