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Saṁyutta Nikāya — The Linked Discourses

Vol 1:
Verses
SN1-11
Vol 2:
Causation
SN12-21
Vol 3:
Aggregates
SN22-34
Vol 4:
Sense Bases
SN35-44
Vol 5:
Great Book
SN45-56

2. Devaputtasaṁyutta: On Gods

III. Various Sectarians — SN2.24: With Ghaṭikāra

1Standing to one side, the god Ghaṭikāra recited this verse in the Buddha’s presence:

2“Seven mendicants reborn in Aviha
have been freed.
With the complete ending of greed and hate,
they’ve crossed over clinging to the world.”

3“Who are those who’ve crossed the bog,
Death’s domain so hard to pass?
Who, after leaving behind the human body,
have risen above celestial yokes?”

4“Upaka and Palagaṇḍa,
and Pukkusāti, these three;
Bhaddiya and Bhaddadeva,
and Bāhudantī and Piṅgiya.
They, after leaving behind the human body,
have risen above celestial yokes.”

5“You speak well of them,
who have let go the snares of Māra.
Whose teaching did they understand
to cut the bonds of rebirth?”

6“None other than the Blessed One!
None other than your instruction!
It was your teaching that they understood
to cut the bonds of rebirth.

7Where name and form
cease with nothing left over;
understanding this teaching,
they cut the bonds of rebirth.”

8“The words you say are deep,
hard to understand, so very hard to wake up to.
Whose teaching did you understand
to be able to say such things?”

9“In the past I was a potter
in Vebhaliṅga called Ghaṭikāra.
I took care of my parents
as a lay follower of Buddha Kassapa.

10I refrained from sexual intercourse,
I was celibate, spiritual.
We lived in the same village;
in the past I was your friend.

11I am the one who understands
that these seven mendicants have been freed.
With the complete ending of greed and hate,
they’ve crossed over clinging to the world.”

12“That’s exactly how it was,
just as you say, Bhaggava.
In the past you were a potter
in Vebhaliṅga called Ghaṭikāra.

13You took care of your parents
as a lay follower of Buddha Kassapa.
You refrained from sexual intercourse,
you were celibate, spiritual.
We lived in the same village;
in the past you were my friend.”

14“That’s how it was
when those friends of old met again.
Both of them have developed themselves,
and bear their final body.”

1Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho ghaṭīkāro devaputto bhagavato santike imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi: 

2"Avihaṁ upapannāse,
vimuttā satta bhikkhavo;
Rāgadosaparikkhīṇā,
tiṇṇā loke visattikan"ti.

3"Ke ca te ataruṁ paṅkaṁ,
maccudheyyaṁ suduttaraṁ;
Ke hitvā mānusaṁ dehaṁ,
dibbayogaṁ upaccagun"ti.

4"Upako palagaṇḍo ca,
pukkusāti ca te tayo;
Bhaddiyo khaṇḍadevo ca,
bāhuraggi ca saṅgiyo;
Te hitvā mānusaṁ dehaṁ,
dibbayogaṁ upaccagun"ti.

5"Kusalī bhāsasī tesaṁ,
mārapāsappahāyinaṁ;
Kassa te dhammamaññāya,
acchiduṁ bhavabandhanan"ti.

6"Na aññatra bhagavatā,
nāññatra tava sāsanā;
Yassa te dhammamaññāya,
acchiduṁ bhavabandhanaṁ.

7Yattha nāmañca rūpañca,
asesaṁ uparujjhati;
Taṁ te dhammaṁ idhaññāya,
acchiduṁ bhavabandhanan"ti.

8"Gambhīraṁ bhāsasī vācaṁ,
dubbijānaṁ sudubbudhaṁ;
Kassa tvaṁ dhammamaññāya,
vācaṁ bhāsasi īdisan"ti.

9"Kumbhakāro pure āsiṁ,
vekaḷiṅge ghaṭīkaro;
Mātāpettibharo āsiṁ,
kassapassa upāsako.

10Virato methunā dhammā,
brahmacārī nirāmiso;
Ahuvā te sagāmeyyo,
ahuvā te pure sakhā.

11Sohamete pajānāmi,
vimutte satta bhikkhavo;
Rāgadosaparikkhīṇe,
tiṇṇe loke visattikan"ti.

12"Evametaṁ tadā āsi,
yathā bhāsasi bhaggava;
Kumbhakāro pure āsi,
vekaḷiṅge ghaṭīkaro.

13Mātāpettibharo āsi,
kassapassa upāsako;
Virato methunā dhammā,
brahmacārī nirāmiso;
Ahuvā me sagāmeyyo,
ahuvā me pure sakhā"ti.

14"Evametaṁ purāṇānaṁ,
sahāyānaṁ ahu saṅgamo;
Ubhinnaṁ bhāvitattānaṁ,
sarīrantimadhārinan"ti.