1.1Atha kho milindassa rañño etadahosi—Then, it occurred to King Milinda,1.2“paṇḍito kho ayaṁ bhikkhu paṭibalo mayā saddhiṁ sallapituṁ, bahukāni ca me ṭhānāni pucchitabbāni bhavissanti, yāva apucchitāniyeva tāni ṭhānāni bhavissanti, atha sūriyo atthaṁ gamissati, yannūnāhaṁ sve antepure sallapeyyan”ti.“This wise bhikkhu is very competent to converse with me. There will be many matters to be asked, but there will be so many unasked and then the sun will set. Why don’t I converse with him in the inner palace tomorrow?”

2.1Atha kho rājā devamantiyaṁ etadavoca—Then the king said to Devamantiya,2.2“tena hi tvaṁ, devamantiya, bhadantassa āroceyyāsi ‘sve antepure raññā saddhiṁ sallāpo bhavissatī’”ti.“Well then, Devamantiya, announce this to the venerable one, ‘There will be conversation with the king in the inner palace tomorrow morning’.”2.3Idaṁ vatvā milindo rājā uṭṭhāyāsanā theraṁ nāgasenaṁ āpucchitvā rathaṁ abhirūhitvā “nāgaseno nāgaseno”ti sajjhāyaṁ karonto pakkāmi.After he said this, King Milinda rose from his seat, having received permission from the elder Nāgasena, mounted his chariot, and left, repeating to himself, “Nāgasena, Nāgasena!”

3.1Atha kho devamantiyo āyasmantaṁ nāgasenaṁ etadavoca—Then Devamantiya said to Venerable Nāgasena,3.2“rājā, bhante, milindo evamāha—“King Milinda said this, venerable sir,3.3‘sve antepure raññā saddhiṁ sallāpo bhavissatī’”ti.‘There will be conversation with the king in the inner palace tomorrow morning’.”3.4“Suṭṭhū”ti thero abbhānumodi.The elder approved, saying “It is well.”3.5Atha kho tassā rattiyā accayena devamantiyo ca anantakāyo ca maṅkuro ca sabbadinno ca yena milindo rājā tenupasaṅkamiṁsu, upasaṅkamitvā rājānaṁ milindaṁ etadavocuṁ—Then, in the early morning, Devamantiya, Anantakāya, Maṅkura, and Sabbadinna approached King Milinda, and said to him,3.6“āgacchatu, mahārāja, bhadanto nāgaseno”ti?“May the Venerable Nāgasena come?”3.7“Āma āgacchatū”ti.“Yes, he may come.”3.8“Kittakehi bhikkhūhi saddhiṁ āgacchatū”ti?“With how many bhikkhus may he come?”3.9“Yattake bhikkhū icchati, tattakehi bhikkhūhi saddhiṁ āgacchatū”ti.“He may come with as many bhikkhus as he likes.”

4.1Atha kho sabbadinno āha—Then Sabbadinna said,4.2“āgacchatu, mahārāja, dasahi bhikkhūhi saddhin”ti.“May he come with ten bhikkhus, your majesty?”4.3Dutiyampi kho rājā āha—For a second time, the king said,4.4“yattake bhikkhū icchati, tattakehi bhikkhūhi saddhiṁ āgacchatū”ti.“He may come with as many bhikkhus as he likes.”4.5Dutiyampi kho sabbadinno āha—For a second time, Sabbadinna said,4.6“āgacchatu, mahārāja, dasahi bhikkhūhi saddhin”ti.“May he come with ten bhikkhus, your majesty?”4.7Tatiyampi kho rājā āha—For a third time, the king said,4.8“yattake bhikkhū icchati, tattakehi bhikkhūhi saddhiṁ āgacchatū”ti.“He may come with as many bhikkhus as he likes.”4.9Tatiyampi kho sabbadinno āha—For a third time, Sabbadinna said,4.10“āgacchatu, mahārāja, dasahi bhikkhūhi saddhin”ti.“May he come with ten bhikkhus, your majesty?”4.11“Sabbo panāyaṁ sakkāro paṭiyādito, ahaṁ bhaṇāmi ‘yattake bhikkhū icchati, tattakehi bhikkhūhi saddhiṁ āgacchatū’ti.“All this hospitality has been prepared. I say, ‘He may come with as many bhikkhus as he likes.’4.12Ayaṁ bhaṇe sabbadinno aññathā bhaṇati, kiṁ nu mayaṁ nappaṭibalā bhikkhūnaṁ bhojanaṁ dātun”ti?I say this and Sabbadinna says otherwise! Are we not competent to give food to the bhikkhus?”4.13Evaṁ vutte, sabbadinno maṅku ahosi.When this was said, Sabbadinna was ashamed.

