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AN 3.38PTS AN 1.1431 min read

The Four Great Kings (2nd)

Dutiyacatumahārājasutta

One should aspire to be like an awakened mendicant, not like Sakka.

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Aṅguttara Nikāya 3.38Numbered Discourses 3.38
  • 0.24. Devadūtavagga4. Messengers of the Gods

0.3DutiyacatumahārājasuttaThe Four Great Kings (2nd)

1.1“Bhūtapubbaṁ, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo deve tāvatiṁse anunayamāno tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:“Once upon a time, mendicants, Sakka, lord of gods, guiding the gods of the thirty-three, spoke this verse:

2.1‘Cātuddasiṁ pañcadasiṁ,‘Whoever wants to be like me2.2yā ca pakkhassa aṭṭhamī;would observe the sabbath2.3Pāṭihāriyapakkhañca,complete in all eight factors,2.4aṭṭhaṅgasusamāgataṁ;on the fourteenth and the fifteenth days,2.5Uposathaṁ upavaseyya,and the eighth day of the fortnight,2.6yopissa mādiso naro’ti.as well as on the fortnightly special displays.’

3.1Sā kho panesā, bhikkhave, sakkena devānamindena gāthā duggītā na sugītā dubbhāsitā na subhāsitā.But that verse was poorly sung by Sakka, lord of gods, not well sung; poorly spoken, not well spoken.3.2Taṁ kissa hetu?Why is that?3.3Sakko hi, bhikkhave, devānamindo aparimutto jātiyā jarāya maraṇena sokehi paridevehi dukkhehi domanassehi upāyāsehi, ‘aparimutto dukkhasmā’ti vadāmi.Because Sakka, lord of gods, is not exempt from rebirth, old age, and death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. He is not exempt from suffering, I say.

4.1Yo ca kho so, bhikkhave, bhikkhu arahaṁ khīṇāsavo vusitavā katakaraṇīyo ohitabhāro anuppattasadattho parikkhīṇabhavasaṁyojano sammadaññāvimutto, tassa kho etaṁ, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno kallaṁ vacanāya:But for a mendicant who is perfected—with defilements ended, who has completed the spiritual journey, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, achieved their heart’s goal, utterly ended the fetter of continued existence, and is rightly freed through enlightenment—it is appropriate to say:

5.1‘Cātuddasiṁ pañcadasiṁ,‘Whoever wants to be like me5.2yā ca pakkhassa aṭṭhamī;would observe the sabbath,5.3Pāṭihāriyapakkhañca,complete in all eight factors,5.4aṭṭhaṅgasusamāgataṁ;on the fourteenth and the fifteenth days,5.5Uposathaṁ upavaseyya,and the eighth day of the fortnight,5.6yopissa mādiso naro’ti.as well as on the fortnightly special displays.’

6.1PTS 1.145Taṁ kissa hetu?Why is that?6.2So hi, bhikkhave, bhikkhu parimutto jātiyā jarāya maraṇena sokehi paridevehi dukkhehi domanassehi upāyāsehi, ‘parimutto dukkhasmā’ti vadāmī”ti.Because that mendicant is exempt from rebirth, old age, and death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. He is exempt from suffering, I say.”

6.3Aṭṭhamaṁ.