CBSE Class 10 English Chapter 8 PDF Notes: The Sermon at Benares 2026-27

These Class 10 English Chapter 8 notes cover the whole NCERT lesson in plain words. You get the story, the characters, the themes and exam-ready answers. Everything follows the 2026-27 reprint of First Flight.

Short on time? Use the contents list to jump straight to the revision box. Have a full evening? Read from the top, in order.

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Contents

1. Chapter Overview
2. Class 10 English Chapter 8 Notes: Story Summary
3. Common Mistakes to Avoid
4. Character Analysis
5. Themes and Symbols
6. Hard Lines Explained
7. Glossary
8. Thinking about the Text: Answers
9. Thinking about Language, Speaking and Writing
10. 10 MCQs with Answers
11. Class 10 English Chapter 8 Notes: Quick Revision
12. Board-Style Practice Questions
13. What Is The Sermon at Benares About?
14. FAQs
15. Conclusion

Chapter Overview

The Sermon at Benares is a prose lesson about grief. It tells one story to show one big idea. Death comes to every home, so grief should lead us to wisdom, not to endless pain.

Why do some websites say Chapter 9 or 10? Older editions of the book used different numbers. If a page says Chapter 10, it is using an older printing. The story and the textbook questions match.

The same chapter in your book also carries the poem For Anne Gregory by W. B. Yeats. This page covers the prose only.

Before You Read: the warm-up

The book opens with three questions. What is a sermon, and how is it unlike a lecture? Who gave the Sermon on the Mount? Who might have spoken at Benares?

A sermon is a religious or moral talk. It aims to guide how you live, not just to inform you. The answer to the last question is the Buddha.

Get Free Class 10 English Chapter 8 PDF Notes

Class 10 English Chapter 8 Notes: Story Summary

The prince who left his palace

Gautama Buddha lived from 563 B.C. to 483 B.C. He was born Prince Siddhartha Gautama in northern India. At twelve, he was sent away to study the Hindu scriptures.

Four years later he came home and married a princess. They had a son. For ten years the family lived as royalty should.

Until about the age of twenty-five, the prince knew nothing of suffering. Then, while out hunting, he chanced upon four sights. He saw a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession and a begging monk.

These sights moved him deeply. He went out into the world at once to understand the sorrows he had seen.

Seven years and seven days

He wandered for seven years. Then he sat under a peepal tree and vowed to stay until enlightenment came. It came after seven days.

He renamed the tree the Bodhi Tree, the Tree of Wisdom. From that point the world called him the Buddha, meaning the Awakened or the Enlightened One.

His first sermon was at Benares, the holiest of the bathing places on the Ganges. The book says that sermon has been preserved. It speaks about one kind of suffering that is hard to understand.

The grieving mother

Kisa Gotami had one son, and he died. She could not accept it. She carried the child’s body from neighbour to neighbour, asking for medicine.

The people thought she had lost her senses. The boy was dead.

At last one man took pity on her. He could not give medicine himself, he said, but he knew a physician who could. He sent her to Sakyamuni, the Buddha.

The mustard seed errand

Kisa Gotami went to the Buddha. She called him “Lord and Master” and begged for medicine to cure her boy.

The Buddha asked for something small: a handful of mustard seed. But there was a condition. The seed must come from a house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent or friend.

Kisa Gotami was overjoyed. She promised to bring it.

Round two of doors

Poor Kisa Gotami went from house to house again. People pitied her and offered the seed. Then she asked her one question: had anyone died in that family?

Every house answered the same way. The living are few, they said, but the dead are many. Please do not remind us of our deepest grief.

There was no house where some loved one had not died.

The night by the roadside

Tired and hopeless, Kisa Gotami sat down at the wayside. She watched the lights of the city flicker up and go out again. At last darkness covered everything.

She thought about the fate of human beings. Their lives, too, flicker up and go out. Then she said to herself, “How selfish am I in my grief!”

She saw that death is common to all. She also saw that a path to peace exists for the person who lets go of selfishness.

