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SN 3.15PTS (1st ed) SN 1.831 min read

Battle (2nd)

Dutiyasaṅgāmasutta

In a battle subsequent to SN 3.14, Pasenadi defeats Ajātasattu and takes him prisoner. Acting compassionately, he confiscates Ajātasattu’s military assets but releases him alive.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 3.15Linked Discourses 3.15
  • 0.22. Dutiyavagga2. Childless

0.3DutiyasaṅgāmasuttaBattle (2nd)

1.1Atha kho rājā māgadho ajātasattu vedehiputto caturaṅginiṁ senaṁ sannayhitvā rājānaṁ pasenadiṁ kosalaṁ abbhuyyāsi yena kāsi.Then King Ajātasattu of Magadha, son of the princess of Videha, mobilized an army of four divisions and marched to Kāsi to attack King Pasenadi of Kosala.1.2Assosi kho rājā pasenadi kosalo:When King Pasenadi heard of this,1.3“rājā kira māgadho ajātasattu vedehiputto caturaṅginiṁ senaṁ sannayhitvā mamaṁ abbhuyyāto yena kāsī”ti.1.4Atha kho rājā pasenadi kosalo caturaṅginiṁ senaṁ sannayhitvā rājānaṁ māgadhaṁ ajātasattuṁ vedehiputtaṁ paccuyyāsi yena kāsi.he mobilized an army of four divisions and marched to Kāsi to defend it against Ajātasattu.1.5Atha kho rājā ca māgadho ajātasattu vedehiputto rājā ca pasenadi kosalo saṅgāmesuṁ.Then the two kings met in battle.1.6Tasmiṁ kho pana saṅgāme rājā pasenadi kosalo rājānaṁ māgadhaṁ ajātasattuṁ vedehiputtaṁ parājesi, jīvaggāhañca naṁ aggahesi.And in that battle Pasenadi defeated Ajātasattu and captured him alive.

1.7Atha kho rañño pasenadissa kosalassa etadahosi:Then King Pasenadi thought,1.8“kiñcāpi kho myāyaṁ rājā māgadho ajātasattu vedehiputto adubbhantassa dubbhati, atha ca pana me bhāgineyyo hoti.“Even though I’ve never betrayed this King Ajātasattu, he betrayed me. Still, he is my nephew.11.9Yannūnāhaṁ rañño māgadhassa ajātasattuno vedehiputtassa sabbaṁ hatthikāyaṁ pariyādiyitvā sabbaṁ assakāyaṁ pariyādiyitvā sabbaṁ rathakāyaṁ pariyādiyitvā sabbaṁ pattikāyaṁ pariyādiyitvā jīvantameva naṁ osajjeyyan”ti.Now that I’ve vanquished all of Ajātasattu’s elephant troops, cavalry, chariots, and infantry, why don’t I let him loose with just his life?”

2.1Atha kho rājā pasenadi kosalo rañño māgadhassa ajātasattuno vedehiputtassa sabbaṁ hatthikāyaṁ pariyādiyitvā sabbaṁ assakāyaṁ pariyādiyitvā sabbaṁ rathakāyaṁ pariyādiyitvā sabbaṁ pattikāyaṁ pariyādiyitvā jīvantameva naṁ osajji.And that’s what he did.

3.1Atha kho sambahulā bhikkhū pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya sāvatthiṁ piṇḍāya pavisiṁsu.Then several mendicants …3.2Sāvatthiyaṁ piṇḍāya caritvā pacchābhattaṁ piṇḍapātapaṭikkantā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkamiṁsu; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdiṁsu. Ekamantaṁ nisinnā kho te bhikkhū bhagavantaṁ etadavocuṁ:told the Buddha what had happened.

