Snp 3.10PTS Snp 1235 min read

To Kokāliya on the Results of Slander

Kokālikasutta

A follower of Devadatta slanders Ven. Sāriputta and Ven. Moggallāna and, after suffering a painful disease, falls into hell. The sutta then gives a graphic description of the sufferings awaiting him there.

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

0.1Sutta Nipāta 3.10Anthology of Discourses 3.10

0.2KokālikasuttaWith Kokālika

1.1Evaṁ me sutaṁ—So I have heard.¹1.2ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.1.3Atha kho kokāliko bhikkhu yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho kokāliko bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:Then the mendicant Kokālika went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him,1.4“pāpicchā, bhante, sāriputtamoggallānā, pāpikānaṁ icchānaṁ vasaṁ gatā”ti.“Sir, Sāriputta and Moggallāna have corrupt wishes. They’ve fallen under the sway of corrupt wishes.”

2.1Evaṁ vutte, bhagavā kokālikaṁ bhikkhuṁ etadavoca:When this was said, the Buddha said to Kokālika,2.2“mā hevaṁ, kokālika, mā hevaṁ, kokālika.“Don’t say that, Kokālika! Don’t say that, Kokālika!2.3Pasādehi, kokālika, sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ.Have confidence in Sāriputta and Moggallāna,2.4Pesalā sāriputtamoggallānā”ti.they’re good monks.”

3.1Dutiyampi kho …pe…For a second time …3.2tatiyampi kho kokāliko bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:For a third time Kokālika said to the Buddha,3.3“kiñcāpi me, bhante, bhagavā saddhāyiko paccayiko, atha kho pāpicchāva sāriputtamoggallānā, pāpikānaṁ icchānaṁ vasaṁ gatā”ti.“Despite my faith and trust in the Buddha, Sāriputta and Moggallāna have corrupt wishes. They’ve fallen under the sway of corrupt wishes.”3.4Tatiyampi kho bhagavā kokālikaṁ bhikkhuṁ etadavoca:For a third time, the Buddha said to Kokālika,3.5“mā hevaṁ, kokālika, mā hevaṁ, kokālika.“Don’t say that, Kokālika! Don’t say that, Kokālika!3.6Pasādehi, kokālika, sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ.Have confidence in Sāriputta and Moggallāna,3.7Pesalā sāriputtamoggallānā”ti.they’re good monks.”

4.1Atha kho kokāliko bhikkhu uṭṭhāyāsanā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā padakkhiṇaṁ katvā pakkāmi.Then Kokālika rose from his seat, bowed, and respectfully circled the Buddha, keeping him on his right, before leaving.4.2Acirappakkantassa ca kokālikassa bhikkhuno sāsapamattīhi piḷakāhi sabbo kāyo phuṭo ahosi;Not long after he left his body erupted with boils the size of mustard seeds.4.3sāsapamattiyo hutvā muggamattiyo ahesuṁ; muggamattiyo hutvā kaḷāyamattiyo ahesuṁ; kaḷāyamattiyo hutvā kolaṭṭhimattiyo ahesuṁ; kolaṭṭhimattiyo hutvā kolamattiyo ahesuṁ; kolamattiyo hutvā āmalakamattiyo ahesuṁ; āmalakamattiyo hutvā beḷuvasalāṭukamattiyo ahesuṁ; beḷuvasalāṭukamattiyo hutvā billamattiyo ahesuṁ; billamattiyo hutvā pabhijjiṁsu; pubbañca lohitañca pagghariṁsu.The boils grew to the size of mung beans, then chickpeas, then jujube seeds, then jujubes, then myrobalans, then unripe wood-apples, then ripe wood-apples. Finally they burst open, and pus and blood oozed out.4.4Atha kho kokāliko bhikkhu tenevābādhena kālamakāsi.Then the mendicant Kokālika died of that illness.4.5Kālaṅkato ca kokāliko bhikkhu padumaṁ nirayaṁ upapajji sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ āghātetvā.He was reborn in the Pink Lotus hell because of his resentment for Sāriputta and Moggallāna.²

