Line 3 of
Hexagram 29: 坎
“Gorge” — King Wen #29 · 六三
Line 3 六三
來之坎坎，險且枕，入于坎窞，勿用。
The third SIX, divided, shows its subject, whether he comes or goes ( =descends or ascends), confronted by a defile. All is peril to him and unrest. (His endeavours) will lead him into the cavern of the pit. There should be no action (in such a case).
— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1882 (public domain)
The Changed Hexagram 之卦
Line 3 changing turns hexagram 29 into䷯ Hexagram 48: 井 — “Welling”Read line 3 of hexagram 48 →Reading This Line
In the received Zhouyi text, line 3 of hexagram 29 is a yielding (yin) line occupying the third line, at the threshold between the lower and upper trigrams — in the received text a classic place of unease. The classical line statement — 來之坎坎，險且枕，入于坎窞，勿用。 — is what commentators from the Ten Wings onward have read as the figure's own commentary on this one position. James Legge's 1882 rendering, quoted above, keeps the imagery of the original: each line of a hexagram is read as a stage of the same picture, and this page collects the source text for that stage. If you treat the line as moving in the traditional way, flipping it alone produces the changed hexagram linked above; readers have long used that pair of figures to compare a situation as given with the same situation one line different. As always with classical divination texts, this is presented for cultural and reference interest — the text itself carries no prediction about any modern reader's situation.
Questions About Hexagram 29 Line 3
What does line 3 of hexagram 29 say?
The received text reads: 來之坎坎，險且枕，入于坎窞，勿用。 In James Legge's 1882 translation: “The third SIX, divided, shows its subject, whether he comes or goes ( =descends or ascends), confronted by a defile. All is peril to him and unrest. (His endeavours) will lead him into the cavern of the pit. There should be no action (in such a case).”
Which hexagram does line 3 change hexagram 29 into?
Changing only line 3 of hexagram 29 (坎, “Gorge”) gives hexagram 48 — 井 (jǐng, “Welling”). This is the classical way a changed hexagram is derived from moving lines.
Are line pages available for every hexagram?
Yes. Every one of the 64 hexagrams now has six line pages — one per line from the bottom line up to the top line — each with the classical Chinese text, Legge's 1882 translation, and the changed hexagram that line produces when it moves.
1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1882), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text. · For reflection and reference — not financial, medical, or life advice.