True DhammaLibrary · Community
SN 3.8PTS (1st ed) SN 1.751 min read

With Queen Mallikā

Mallikāsutta

Pasenadi asks Queen Mallikā who is most dear. They both agree that the one most dear is oneself, and the Buddha agrees.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 3.8Linked Discourses 3.8
  • 0.21. Paṭhamavagga1. Shackles

0.3MallikāsuttaWith Queen Mallikā

1.1Sāvatthinidānaṁ.At Sāvatthī.

1.2Tena kho pana samayena rājā pasenadi kosalo mallikāya deviyā saddhiṁ uparipāsādavaragato hoti.Now at that time King Pasenadi of Kosala was upstairs in the royal longhouse together with Queen Mallikā.1

1.3Atha kho rājā pasenadi kosalo mallikaṁ deviṁ etadavoca:Then the king said to the queen,1.4“atthi nu kho te, mallike, kocañño attanā piyataro”ti?“Mallikā, is there anyone more dear to you than yourself?”2

1.5“Natthi kho me, mahārāja, kocañño attanā piyataro.“No, Great King, there isn’t.31.6Tuyhaṁ pana, mahārāja, atthañño koci attanā piyataro”ti?But is there anyone more dear to you than yourself?”

1.7“Mayhampi kho, mallike, natthañño koci attanā piyataro”ti.“For me also, Mallikā, there’s no one.”

2.1Atha kho rājā pasenadi kosalo pāsādā orohitvā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho rājā pasenadi kosalo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:Then King Pasenadi of Kosala came downstairs from the stilt longhouse, went to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and told him what had happened.2.2“idhāhaṁ, bhante, mallikāya deviyā saddhiṁ uparipāsādavaragato mallikaṁ deviṁ etadavocaṁ:2.3‘atthi nu kho te, mallike, kocañño attanā piyataro’ti?2.4Evaṁ vutte, bhante, mallikā devī maṁ etadavoca:2.5‘natthi kho me, mahārāja, kocañño attanā piyataro.2.6Tuyhaṁ pana, mahārāja, atthañño koci attanā piyataro’ti?2.7Evaṁ vuttāhaṁ, bhante, mallikaṁ deviṁ etadavocaṁ:2.8‘mayhampi kho, mallike, natthañño koci attanā piyataro’”ti.

3.1Atha kho bhagavā etamatthaṁ viditvā tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha spoke this verse:

4.1“Sabbā disā anuparigamma cetasā,“Having explored every quarter with the mind,4.2Nevajjhagā piyataramattanā kvaci;one finds no one dearer than oneself.4.3Evaṁ piyo puthu attā paresaṁ,Likewise for others, each holds themselves dear;44.4Tasmā na hiṁse paramattakāmo”ti.so one who desires self-knowledge <j>would harm no other.”5

Translator’s notes

  1. In addition to conversations on the theme of attachment to loved ones (MN 87, Ud 5.1), unrelated incidents with Mallikā appear at AN 4.197, Bu Pc 53:1.1, and Bu Pc 83:1.2.7. She is listed as an eminent lay disciple (AN 8.91–117:1.1) and maintained a monastery for philosophical debates (MN 78:1.3). Her passing is recorded at AN 5.49. This is what we know of her from early texts, while later Jātakas and other scriptures tell many colorful tales about her and her unique marriage.

    Śvetāmbara Jains hold that, in the far distant past, the nineteenth founding teacher (tīrthaṅkara) was the lady Malli (Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra 6.6). Perhaps the Buddhist stories of the wise lady Mallikā helped inspire this legend.

    ↩ sn3.8:1.2

  2. This passage echoes Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.4.8: “The Self is more dear than a son, than wealth, than everything else.” The reason, it argues, is that only the Self is immortal, not those who are dear. Pasenadi is of course using “self” in a conventional rather than metaphysical sense.

    ↩ sn3.8:1.4

  3. Mallikā’s reply is brave, given that she is telling her king and husband she loves herself more than him. This passage alludes to the famous dialogue where Yājñavalkya explains to his wife Maitreyī that he is renouncing in order to seek the true Self.

    ↩ sn3.8:1.5

  4. Care for oneself is not selfishness. This is an expression of the Golden Rule.

    ↩ sn3.8:4.3

  5. For attakāma (“desires self-knowledge”) see MN 31:3.5.

    ↩ sn3.8:4.4