SN 2.12PTS (1st ed) SN 1.521 min read

With Vishnu

Veṇḍusutta

The deity Veṇhu celebrates the joy of those who follow the Buddha’s teaching. The Buddha affirms that such will escape death. Veṇhu is the Pali spelling of Sanskrit Viṣṇu, and this marks a rare appearance of a god of this name in the early texts.

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

0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 2.12Linked Discourses 2.12
0.22. Anāthapiṇḍikavagga2. With Anāthapiṇḍika

0.3VeṇḍusuttaWith Vishnu

1.1Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho veṇḍu devaputto bhagavato santike imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:Standing to one side, the godling Vishnu spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:¹

2.1“Sukhitāva te manujā,“Happy are the men²2.2sugataṁ payirupāsiya;who pay homage to the Holy One!2.3Yuñjaṁ gotamasāsane,They apply themselves to Gotama’s instructions,2.4appamattā nu sikkhare”ti.diligently training.”
3.1“Ye me pavutte siṭṭhipade,“Those who practice absorption <j>in accord with the training”,3.2(veṇḍūti bhagavā)said the Buddha to Vishnu,3.3Anusikkhanti jhāyino;“in the way of teaching I’ve proclaimed,3.4Kāle te appamajjantā,diligent while there is still time;3.5Na maccuvasagā siyun”ti.they won’t fall under the sway of Death.”

Translator’s notes

Veṇhu (variant veṇḍu) is the Pali spelling of Sanskrit viṣṇu, who in Pali appears only here and at DN 20:14.1. He appears somewhat often in the Rig Veda, where he is an ally of Indra in his battle with the constrictor serpent (4.18.11, 6.20.2, 8.100.12). His name is explained as meaning “widespread” due to his role as the wide-stepping solar god who made three great strides over the earth, the midspace, and the heavens, opening up the broad expanse of the world. He also played a role in fertility (Rig Veda 7.36.9, 10.84.1). By the time of the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa he was identified with the sacrifice (eg. 1.1.2.13), and was said to be a dwarf, perhaps as the shrunken sun of dusk (1.2.5.5). In one passage he is mystically identified with Indra as Maghavan (Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 14.1.1.13).
Just as the previous chapter featured Indra under several names, the deities in the next few Suttas may also be names of Vishnu, although the identifications are weak.
↩ sn2.12:1.1
The common Pali terms manuja (“mankind”, “man”), manussa (“human”), and mānava (usually “(Vedic) student”, occasionally “son of man”) all have the same root sense, “child of Manu”. Vishnu himself was a child of Manu via his mother Ākūti, Manu’s daughter.
↩ sn2.12:2.1