5.1Atha kho devamantiyo ca anantakāyo ca maṅkuro ca yenāyasmā nāgaseno tenupasaṅkamiṁsu, upasaṅkamitvā āyasmantaṁ nāgasenaṁ etadavocuṁ—Then, Devamantiya, Anantakāya, and Maṅkura, approached Venerable Nāgasena, and said to him,5.2“rājā, bhante, milindo evamāha—“King Milinda says,5.3‘yattake bhikkhū icchati, tattakehi bhikkhūhi saddhiṁ āgacchatū’”ti.‘You may come with as many bhikkhus as you like.’”5.4Atha kho āyasmā nāgaseno pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya asītiyā bhikkhusahassehi saddhiṁ sāgalaṁ pāvisi.Then, in the morning, Venerable Nāgasena arose, got dressed, took his bowl and robe, and entered Sāgala with eighty thousand bhikkhus.

6.1Atha kho anantakāyo āyasmantaṁ nāgasenaṁ nissāya gacchanto āyasmantaṁ nāgasenaṁ etadavoca—Now, Anantakāya walking alongside Venerable Nāgasena said to him,6.2“bhante nāgasena, yaṁ panetaṁ brūsi ‘nāgaseno’ti, katamo ettha nāgaseno”ti?“Venerable Nāgasena, that which you call ‘Nāgasena’, what here is Nāgasena?”6.3Thero āha—The elder said,6.4“ko panettha ‘nāgaseno’ti maññasī”ti?“Who do you think here is Nāgasena?”6.5“Yo so, bhante, abbhantare vāto jīvo pavisati ca nikkhamati ca, so ‘nāgaseno’ti maññāmī”ti.“The breath within, the life force, which goes in and comes out, that I consider ‘Nāgasena’.”6.6“Yadi paneso vāto nikkhamitvā nappaviseyya, pavisitvā na nikkhameyya, jīveyya nu kho so puriso”ti?“When, then, the breath goes out and does not come in, or it comes in and doesn’t go out, would that man live?”6.7“Na hi, bhante”ti.“Certainly not, venerable sir.”6.8“Ye panime saṅkhadhamakā saṅkhaṁ dhamenti, tesaṁ vāto puna pavisatī”ti?“Then, when those conch blowers sound the conch, does their breath re-enter?”6.9“Na hi, bhante”ti.“Certainly not, venerable sir.”6.10“Ye panime vaṁsadhamakā vaṁsaṁ dhamenti, tesaṁ vāto puna pavisatī”ti?“Then when those bamboo flute blowers sound the flute, does their breath re-enter?”6.11“Na hi, bhante”ti.“Certainly not, venerable sir.”6.12“Ye panime siṅgadhamakā siṅgaṁ dhamenti, tesaṁ vāto puna pavisatī”ti?“Then, when those horn blowers sound the horn, does their breath re-enter?”6.13“Na hi, bhante”ti.“Certainly not, venerable sir.”6.14“Atha kissa pana te na marantī”ti.“Why, then, do they not die because of that?”6.15“Nāhaṁ paṭibalo tayā vādinā saddhiṁ sallapituṁ, sādhu, bhante, atthaṁ jappehī”ti.“I am not competent to converse with you, a debater of the doctrine. It would be good, venerable sir, if you told me the meaning.”6.16“Neso jīvo, assāsapassāsā nāmete kāyasaṅkhārā”ti thero abhidhammakathaṁ kathesi.“It is not the life force, in-breathing and out-breathing are just bodily activities.” The elder gave a talk on Abhidhamma.6.17Atha anantakāyo upāsakattaṁ paṭivedesīti.Then, Anantakāya announced that he was a lay follower.

7.1Anantakāyapañho catuttho.Anantakāya’s Question fourth