Ekamūlasutta
A single verse in the form of a Dhamma riddle.
Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral
1.1“Ekamūlaṁ dvirāvaṭṭaṁ,“One the root, two the loops,11.2timalaṁ pañcapattharaṁ;three the stains, five the spreads,21.3Samuddaṁ dvādasāvaṭṭaṁ,and the ocean, the twelfth whirlpool:31.4pātālaṁ atarī isī”ti.such is the abyss crossed by the seer.”
The exact meaning of these items is open to interpretation. See Bodhi’s note for two readings; I offer a third.
Āvaṭṭa here might be read as “whirlpool”, “loop”, or “twist”.
Patthara is probably a “spread” of grass, such as was laid down in rituals.
If the ocean is counted as the last item, the total is twelve. Dvādasa can be an ordinal number.
I take the riddle as corresponding with the twelvefold “round” (vaṭṭa) of dependent origination. The “one root” is ignorance; the “two loops” are name-and-form with consciousness (DN 15:22.6); the “three stains” are ignorance, craving, and grasping; the “five spreads” are perhaps the five consequents starting with consciousness; and the “ocean” is transmigration itself.