The Buddha’s sermon

The last part of the lesson gives the Buddha’s words. He says the life of mortals is troubled, brief and mixed with pain. No one who is born can avoid dying.

He uses two pictures. Ripe fruits are always in danger of falling. Clay pots made by a potter are always in danger of breaking. So it is with human life.

Young or old, foolish or wise, all fall into the power of death. A father cannot save his son. Relatives watch and weep as one by one people are carried away, like an ox led to the slaughter.

Weeping does not bring peace, he says. It only makes the pain greater and the body sick. The dead are not saved by our lamentation.

The person who wants peace must draw out the arrow of grief, complaint and lamentation. Only then does the mind become calm. Only then is a person free from sorrow.

Note: The NCERT text moves straight from Kisa Gotami’s thoughts to the Buddha’s words. It never says she walked back to him.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Many student answers repeat the same errors. They come from guide-books and websites that retell the story loosely. Check yourself against this list.

Character Analysis

Gautama Buddha

The Buddha is a teacher who understands pain. He does not scold Kisa Gotami. He does not tell her that her son cannot be saved.

Instead he gives her a task. The task does the teaching for him. This shows he knows that people learn best from their own experience.

He is also calm and realistic. His sermon speaks of death without fear and without false comfort. He is compassionate, but he will not tell a comforting lie.

Kisa Gotami

Kisa Gotami is a loving mother. Her whole world was her only child. When he dies, she refuses to accept it and walks from door to door.

She is hopeful and determined. The moment the Buddha offers a way, she promises to fetch the seed with joy. She does not give up easily.

She is also honest and thoughtful. Sitting alone, she looks at her own grief and questions it. That is her real strength.

The neighbours

The neighbours are kind, not cruel. At first they think she has lost her senses. In round two they pity her and offer seed. Their sad answers are what teach her.

Themes and Symbols

Theme 1: Death is common to all

This is the core idea. The Buddha says rich and poor, wise and foolish all fall into the power of death. No relative can stop it.

Theme 2: Grief and selfishness

Grief is natural. But the chapter shows how deep grief can trap us in “me and mine”. Kisa Gotami’s insight is that others hurt too.

Theme 3: Learning by experience

The Buddha could have lectured. He chose an errand instead. What we discover ourselves stays with us longer than what we are told.

Theme 4: Acceptance brings peace

Weeping cannot save the dead. It only harms the mourner. Peace begins when we accept the “terms of the world”.

Images and symbols

Hard Lines Explained

“Valley of desolation.” A valley is a low, closed place. Desolation is deep sorrow. Kisa Gotami sees the world as one large valley of sorrow where everyone walks. The line then offers hope: there is a path out of it.

“Draw out the arrow of lamentation.” Picture a person shot by an arrow. The wound is real. But if the arrow stays in, the pain keeps growing. Grief that we keep feeding works like that arrow. Pulling it out means letting go of complaint, not of love.

“The wise do not grieve, knowing the terms of the world.” This does not say the wise feel nothing. It says they understand the rules: everyone born must die. That understanding stops sorrow from becoming endless.

“The living are few, but the dead are many.” This is what the villagers say. Over time, more people have died than are alive today. So every family has lost someone. The line quietly proves the Buddha’s point.

Glossary

Thinking about the Text: Answers

1. When her son dies, what does Kisa Gotami ask for? Does she get it? Why not? She asks her neighbours for medicine to cure her dead son. She does not get it. No medicine can bring the dead back to life. The neighbours know this, so they think she has lost her senses.

2. What does she ask for the second time? Does she get it? She asks for a handful of mustard seed from a house where no one has died. She does not get it. She finds no such house, because every family has lost a loved one.

3. What does she understand the second time? Is this what the Buddha wanted? She understands that death is common to all, and that her grief was selfish. Yes, this is what the Buddha wanted. He wanted her to see that her loss was part of a shared human fate.

4. Why does she understand only the second time? How did the Buddha change her understanding? The first time, she saw only her own pain. The Buddha gave her a task that put her among other grieving families. Meeting them, she saw that sorrow was everywhere. His method changed her view from “my loss” to “human loss”.

