1At Sāvatthī.

Then the nun Somā robed up in the morning and, taking her bowl and robe, entered Sāvatthī for alms. She wandered for alms in Sāvatthī. After the meal, on her return from alms-round, she went to the Dark Forest, plunged deep into it, and sat at the root of a tree for the day’s meditation.

Then Māra the Wicked, wanting to make the nun Somā feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, wanting to make her fall away from immersion, went up to her and addressed her in verse:

2“That state’s very challenging;
it’s for the sages to attain.
It’s not possible for a woman,
with her two-fingered wisdom.”

3Then the nun Somā thought: “Who’s speaking this verse, a human or a non-human?”

Then she thought: “This is Māra the Wicked, wanting to make me feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, wanting to make me fall away from immersion!”

Then Somā, knowing that this was Māra the Wicked, replied to him in verse:

4“What difference does womanhood make
when the mind is serene,
and knowledge is present
as you rightly discern the Dhamma.

5Surely someone who might think:
‘I am woman’, or ‘I am man’,
or ‘I am’ anything at all,
is fit for Māra to address.”

6Then Māra the Wicked, thinking: “The nun Somā knows me!” miserable and sad, vanished right there.

1Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

Atha kho somā bhikkhunī pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya sāvatthiṁ piṇḍāya pāvisi. Sāvatthiyaṁ piṇḍāya caritvā pacchābhattaṁ piṇḍapātapaṭikkantā yena andhavanaṁ tenupasaṅkami divāvihārāya. Andhavanaṁ ajjhogāhetvā aññatarasmiṁ rukkhamūle divāvihāraṁ nisīdi.

Atha kho māro pāpimā somāya bhikkhuniyā bhayaṁ chambhitattaṁ lomahaṁsaṁ uppādetukāmo samādhimhā cāvetukāmo yena somā bhikkhunī tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā somaṁ bhikkhuniṁ gāthāya ajjhabhāsi: 

2"Yaṁ taṁ isīhi pattabbaṁ,
ṭhānaṁ durabhisambhavaṁ;
Na taṁ dvaṅgulapaññāya,
sakkā pappotumitthiyā"ti.

3Atha kho somāya bhikkhuniyā etadahosi: "ko nu khvāyaṁ manusso vā amanusso vā gāthaṁ bhāsatī"ti?

Atha kho somāya bhikkhuniyā etadahosi: "māro kho ayaṁ pāpimā mama bhayaṁ chambhitattaṁ lomahaṁsaṁ uppādetukāmo samādhimhā cāvetukāmo gāthaṁ bhāsatī"ti.

Atha kho somā bhikkhunī "māro ayaṁ pāpimā" iti viditvā māraṁ pāpimantaṁ gāthāhi paccabhāsi: 

4"Itthibhāvo kiṁ kayirā,
cittamhi susamāhite;
Ñāṇamhi vattamānamhi,
sammā dhammaṁ vipassato.

5Yassa nūna siyā evaṁ,
Itthāhaṁ purisoti vā;
Kiñci vā pana aññasmi,
Taṁ māro vattumarahatī"ti.

6Atha kho māro pāpimā "jānāti maṁ somā bhikkhunī"ti dukkhī dummano tatthevantaradhāyīti.