5.1Atha kho brahmā sahampati abhikkantāya rattiyā abhikkantavaṇṇo kevalakappaṁ jetavanaṁ obhāsetvā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ aṭṭhāsi. Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho brahmā sahampati bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:Then, late at night, the glorious divinity Sahampati, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side, and said to him,5.2“kokāliko, bhante, bhikkhu kālaṅkato;“Sir, the mendicant Kokālika has passed away.5.3kālaṅkato ca, bhante, kokāliko bhikkhu padumaṁ nirayaṁ upapanno sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ āghātetvā”ti.He was reborn in the Pink Lotus hell because of his resentment for Sāriputta and Moggallāna.”5.4Idamavoca brahmā sahampati;That is what the divinity Sahampati said.5.5idaṁ vatvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā padakkhiṇaṁ katvā tatthevantaradhāyi.Then he bowed and respectfully circled the Buddha, keeping him on his right, before vanishing right there.

6.1Atha kho bhagavā tassā rattiyā accayena bhikkhū āmantesi:Then, when the night had passed, the Buddha told the mendicants all that had happened.6.2“imaṁ, bhikkhave, rattiṁ brahmā sahampati abhikkantāya rattiyā …pe…6.3idamavoca, bhikkhave, brahmā sahampati, idaṁ vatvā maṁ padakkhiṇaṁ katvā tatthevantaradhāyī”ti.

7.1Evaṁ vutte, aññataro bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:When he said this, one of the mendicants said to the Buddha,7.2“kīvadīghaṁ nu kho, bhante, padume niraye āyuppamāṇan”ti?“Sir, how long is the lifespan in the Pink Lotus hell?”7.3“Dīghaṁ kho, bhikkhu, padume niraye āyuppamāṇaṁ;“It’s long, mendicant.7.4taṁ na sukaraṁ saṅkhātuṁ ettakāni vassāni iti vā ettakāni vassasatāni iti vā ettakāni vassasahassāni iti vā ettakāni vassasatasahassāni iti vā”ti.It’s not easy to calculate how many years, how many hundreds or thousands or hundreds of thousands of years it lasts.”7.5“Sakkā pana, bhante, upamā kātun”ti?“But sir, is it possible to give a simile?”7.6“Sakkā, bhikkhū”ti bhagavā avoca:“It’s possible,” said the Buddha.

8.1“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsatikhāriko kosalako tilavāho; tato puriso vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena ekamekaṁ tilaṁ uddhareyya.“Suppose there was a Kosalan load of twenty packs of sesame seed. And at the end of every hundred years someone would remove a single seed from it.³8.2Khippataraṁ kho so bhikkhu vīsatikhāriko kosalako tilavāho iminā upakkamena parikkhayaṁ pariyādānaṁ gaccheyya, na tveva eko abbudo nirayo.By this means the Kosalan load of twenty packs of sesame seed would run out faster than a single lifetime in the Abbuda hell.⁴8.3Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati abbudā nirayā evameko nirabbudo nirayo.Now, twenty lifetimes in the Abbuda hell equal one lifetime in the Nirabbuda hell.⁵8.4Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati nirabbudā nirayā evameko ababo nirayo.Twenty lifetimes in the Nirabbuda hell equal one lifetime in the Ababa hell.⁶8.5Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati ababā nirayā evameko aṭaṭo nirayo.Twenty lifetimes in the Ababa hell equal one lifetime in the Aṭaṭa hell.8.6Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati aṭaṭā nirayā evameko ahaho nirayo.Twenty lifetimes in the Aṭaṭa hell equal one lifetime in the Ahaha hell.8.7Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati ahahā nirayā evameko kumudo nirayo.Twenty lifetimes in the Ahaha hell equal one lifetime in the Yellow Lotus hell.8.8Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati kumudā nirayā evameko sogandhiko nirayo.Twenty lifetimes in the Yellow Lotus hell equal one lifetime in the Fragrant Water Lily hell.⁷8.9Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati sogandhikā nirayā evameko uppalako nirayo.Twenty lifetimes in the Fragrant Water Lily hell equal one lifetime in the Blue Water Lily hell.8.10Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati uppalakā nirayā evameko puṇḍarīko nirayo.Twenty lifetimes in the Blue Water Lily hell equal one lifetime in the White Lotus hell.8.11Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati puṇḍarīkā nirayā evameko padumo nirayo.Twenty lifetimes in the White Lotus hell equal one lifetime in the Pink Lotus hell.⁸8.12Padumaṁ kho pana bhikkhu nirayaṁ kokāliko bhikkhu upapanno sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ āghātetvā”ti.The mendicant Kokālika has been reborn in the Pink Lotus hell because of his resentment for Sāriputta and Moggallāna.”8.13Idamavoca bhagavā.That is what the Buddha said.8.14Idaṁ vatvāna sugato athāparaṁ etadavoca satthā:Then the Holy One, the Teacher, went on to say:

9.1“Purisassa hi jātassa,“A person is born9.2kuṭhārī jāyate mukhe;with an axe in their mouth.9.3Yāya chindati attānaṁ,A fool cuts themselves with it9.4bālo dubbhāsitaṁ bhaṇaṁ.when they say bad words.
10.1Yo nindiyaṁ pasaṁsati,When you praise someone worthy of criticism,10.2Taṁ vā nindati yo pasaṁsiyo;or criticize someone worthy of praise,10.3Vicināti mukhena so kaliṁ,you choose a losing hand with your own mouth:10.4Kalinā tena sukhaṁ na vindati.you’ll never find happiness that way.
11.1Appamatto ayaṁ kali,A losing hand at dice is a trivial thing,11.2Yo akkhesu dhanaparājayo;if all you lose is your money11.3Sabbassāpi sahāpi attanā,and all you own, even yourself.11.4Ayameva mahattaro kali;What’s a really terrible hand11.5Yo sugatesu manaṁ padosaye.is to hate the holy ones.
12.1Sataṁ sahassānaṁ nirabbudānaṁ,For a hundred thousand times a hundred million,⁹12.2Chattiṁsati pañca ca abbudāni;times five hundred and thirty-six times <j>a thousand times ten million years¹⁰12.3Yamariyagarahī nirayaṁ upeti,a slanderer of noble ones goes to hell,12.4Vācaṁ manañca paṇidhāya pāpakaṁ.having aimed bad words and thoughts at them.¹¹
13.1Abhūtavādī nirayaṁ upeti,A liar goes to hell,13.2Yo vāpi katvā na karomicāha;as does one who denies what they did.13.3Ubhopi te pecca samā bhavanti,Both are equal in the hereafter,13.4Nihīnakammā manujā parattha.those men of base deeds.
14.1Yo appaduṭṭhassa narassa dussati,Whoever wrongs a man who has done no wrong,14.2Suddhassa posassa anaṅgaṇassa;a pure man who has not a blemish,14.3Tameva bālaṁ pacceti pāpaṁ,the evil backfires on the fool,14.4Sukhumo rajo paṭivātaṁva khitto.like fine dust thrown upwind.
15.1Yo lobhaguṇe anuyutto,One addicted to the way of greed,15.2So vacasā paribhāsati aññe;abuses others with their speech,15.3Asaddho kadariyo avadaññū,faithless, miserly, uncharitable,15.4Macchari pesuṇiyaṁ anuyutto.stingy, addicted to backbiting.
16.1Mukhadugga vibhūta anariya,Foul-mouthed, divisive, ignoble,¹²16.2Bhūnahu pāpaka dukkaṭakāri;a baby-killer, wicked, wrongdoer,16.3Purisanta kalī avajāta,worst of men, cursed, base-born—16.4Mā bahubhāṇidha nerayikosi.quiet now, for you are bound for hell.¹³
17.1Rajamākirasī ahitāya,You stir up dust, causing harm,¹⁴17.2Sante garahasi kibbisakārī;when you, sinner, malign the good.17.3Bahūni duccaritāni caritvā,Having done many bad deeds,17.4Gacchasi kho papataṁ cirarattaṁ.you’ll go to the pit for a long time.
18.1Na hi nassati kassaci kammaṁ,For no one’s deeds are ever lost,18.2Eti hataṁ labhateva suvāmi;they return to their owner.18.3Dukkhaṁ mando paraloke,In the next life that stupid sinner18.4Attani passati kibbisakārī.sees suffering in themselves.
19.1Ayosaṅkusamāhataṭṭhānaṁ,They approach the place of impalement,19.2Tiṇhadhāramayasūlamupeti;with its iron spikes, sharp blades, and iron stakes.19.3Atha tattaayoguḷasannibhaṁ,Then there is the food, which appropriately,19.4Bhojanamatthi tathā patirūpaṁ.is like a red-hot iron ball.