5. Do you agree that she was “selfish in her grief”? Tip: this is an opinion question. State your view, then support it with the text. Selfishness usually means thinking only of oneself. Kisa Gotami was not selfish by nature. But her grief made her see only her own loss. She herself used the word after she saw the truth. So yes, in that moment, her grief had narrowed her view.

Thinking about Language, Speaking and Writing

Language: old words in modern English

Language: the semicolon sentence

The book asks you to split one sentence into three and compare rhythm. Here is a plain version. No one born can avoid dying. After old age comes death. That is the nature of living beings.

The original sentence, with semicolons, reads better. Each clause builds on the last, like steps. The short final clause lands like a closing bell. Three separate sentences feel choppy and lose that pull.

Speaking: compare three texts on grief

The book gives two modern texts to compare with the sermon. Here is a quick side-by-side.

Discussion angle: the Buddha teaches acceptance. The modern texts add that it is fine to feel anger and to grieve in your own way. Both agree that people should not face loss alone.

Writing: three-paragraph guide

Pick one topic from the book. Use this plan for any of them.

• Paragraph 1: state your idea in two lines.
• Paragraph 2: give one example from the chapter or from life.
• Paragraph 3: say what it means for you.

Helping each other through difficult times fits this chapter best. Use Etzioni’s point about helping one another and the villagers’ pity.

📌 Share this with a classmate who is stuck on the answers above.

10 MCQs with Answers

1. Under which tree did the Buddha sit to find enlightenment? a) Banyan b) Peepal c) Neem d) Mango Answer: b) Peepal

2. After how many days did enlightenment come? a) Three b) Five c) Seven d) Ten Answer: c) Seven

3. Where did the Buddha preach his first sermon? a) Lumbini b) Gaya c) Benares d) Delhi Answer: c) Benares

4. What did Kisa Gotami ask her neighbours for at first? a) Food b) Medicine c) Money d) Shelter Answer: b) Medicine

5. Who told Kisa Gotami about the Buddha? a) A monk b) Her husband c) A man she met d) A physician Answer: c) A man she met

6. What did the Buddha ask Kisa Gotami to bring? a) A herb b) Water from the Ganges c) A handful of mustard seed d) Rice Answer: c) A handful of mustard seed

7. What did Kisa Gotami watch while sitting by the roadside? a) Stars b) Lights of the city flickering c) Boats on the river d) Birds Answer: b) Lights of the city flickering

8. Which two pictures does the Buddha use for life? a) River and sea b) Ripe fruit and earthen pot c) Sun and moon d) Seed and tree Answer: b) Ripe fruit and earthen pot

9. What must a person “draw out” to find peace? a) A thorn b) A sword c) The arrow of lamentation d) A veil Answer: c) The arrow of lamentation

10. In the text, “repaired” means: a) mended b) went to c) returned d) waited Answer: b) went to

📌 Score 8 or more? You are exam-ready on the facts. Below 8? Re-read the summary.

Class 10 English Chapter 8 Notes: Quick Revision

Read this in two minutes.

• The Buddha (563–483 B.C.) began life as Prince Siddhartha Gautama.
• Four sights changed him: a sick man, an aged man, a funeral, a begging monk.
• He wandered seven years. He was enlightened under a peepal tree after seven days.
• The tree became the Bodhi Tree. He became the Buddha, the Awakened One.
• His first sermon was at Benares, on the Ganges.
• Kisa Gotami’s only son died. She begged for medicine.
• The Buddha asked for mustard seed from a house with no death.
• She found none. Every house had lost someone.
• By the roadside, she saw life as flickering lights.
• She called her grief selfish. She learned death is common to all.
• The Buddha’s images: ripe fruit, clay pot, ox led to slaughter.
• His advice: draw out the arrow of grief to find peace.
• Source: Betty Renshaw, Values and Voices (1975).

Memory trick: “Two rounds of doors, one row of lights.” Round one of doors: medicine, fails. Round two of doors: seed, fails. One row of lights: she finally understands.

The one-line answer to keep: Grief is real, but it is shared, and accepting that shared fate brings peace.

