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SN 3.16PTS (1st ed) SN 1.861 min read

A Daughter

Mallikāsutta

Pasenadi is disappointed to hear that Queen Mallikā has given birth to a daughter. But the Buddha consoles him, saying a woman may turn out better than a man.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 3.16Linked Discourses 3.16
  • 0.22. Dutiyavagga2. Childless

0.3MallikāsuttaA Daughter

1.1Sāvatthinidānaṁ.At Sāvatthī.

1.2Atha kho rājā pasenadi kosalo yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi.Then King Pasenadi of Kosala went up to the Buddha, bowed, and sat down to one side.1.3Atha kho aññataro puriso yena rājā pasenadi kosalo tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā rañño pasenadissa kosalassa upakaṇṇake ārocesi:Then a man went up to the king and whispered in his ear,1.4“mallikā, deva, devī dhītaraṁ vijātā”ti.“Your Majesty, Queen Mallikā has given birth to a daughter.”1.5Evaṁ vutte, rājā pasenadi kosalo anattamano ahosi.When this was said, King Pasenadi was disappointed.1

2.1Atha kho bhagavā rājānaṁ pasenadiṁ kosalaṁ anattamanataṁ viditvā tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imā gāthāyo abhāsi:Then, knowing that King Pasenadi was disappointed, on that occasion the Buddha recited these verses:

3.1“Itthīpi hi ekacciyā,“Well, some women are better than men,3.2seyyā posa janādhipa;O ruler of the people.23.3Medhāvinī sīlavatī,Wise and virtuous, a devoted wife33.4sassudevā patibbatā.whose mother-in-law is her queen.4

4.1Tassā yo jāyati poso,And when she has a son,4.2sūro hoti disampati;he becomes a hero, O lord of the land.4.3Tādisā subhagiyā putto,The son of such a blessed lady4.4rajjampi anusāsatī”ti.may even rule the realm.”5

Translator’s notes

  1. He had hoped for a son. The girl was probably princess Vajirī, for whom the king expresses his love at MN 87:24.1. This event must have been several years before the war between Kosala and Magadha, for the commentaries say she was married to Ajātasattu upon cessation of hostilities.

    ↩ sn3.16:1.5

  2. Read posā, which the commentary glosses posehi, i.e. ablative plural in comparative sense, “than men”.

    ↩ sn3.16:3.2

  3. Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 6.4.17 gives a rite for those who wish to have a daughter who lives a full life and is an astute scholar (paṇḍitā).

    ↩ sn3.16:3.3

  4. The compound sassudeva is attributive, “(she who has) mother-in-law as queen”. There is a subtle intertextual tragedy here, for her future mother-in-law was her aunt, who died because of the actions of her future husband Ajātasattu.

    ↩ sn3.16:3.4

  5. According to tradition this did turn out to be the case, as her son with Ajātasattu was Udāyibhadda, fondly recalled by the king at DN 2:12.3. But like his father, he ascended the throne by regicide (Mahāvaṁsa 4.1).

    ↩ sn3.16:4.4