True DhammaLibrary · Community
SN 1.50PTS (1st ed) SN 1.351 min read

With Ghaṭīkāra

Ghaṭīkārasutta

Ghaṭīkāra, a disciple of the former Buddha Kassapa, comes to the Buddha and speaks of his past life, and of the attainments of seven friends.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 1.50Linked Discourses 1.50
  • 0.25. Ādittavagga5. On Fire

0.3GhaṭīkārasuttaWith Ghaṭīkāra

1.1“Avihaṁ upapannāse,“Seven mendicants reborn in Aviha11.2vimuttā satta bhikkhavo;have been freed.1.3Rāgadosaparikkhīṇā,With the complete ending of greed and hate,1.4tiṇṇā loke visattikan”ti.they’ve crossed over clinging to the world.”

2.1“Ke ca te ataruṁ paṅkaṁ,“Who are those who’ve crossed the bog,2.2maccudheyyaṁ suduttaraṁ;Death’s dominion so hard to pass?2.3Ke hitvā mānusaṁ dehaṁ,Who, after leaving behind the human body,22.4dibbayogaṁ upaccagun”ti.have risen above celestial yokes?”

3.1“Upako palagaṇḍo ca,“Upaka and Palagaṇḍa,33.2pukkusāti ca te tayo;and Pukkusāti, these three;43.3Bhaddiyo khaṇḍadevo ca,Bhaddiya and Bhaddadeva,53.4bāhuraggi ca siṅgiyo;and Bāhudanti and Piṅgiya.63.5Te hitvā mānusaṁ dehaṁ,They, after leaving behind the human body,3.6dibbayogaṁ upaccagun”ti.have risen above celestial yokes.”

4.1“Kusalī bhāsasī tesaṁ,“You speak well of them,4.2mārapāsappahāyinaṁ;who have let go the snares of Māra.4.3Kassa te dhammamaññāya,Whose teaching did they understand4.4acchiduṁ bhavabandhanan”ti.to cut the bonds of rebirth?”

5.1“Na aññatra bhagavatā,“None other than the Blessed One!5.2nāññatra tava sāsanā;None other than your instruction!5.3Yassa te dhammamaññāya,It was your teaching that they understood5.4acchiduṁ bhavabandhanaṁ.to cut the bonds of rebirth.

6.1Yattha nāmañca rūpañca,Where name and form6.2asesaṁ uparujjhati;cease with no residue left behind;6.3Taṁ te dhammaṁ idhaññāya,understanding this teaching,6.4acchiduṁ bhavabandhanan”ti.they cut the bonds of rebirth.”

7.1“Gambhīraṁ bhāsasī vācaṁ,“The words you say are deep,7.2dubbijānaṁ sudubbudhaṁ;hard to understand, so very hard to wake up to.7.3Kassa tvaṁ dhammamaññāya,Whose teaching did you understand7.4vācaṁ bhāsasi īdisan”ti.that you can say such things?”

8.1“Kumbhakāro pure āsiṁ,“In the past I was a potter78.2vekaḷiṅge ghaṭīkaro;in Vebhaliṅga named Ghaṭīkāra.8.3Mātāpettibharo āsiṁ,I took care of my parents8.4kassapassa upāsako.as a lay follower of Buddha Kassapa.

9.1Virato methunā dhammā,I refrained from sexual intercourse,9.2brahmacārī nirāmiso;I was chaste, spiritual.9.3Ahuvā te sagāmeyyo,We lived in the same village;9.4ahuvā te pure sakhā.in the past I was your comrade.

10.1Sohamete pajānāmi,I am the one who understands10.2vimutte satta bhikkhavo;that these seven mendicants have been freed.10.3Rāgadosaparikkhīṇe,With the complete ending of greed and hate,10.4tiṇṇe loke visattikan”ti.they’ve crossed over clinging to the world.”

11.1“Evametaṁ tadā āsi,“That’s exactly how it was,11.2yathā bhāsasi bhaggava;just as you say, Bhaggava.811.3Kumbhakāro pure āsi,In the past you were a potter11.4vekaḷiṅge ghaṭīkaro;in Vebhaliṅga named Ghaṭīkāra.11.5Mātāpettibharo āsi,You took care of your parents11.6kassapassa upāsako.as a lay follower of Buddha Kassapa.

12.1Virato methunā dhammā,You refrained from sexual intercourse,12.2brahmacārī nirāmiso;you were chaste, spiritual.12.3Ahuvā me sagāmeyyo,We lived in the same village;12.4ahuvā me pure sakhā”ti.in the past you were my comrade.”

13.1“Evametaṁ purāṇānaṁ,That’s how it was913.2sahāyānaṁ ahu saṅgamo;when those friends of old met again.13.3Ubhinnaṁ bhāvitattānaṁ,Both of them were evolved,13.4sarīrantimadhārinan”ti.bearing their final body.10

13.5Ādittavaggo pañcamo.

14.0Tassuddānaṁ

14.1Ādittaṁ kiṁdadaṁ annaṁ,14.2ekamūlaanomiyaṁ;14.3Accharāvanaropajetaṁ,14.4maccharena ghaṭīkaroti.

Translator’s notes

  1. This discourse, with more background, is also at SN 2.24.

    Aviha is one of the realms in which non-returners are born. The speaker is announcing that these seven have become perfected ones in that realm.

    ↩ sn1.50:1.1

  2. I follow Bodhi in using the BJT readings, with variants in notes.

    ↩ sn1.50:2.3

  3. An Ājīvaka ascetic named Upaka met the Buddha shortly after his awakening, but was unconvinced (MN 26:25.1); the commentary says that this was he. Another Upaka, a layman, encounters the Buddha at AN 4.188.

    Palagaṇḍa means “mason”, but no one of that name is known.

    ↩ sn1.50:3.1

  4. The story of Pukkusāti is told in MN 140.

    ↩ sn1.50:3.2

  5. Several mendicants named Bhaddiya are known, but they are arahants so it does not fit. A Licchavī layman of the same name appears in AN 4.193, but there is no indication he went forth.

    Bhaddadeva (khaṇḍadeva) is otherwise unknown.

    ↩ sn1.50:3.3

  6. Bāhudanti (bāhuraggi, bahunandi) is also a name of Indra, the “son of Bahudantī”.

    Piṅgiya (siṅgiya) is probably the brahmin ascetic who features in Snp 5.17.

    ↩ sn1.50:3.4

  7. This story is told in detail in MN 81.

    ↩ sn1.50:8.1

  8. The Buddha calls him by his clan name, as the Buddha Kassapa does at MN 81:19.3.

    ↩ sn1.50:11.2

  9. The commentary says that this verse was added by the redactors.

    ↩ sn1.50:13.1

  10. This confirms that Ghaṭīkāra, too, had realized arahantship in his final birth in Aviha. This explains how he was able to know that the others were arahants.

    ↩ sn1.50:13.4