Board-Style Practice Questions

These follow the style of CBSE literature questions. Check the latest sample paper on the CBSE Academic site for current marks and word limits.

Short answer

Q1. Why did the neighbours say Kisa Gotami had lost her senses? Points: her son was dead; she carried the body; she asked for medicine; that made no sense to them.

Q2. Name the four sights that changed Prince Siddhartha. Points: a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession, a monk begging for alms.

Q3. Why was the mustard seed condition clever? Points: seed was easy to get; the condition was impossible; visiting homes would show her universal loss.

Q4. What does “arrow of lamentation” mean? Points: grief and complaint that keep hurting; pulling it out means accepting loss.

Extract-based

Read the line: “How selfish am I in my grief!” a) Who says this, and where is she? (Kisa Gotami, at the roadside.) b) What has she just seen? (City lights flickering and going out.) c) What does she realise? (That death is common to all and she had ignored this.)

Long answer

Q5. How did the Buddha change Kisa Gotami’s understanding of death? Answer plan: (1) her first reaction, refusal, door to door; (2) the Buddha’s task and condition; (3) the second round and what people said; (4) the roadside insight; (5) closing line on teaching by experience.

Q6. Value-based: “Shared grief is easier to bear.” Link this to the chapter. Answer plan: (1) Kisa Gotami’s grief eased when she saw others’ loss; (2) the villagers’ pity; (3) Etzioni’s family supporting each other; (4) your own example.

What Is The Sermon at Benares About?

The Sermon at Benares is Gautama Buddha’s first sermon, told through the story of Kisa Gotami. She loses her only son and begs for medicine. The Buddha asks her for mustard seed from a house where no one has died. She finds no such house and learns that death comes to all. The Buddha then teaches that grief cannot save the dead, and peace comes from acceptance.

FAQs

1. What is the summary of The Sermon at Benares? The Sermon at Benares tells how Kisa Gotami, whose only son has died, asks the Buddha for medicine. He sends her to find mustard seed from a house untouched by death. She finds none. She realises death is common to all, and the Buddha then explains how to overcome grief.

2. Why did the Buddha ask Kisa Gotami for mustard seed? The seed was a test that would teach her without arguing. The Buddha knew every house had lost someone. By visiting them, Kisa Gotami would see that her loss was shared. He let her discover the truth herself, which made the lesson stronger than any speech.

3. What is the main message of The Sermon at Benares? Death comes to everyone, rich or poor, wise or foolish. Weeping cannot save the dead and only adds to our pain. The Buddha says a person who wants peace must pull out the arrow of grief, accept life’s terms, and stop being lost in selfish sorrow.

4. Why does Kisa Gotami call herself selfish in her grief? She had thought only of her own loss, as if she alone suffered. Her search showed her that every family mourns someone. Calling herself selfish means she saw that she had ignored this shared pain. The word signals insight, not blame.

5. Which chapter is The Sermon at Benares in Class 10 First Flight? In the 2026-27 NCERT reprint of First Flight, The Sermon at Benares is Chapter 8. Some older editions and websites list it under a different number, such as 9 or 10. The lesson itself and its textbook questions match.

📌 Want more like this? See the links at the end for the next chapter and the full subject index.

Conclusion

To sum up, The Sermon at Benares teaches one hard truth with great gentleness. Everyone loses someone. Grief is natural, but clinging to it only deepens pain.

Kisa Gotami’s journey from “give me medicine” to “how selfish am I in my grief” is the heart of the lesson. Keep that arc in mind, and most questions become easy. These Class 10 English Chapter 8 notes give you the story, the answers and the revision tools to do that well.

For the original text, read the chapter on the NCERT website

More Notes

• ⬅️ Previous: Class 10 English Chapter 6 PDF Notes – Mijbil the Otter
• ⬅️ Previous: Class 10 English Chapter 7 PDF Notes Madam Rides the Bus
• 📚 All notes: Class 10 English First Flight Notes

About the Author

Nextoper Editorial Team. We write free CBSE study notes for Classes 9–12. This page was checked line by line against the NCERT First Flight 2026-27 reprint.