Pañcāvudhajātaka
“When no Attachment.”—This story was told by the Master while at Jetavana, about a Brother who had given up all earnest effort.
Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral
1.1PTS 1.275“Yo alīnena cittena,He whose heart is not stuck,11.2alīnamanaso naro;a man of intrepid mind,21.3Bhāveti kusalaṁ dhammaṁ,develops skillful qualities1.4yogakkhemassa pattiyā;for the sake of sanctuary from the yoke.1.5Pāpuṇe anupubbena,Gradually he would attain1.6sabbasaṁyojanakkhayan”ti.the ending of all fetters.
2.1Pañcāvudhajātakaṁ pañcamaṁ.
A prince is named “Five-Weapons” after a prophecy when he was born. The prophecy was fulfilled when, on returning from his studies in Takkasilā in Gandhāra, he encountered a ferocious native spirit (yakkha) in a forest and fought it with five weapons. Each attack only stuck him tighter to the monster’s shaggy coat. The monster, recognizing his courage, let him go.
The five weapons are the arrow (sara), sword (khagga), javelin (kaṇaya), hammer (muggara), and lance (kunta). But his real weapon is the vajira (“diamond” or “thunderbolt”), which is the weapon of knowledge.
The warrior gets “stuck” or “bound” (allīna) to his adversary, in what can be read as a metaphor for violence: one who lives by the sword is “bound” to the kamma of killing, becoming the same as those who they fight. The otherwise unrelated verse is linked to the story through the contrasting image of the mind that is “not bound” (alīna), a word that can also mean “intrepid, unwearying, brave”. In this verse and the next, the double meanings are intended by the poet, so I use the different meanings in each line.
