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SN 5.5PTS (1st ed) SN 1.1311 min read

With Uppalavaṇṇā

Uppalavaṇṇāsutta

Uppalavaṇṇā is rebuked by Māra, who says a beautiful woman like her should fear rogues when alone in the forest. However, she dismisses such fears, saying she can use her psychic powers to defeat thousands of rogues like him.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 5.5Linked Discourses 5.5
  • 0.21. Bhikkhunīvagga1. Nuns

0.3UppalavaṇṇāsuttaWith Uppalavaṇṇā

1.1Sāvatthinidānaṁ.At Sāvatthī.

1.2Atha kho uppalavaṇṇā bhikkhunī pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā …pe…Then the nun Uppalavaṇṇā robed up in the morning …11.3aññatarasmiṁ supupphitasālarukkhamūle aṭṭhāsi.and stood at the root of a sal tree in full flower.

1.4Atha kho māro pāpimā uppalavaṇṇāya bhikkhuniyā bhayaṁ chambhitattaṁ lomahaṁsaṁ uppādetukāmo samādhimhā cāvetukāmo yena uppalavaṇṇā bhikkhunī tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā uppalavaṇṇaṁ bhikkhuniṁ gāthāya ajjhabhāsi:Then Māra the Wicked, wanting to make the nun Uppalavaṇṇā feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, wanting to make her fall away from immersion, went up to her and addressed her in verse:

2.1“Supupphitaggaṁ upagamma bhikkhuni,“You’ve come to this sal tree all crowned with flowers,22.2Ekā tuvaṁ tiṭṭhasi sālamūle;and stand at its root all alone, O nun.2.3Na catthi te dutiyā vaṇṇadhātu,Your beauty is second to none—32.4Bāle na tvaṁ bhāyasi dhuttakānan”ti.silly girl, aren’t you afraid of rascals?”

3.1Atha kho uppalavaṇṇāya bhikkhuniyā etadahosi:Then the nun Uppalavaṇṇā thought,3.2“ko nu khvāyaṁ manusso vā amanusso vā gāthaṁ bhāsatī”ti?“Who’s speaking this verse, a human or a non-human?”

3.3Atha kho uppalavaṇṇāya bhikkhuniyā etadahosi:Then she thought,3.4“māro kho ayaṁ pāpimā mama bhayaṁ chambhitattaṁ lomahaṁsaṁ uppādetukāmo samādhimhā cāvetukāmo gāthaṁ bhāsatī”ti.“This is Māra the Wicked, wanting to make me feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, wanting to make me fall away from immersion!”

3.5Atha kho uppalavaṇṇā bhikkhunī “māro ayaṁ pāpimā” iti viditvā māraṁ pāpimantaṁ gāthāhi paccabhāsi:Then Uppalavaṇṇā, knowing that this was Māra the Wicked, replied to him in verse:

4.1“Sataṁ sahassānipi dhuttakānaṁ,“Even if 100,000 rascals like you4.2Idhāgatā tādisakā bhaveyyuṁ;were to come here,4.3Lomaṁ na iñjāmi na santasāmi,I’d stir not a hair nor panic.4.4Na māra bhāyāmi tamekikāpi.I’m not scared of you, Māra, even alone.

5.1Esā antaradhāyāmi,I’ll vanish,5.2kucchiṁ vā pavisāmi te;or I’ll enter your belly;5.3Pakhumantarikāyampi,I could stand between your eyebrows5.4tiṭṭhantiṁ maṁ na dakkhasi.and you still wouldn’t see me.

6.1Cittasmiṁ vasībhūtāmhi,I’m the master of my own mind,6.2iddhipādā subhāvitā;I’ve developed the bases of psychic power well.6.3Sabbabandhanamuttāmhi,I’m free from all bonds,6.4na taṁ bhāyāmi āvuso”ti.and I’m not afraid of you, sir!”4

7.1Atha kho māro pāpimā “jānāti maṁ uppalavaṇṇā bhikkhunī”ti dukkhī dummano tatthevantaradhāyīti.Then Māra the Wicked, thinking, “The nun Uppalavaṇṇā knows me!” miserable and sad, vanished right there.

Translator’s notes

  1. Regarded as the greatest in psychic power (AN 1.237:1.1), and, with Khemā, the ideal nun (AN 2.131:1.2, AN 4.176:2.2). She taught other nuns (Thig 13.5:27.3), and was devoted to the Buddha (Bu NP 5:1.1.1).

    ↩ sn5.5:1.2

  2. These verses are included in Uppalavaṇṇā’s at Thig 11.1:7.1, with some differences.

    ↩ sn5.5:2.1

  3. Literally, “There is no one to whom you are second in the element of beauty” (na catthi te dutiyā vaṇṇadhātu,). Thig 11.1:7.3 reads Na cāpi te dutiyo atthi koci, “There is no male companion with you”. The two lines use dutiya (“second”) in different senses, as the ordinal number, and as “companion”. The Therīgāthā commentary offers two explanations, the second of which appears to lean on a version of the line similar to that found here. This, together with the fact that the unusual term vaṇṇadhātu seems like a direct reference to her name, suggests that this version may be the original one.

    ↩ sn5.5:2.3

  4. Despite her dauntless rejection of Māra here, a story in the Vinaya says she was once raped by a Vedic student who was infatuated with her (Bu Pj 1:10.5.1). The Buddha declared that one who does not consent is innocent. It seems hard to reconcile the two events, unless the Vinaya incident was when she was young and not yet accomplished. If that were the case, perhaps Māra is deliberately capitalizing on the past assault, assuming she will be traumatized by it.

    ↩ sn5.5:6.4