20.1Na hi vaggu vadanti vadantā,For the speakers speak not sweetly,¹⁵20.2Nābhijavanti na tāṇamupenti;they don’t hurry there, or find shelter.20.3Aṅgāre santhate sayanti,They lie upon a spread of coals,20.4Ginisampajjalitaṁ pavisanti.they enter a blazing mass of fire.¹⁶
21.1Jālena ca onahiyāna,Wrapping them in a net,21.2Tattha hananti ayomayakuṭebhi;they strike them there with iron hammers.21.3Andhaṁva timisamāyanti,They come to blinding darkness,21.4Taṁ vitatañhi yathā mahikāyo.which spreads about them like a fog.
22.1Atha lohamayaṁ pana kumbhiṁ,Next they enter a copper pot,22.2Ginisampajjalitaṁ pavisanti;a blazing mass of fire.22.3Paccanti hi tāsu cirarattaṁ,There they roast for a long time,22.4Agginisamāsu samuppilavāte.writhing in the masses of fire.
23.1Atha pubbalohitamisse,Then the sinner roasts there23.2Tattha kiṁ paccati kibbisakārī;in a mixture of pus and blood.23.3Yaṁ yaṁ disakaṁ adhiseti,No matter where they settle,23.4Tattha kilissati samphusamāno.everything they touch there hurts them.
24.1Puḷavāvasathe salilasmiṁ,The sinner roasts in24.2Tattha kiṁ paccati kibbisakārī;worm-infested water.24.3Gantuṁ na hi tīramapatthi,There’s not even a shore to go to,24.4Sabbasamā hi samantakapallā.for all around are the same kind of pots.
25.1Asipattavanaṁ pana tiṇhaṁ,They enter the Sword-Leaf Forest,25.2Taṁ pavisanti samucchidagattā;so sharp they cut their body to pieces.25.3Jivhaṁ balisena gahetvā,Having grabbed the tongue with a hook,25.4Ārajayārajayā vihananti.they stab it, slashing back and forth.
26.1Atha vetaraṇiṁ pana duggaṁ,Then they approach the impassable Vetaraṇī River,¹⁷26.2Tiṇhadhārakhuradhāramupenti;with its sharp blades, its razor blades.26.3Tattha mandā papatanti,Dullards fall into it,26.4Pāpakarā pāpāni karitvā.the wicked who have done wicked deeds.
27.1Khādanti hi tattha rudante,There dogs all brown and spotted,27.2Sāmā sabalā kākolagaṇā ca;and raven flocks, and greedy jackals27.3Soṇā siṅgālā paṭigiddhā,devour them as they wail,27.4Kulalā vāyasā ca vitudanti.while hawks and crows attack them.
28.1Kicchā vatayaṁ idha vutti,Hard, alas, is the life here28.2Yaṁ jano phusati kibbisakārī;that sinners endure.28.3Tasmā idha jīvitasese,That’s why for the rest of this life28.4Kiccakaro siyā naro na cappamajje.a person ought do their duty without fail.
29.1Te gaṇitā vidūhi tilavāhā,Experts have counted the loads of sesame¹⁸29.2Ye padume niraye upanītā;as compared to the Pink Lotus hell.29.3Nahutāni hi koṭiyo pañca bhavanti,For there are five times ten thousand times ten million,¹⁹29.4Dvādasa koṭisatāni punaññā.plus another twelve hundred times ten million years—²⁰
30.1Yāva dukhā nirayā idha vuttā,as painful as life is said to be in hell,30.2Tatthapi tāva ciraṁ vasitabbaṁ;that’s how long one must dwell there.30.3Tasmā sucipesalasādhuguṇesu,That’s why, for those who are pure, well-behaved, <j>full of good qualities,30.4Vācaṁ manaṁ satataṁ parirakkhe”ti.one should always guard one’s speech and mind.”

