1.1Ekaṁ samayaṁ āyasmā kassapagotto kosalesu viharati aññatarasmiṁ vanasaṇḍe.At one time Venerable Kassapagotta was staying in the land of the Kosalans in a certain forest grove.¹

1.2Tena kho pana samayena āyasmā kassapagotto divāvihāragato aññataraṁ chetaṁ ovadati.Now at that time Venerable Kassapagotta, having withdrawn for his day’s meditation, tried to advise a nimrod.²1.3Atha kho yā tasmiṁ vanasaṇḍe adhivatthā devatā āyasmantaṁ kassapagottaṁ saṁvejetukāmā yenāyasmā kassapagotto tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmantaṁ kassapagottaṁ gāthāhi ajjhabhāsi:Then the deity haunting that forest approached Kassapagotta wanting to stir him up, and recited these verses:

2.1“Giriduggacaraṁ chetaṁ,“A nimrod wandering the rugged hills2.2appapaññaṁ acetasaṁ;is unintelligent, unthinking.2.3Akāle ovadaṁ bhikkhu,It’s a waste of time to advise him, mendicant;³2.4mandova paṭibhāti maṁ.he strikes me as a dullard.

3.1Suṇāti na vijānāti,He listens without understanding,3.2Āloketi na passati;looks without seeing.3.3Dhammasmiṁ bhaññamānasmiṁ,Though the teaching is spoken,3.4Atthaṁ bālo na bujjhati.the fool doesn’t get it.

4.1Sacepi dasa pajjote,Even if you lit ten lamps4.2dhārayissasi kassapa;and brought them to him, Kassapa,4.3Neva dakkhati rūpāni,he wouldn’t see anything,4.4cakkhu hissa na vijjatī”ti.for he has no eyes to see.”

5.1Atha kho āyasmā kassapagotto tāya devatāya saṁvejito saṁvegamāpādīti.Impelled by that deity, Venerable Kassapagotta was struck with a sense of urgency.