Saṁyutta Nikāya
I. Sagātha Vagga
10. Yakkha-Saṁyutta
I. Kindred Sayings with Verses
10. The Yakkha Suttas
Sutta 9
Sukkā Suttaṁ (1)
Sukkā (1)1
[273]
THUS HAVE I HEARD: —
The Exalted One was once staying near Rājagaha,
in the Bamboo Grove,
at the Squirrels' Feeding-ground.
Now on that occasion Sukkā, the Bhikkhunī,
was teaching [274] the Norm,
surrounded by a great congregation.
And a yakkha,2
enthusiastic about her,
went into Rājagaha,
going from chariot-road to chariot-road,
from crossways to cross-ways,3
and in that hour uttered these verses:
"What have ye, men of Rājagaha, done,4
That here ye lie5 as though bemused with wine,
Nor wait upon Sukka while she doth teach
The doctrine of the Bourne Ambrosial—
That source from whence there is no turning back,6
That elixir that no infusion needs.7
The wise methinks were fain to quaff [that cup],
As wayfarer [the droppings of] the cloud."
1 Cf Pss. of the Sisters, XXXIV; American Lectures, p. 75.
2 So called also in the Apadāna account, but referred to in the Therīgāthā Comy. as a devatā of the tree, the tree being at the end of the Therī's 'walking-ground,' or open cloisters. As the Pali is yakkho, evidently a male fairy is meant.
3 Singhāṭaka.
4 Kim me katā. The me seems to be the dative of personal reference, now obsolete in English; B., however, sees in it 'me for ime (these).
5 Acchare.
6 Because of satiety, when we turn away from that of which we have been drinking. Comy.
7 Creates its own essential spirit or juice, needing no external ingredients. Comy.