30.5Kokālikasuttaṁ dasamaṁ.

Translator’s notes

This discourse occurs in shorter, and presumably earlier, versions in the Sagāthāvagga (SN 6.10) and the Aṅguttara (AN 10.89). A Chinese parallel is included in DA 30.
↩ snp3.10:1.1
This discourse gives no fewer than three independent ways of counting the duration of the Pink Lotus (paduma) hell, plus a simile, plus a commentary. The key to reconciling the three numbers is to consider them numerologically rather than mathematically: simple numbers convey the basic meaning, which is expanded by multiplication. All three methods yield 512 to various powers of ten. 512 breaks down to 500 (= a large number) plus 12 (= months of the year), with the sense, “a long period of time”. In one case, 12 expands to 36 (= months of the year in past, present, and future); numerologically, such variations are different expressions of the same idea. The exact quantity of the power of ten varies, but each is a multiple of the other by 10 million (a crore or koṭi or abbuda). The result conveys the sense, “a super-expanded long period of time”.
↩ snp3.10:4.5
A sesame seed weighs about 0.002 grams (“Some Physical Properties of Sesame Seed”, T.Y. Tunde-Akintunde and B.O. Akintund). The “pack” (khāri, originally “donkey-load”) of the Arthaśāstra is about 150 kg (Olivelle King, Governance, and Law, appendix 2, pg. 458). Twenty packs would be 3 tons, which is reasonable for a “load” (vāha) drawn by a heavy bullock cart (Arthaśāsatra 2.19.33 reckons the vāha similarly at about 2 tons). This results in 1.5 billion seeds and 150 billion years. On the other hand, the Pali khāri is carried by a single person and must be closer to 20 kg (SN 3.11:2.1, SN 7.9:14.1, DN 3:2.4.7, Ud 6.2:2.1). That would make a “Kosalan load” of 400 kg, which is reasonable for a load drawn by a single horse. This results in 250 million seeds and 25 billion years. This number is interesting because it is similar to the modern cosmological estimate of the life of the Universe. Neither of these results, however, agrees very well with the other calculations in this Sutta. The correspondence is not in the result but the simple numbers: twenty packs each hundred years correspond to the twenty times ten of the hells.
↩ snp3.10:8.1
Different texts reckon the abbuda (Sanskrit arbuda) to different powers of ten. Most authorities, however, count it at 10 million, which must be the correct value here, as it ultimately yields the number 512 for the paduma.
Ten hells are listed in total, the names of which do not correspond with the 21 or 28 listed in Purāṇas, nor with the seven Jain hells, nor with the hells of MN 130. The commentary offers three explanations for the obscure names of these hells: they are numbers reflecting the duration spent in Avīci; or they are the cries uttered by those suffering there; or they are simply the cold hells.
↩ snp3.10:8.2
The Sanskrit nyarbuda (or nirbuda) is said, rather, to be ten times the arbuda. The expansion in a series of twenty is required to reach the final number of 512.
↩ snp3.10:8.3
Ababa, aṭaṭa, and ahaha appear to be onomatopoeic. The commentary says they are named for the laments of their victims. The parallel at DA 30 offers specific explanations for each, although the names sometimes differ from the Pali.
↩ snp3.10:8.4
The sogandhika is variously identified as blue or white.