4.1“Idha, bhante, rājā māgadho ajātasattu vedehiputto caturaṅginiṁ senaṁ sannayhitvā rājānaṁ pasenadiṁ kosalaṁ abbhuyyāsi yena kāsi.4.2Assosi kho, bhante, rājā pasenadi kosalo:4.3‘rājā kira māgadho ajātasattu vedehiputto caturaṅginiṁ senaṁ sannayhitvā mamaṁ abbhuyyāto yena kāsī’ti.4.4Atha kho, bhante, rājā pasenadi kosalo caturaṅginiṁ senaṁ sannayhitvā rājānaṁ māgadhaṁ ajātasattuṁ vedehiputtaṁ paccuyyāsi yena kāsi.4.5Atha kho, bhante, rājā ca māgadho ajātasattu vedehiputto rājā ca pasenadi kosalo saṅgāmesuṁ.4.6Tasmiṁ kho pana, bhante, saṅgāme rājā pasenadi kosalo rājānaṁ māgadhaṁ ajātasattuṁ vedehiputtaṁ parājesi, jīvaggāhañca naṁ aggahesi.4.7Atha kho, bhante, rañño pasenadissa kosalassa etadahosi:4.8‘kiñcāpi kho myāyaṁ rājā māgadho ajātasattu vedehiputto adubbhantassa dubbhati, atha ca pana me bhāgineyyo hoti.4.9Yannūnāhaṁ rañño māgadhassa ajātasattuno vedehiputtassa sabbaṁ hatthikāyaṁ pariyādiyitvā sabbaṁ assakāyaṁ sabbaṁ rathakāyaṁ sabbaṁ pattikāyaṁ pariyādiyitvā jīvantameva naṁ osajjeyyan’”ti.

5.1“Atha kho, bhante, rājā pasenadi kosalo rañño māgadhassa ajātasattuno vedehiputtassa sabbaṁ hatthikāyaṁ pariyādiyitvā sabbaṁ assakāyaṁ pariyādiyitvā sabbaṁ rathakāyaṁ pariyādiyitvā sabbaṁ pattikāyaṁ pariyādiyitvā jīvantameva naṁ osajjī”ti.

6.1Atha kho bhagavā etamatthaṁ viditvā tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imā gāthāyo abhāsi:Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha recited these verses:

7.1“Vilumpateva puriso,“A man goes on plundering7.2yāvassa upakappati;as long as it serves his ends.7.3Yadā caññe vilumpanti,But as soon as others plunder him,7.4so vilutto viluppati.the plunderer is plundered.2

8.1Ṭhānañhi maññati bālo,For the fool thinks they’re on solid ground,38.2yāva pāpaṁ na paccati;so long as their wickedness has not ripened.8.3Yadā ca paccati pāpaṁ,But as soon as that wickedness ripens,8.4atha dukkhaṁ nigacchati.they fall into suffering.

9.1Hantā labhati hantāraṁ,A killer creates a killer;49.2jetāraṁ labhate jayaṁ;a conqueror creates a conqueror;9.3Akkosako ca akkosaṁ,an abuser creates abuse,9.4rosetārañca rosako;and a bully creates a bully.9.5Atha kammavivaṭṭena,And so as deeds unfold9.6so vilutto viluppatī”ti.the plunderer is plundered.”

Translator’s notes

  1. The background is explained in Ja 239. Pasenadi’s father, Mahākosala, had forged an alliance by marrying his daughter to Bimbisāra, endowing her with the revenues of a Kāsi village. Ajātasattu gained the throne by murdering his father, and the queen—Pasenadi’s sister Kosaladevī—died of grief soon after. So when he claimed the village, Pasenadi was outraged at the thought of his father’s gift going to such a man. He took the village, and the series of back-and-forth battles began.

    ↩ sn3.15:1.8

  2. See Bodhi’s Connected Discourses, note 263 for this line.

    ↩ sn3.15:7.4

  3. The idiom here is tricky. Bodhi has, “The fool thinks fortune is on his side”. The commentary glosses ṭhāna with kāraṇa (“reason”). I think ṭhāna (“solid ground”) here sets up the “fall” at the end of the verse.

    ↩ sn3.15:8.1

  4. The Buddha speaks of the tendency for evil conduct to be passed down through generations, a fate that was to befall Ajātasattu himself.

    ↩ sn3.15:9.1