1.1Evaṁ me sutaṁ—So I have heard.1.2ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā rājagahe viharati veḷuvane kalandakanivāpe.At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground.¹1.3Tatra kho bhagavā …pe… etadavoca:There the Buddha … said:

2.1“Appamidaṁ, bhikkhave, manussānaṁ āyu.“Mendicants, the lifespan of humans is short.2.2Gamanīyo samparāyo, kattabbaṁ kusalaṁ, caritabbaṁ brahmacariyaṁ.We are headed for lives to come. We must do what is skillful, we must practice the spiritual life.2.3Natthi jātassa amaraṇaṁ.No one born is immortal.2.4Yo, bhikkhave, ciraṁ jīvati, so vassasataṁ appaṁ vā bhiyyo”ti.A long life is a hundred years or a little more.”²

3.1Atha kho māro pāpimā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ gāthāya ajjhabhāsi:Then Māra the Wicked went up to the Buddha and addressed him in verse:

4.1“Nāccayanti ahorattā,“The days and nights don’t rush by,4.2Jīvitaṁ nūparujjhati;and life isn’t cut short.4.3Āyu anupariyāyati maccānaṁ,The life of mortals keeps rolling on,4.4Nemīva rathakubbaran”ti.like a chariot’s rim around the hub.”³

5.1“Accayanti ahorattā,“The days and nights rush by,5.2jīvitaṁ uparujjhati;and then life is cut short.5.3Āyu khīyati maccānaṁ,The life of mortals wastes away,5.4kunnadīnaṁva odakan”ti.like the water in tiny streams.”

6.1Atha kho māro pāpimā “jānāti maṁ bhagavā, jānāti maṁ sugato”ti dukkhī dummano tatthevantaradhāyīti.Then Māra the Wicked, thinking, “The Buddha knows me! The Holy One knows me!” miserable and sad, vanished right there.

6.2Paṭhamo vaggo.

7.0Tassuddānaṁ

7.1Tapokammañca nāgo ca,7.2subhaṁ pāsena te duve;7.3Sappo supati nandanaṁ,7.4āyunā apare duveti.