↩ snp3.10:8.8
By this calculation, the Pink Lotus lasts for 10⁷ × 20⁹ = 5.12 × 10¹⁸ years. The commentary supplies its own method, based on a very large abbuda of 10⁴². Nonetheless, this still yields a number in the same series, simply raised to a higher power of ten, namely 5.12 × 10⁵³.
↩ snp3.10:8.11
The commentary, followed by Bodhi and Norman, conjoins this line with the “thirty-six” of the next. But the expression is found in three other passages of the Sagāthāvagga, and in all three it stands as a separate line (SN 6.4:5.3, SN 1.32:14.3, SN 5.5:4.1).
Here, we take an abbuda as ten million and a nirabbuda as a hundred million.
↩ snp3.10:12.1
Vanarata suggests that the “thousands” of the first line should be distributed to the second line as well (Bodhi, Numerical Discourses, note 626, p. 1678). This kind of distribution of terms is common in mathematics; for an example in Pali verse, see SN 6.6:5.1. Here, however, it provides a crucial key to interpretation and translation. But we need to go further: the singular “hundred” in the first line is distributed to the singulars 36 and 5 in the second, while the plural “thousands” is distributed to the plural abbudāni (“tens of millions”). Thus we read the distributed line here as chattiṁsati pañcasataṁ ca (five hundred plus thirty-six) sahassānaṁ abbudāni (“of thousands, tens of millions”). The juxtaposed numbers are multiplied. The duration of the Pink Lotus then works out as (100,000 × 100,000,000) × (536 × 1000 × 10,000,000) = 5.36 × 10²⁵ years.
↩ snp3.10:12.2
The parallels at SN 6.10 and AN 10.89 end here. The remainder was presumably added later.
↩ snp3.10:12.4
I can’t find any evidence to support the commentary’s gloss of vibhūta as “liar”. I assume it is shorthand for vebhūtiya which is a synonym of pesuṇiya (DN 30:2.21.2 and DN 28:11.2).
↩ snp3.10:16.1
I can’t find any explanation for the shift to direct address in second person here. Perhaps these verses were inserted from a separate source.
↩ snp3.10:16.4
Norman and Bodhi both accept commentary’s kilesarajaṁ attani pakkhipasi, but this seems too narrow; their deeds harmed others too.
↩ snp3.10:17.1
Commentary says the hell-keepers are the subject here, hell-dwellers the subject of the next line. But this seems forced and unnecessary. Those going to hell are screaming, not uttering sweet words.
↩ snp3.10:20.1
Read aggini-samaṁ jalitaṁ, as at Snp 3.10:22.2 below.
↩ snp3.10:20.4
The Vetaraṇī (also at SN 1.33:10.3) is featured in the later literature of the Brahmins (eg. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 5.26.22, Skanda Purāṇa 6.1.226.32) and Jains (Sūtrakṛtāṅga 1.5.1.8).
↩ snp3.10:26.1
The commentator says that these two verses are absent from the old “Great Commentary”, which was his main source.
↩ snp3.10:29.1
Instead of the abbuda we have here the koṭi, which is a more regular mathematical term for the same quantity, 10 million. The nahuta is variously reckoned, but its only other early Pali appearance is for a crowd size at Kd 1:22.8.2, where it is reasonably reckoned by the commentary as 10,000.
↩ snp3.10:29.3
The calculation here is (50,000 × 10,000,000) + (1200 × 10,000,000) = 5.12 × 10¹¹ years. Multiply this by ten million to equal the prose reckoning (Snp 3.10:8.11), and by another ten million to equal the previous verse reckoning (Snp 3.10:12.2).
↩ snp3.10:29.4