2v.846 "What here is a man's best treasure?
What practised well brings happiness?
What is really the sweetest of tastes?
How lives the one who they say lives best?"

3v.847 "Faith is here a man's best treasure;
Dhamma practised well brings happiness;
Truth is really the sweetest of tastes;
One living by wisdom they say lives best." [n.597] Spk: Faith is a man's best treasure because it brings mundane and supramundane happiness as its result; it alleviates the suffering of birth and aging; it allays poverty with respect to excellent qualities; and it is the means of obtaining the gems of the enlightenment factors, etc. Dhamma here is the ten wholesome qualities, or giving, virtue, and meditation. This brings human happiness, celestial happiness, and in the end the happiness of Nibbāna. By truth here truthful speech is intended, with Nibbāna as the ultimate truth (paramatthasacca) and truth as abstinence (from falsehood; viratisacca) comprised within that. Of the various kinds of tastes, truth is really the sweetest of tastes, truth alone is the sweetest (sadutaraṁ). Or it is the best (sadhutaraṁ), the supreme, the highest. For such tastes as that of roots, etc., nourish only the body and bring a defiled happiness, but the taste of truth nourishes the mind with serenity and insight and brings an undefiled happiness.
One living by wisdom (paññajiviṁ jīvitaṁ): A householder lives by wisdom when he works at an honourable occupation, goes for refuge, gives alms, observes the precepts, and fulfils the Uposatha duties, etc. One gone forth as a monk lives by wisdom when he undertakes pure virtue and the superior practices beginning with purification of mind.

4v.848 "How does one cross over the flood?
How does one cross the rugged sea?
How does one overcome suffering?
How is one purified?"

5v.849 "By faith one crosses over the flood,
By diligence, the rugged sea.
By energy one overcomes suffering,
By wisdom one is purified." [n.598] Spk distributes the four "floods" (ogha) over the four lines of the reply and sees each line as implying a particular path and fruit; on the four floods, see n. 1. Since the faith faculty is the basis for the four factors of stream-entry (see SN55.1), the first line shows the stream-enterer, who has crossed the flood of views; the second line shows the once-returner, who by means of diligence has crossed the flood of existence except for one more existence in the sense-sphere world; the third line shows the nonreturner, who has overcome the flood of sensuality, a mass of suffering; and the fourth line shows the path of arahantship, which includes the fully purified wisdom by means of which one crosses over the flood of ignorance.
This completes the eight questions that the yakkha had learnt from his parents. When the Buddha finished speaking, bringing his verse to a climax in arahantship, the yakkha was established in the fruit of stream-entry.

6v.850 "How does one gain wisdom? [n.599] Spk: When the Buddha said, "By wisdom one is purified," the yakkha picked up on the word "wisdom" and, through his own ingenuity, asked a question of mixed mundane and supramundane significance.
How does one find wealth?
How does one achieve acclaim?
How bind friends to oneself?
When passing from this world to the next,
How does one not sorrow?"

7v.851 "Placing faith in the Dhamma of the arahants
For the attainment of Nibbāna,
From desire to learn one gains wisdom
If one is diligent and astute. [n.600] in pāda c, I read sussūsā with Se and Ee1 & 2. Be reads sussūsaṁ as does the lemma of Spk (Be), while the corresponding lemma in Spk (Se) has sussūsā. From the paraphrase (see below) sussūsā can be understood as a truncated instrumental (= sussūsāya). In Be, sussūsaṁ seems to function as an accusative in apposition to paññaṁ, perhaps as the first member of a split compound, i.e., "the wisdom (consisting in) the desire to learn."
Spk: The Blessed One shows here four causes for the gaining of wisdom. First one places faith in the Dhamma by which the arahants—Buddhas, paccekabuddhas, and disciples—attained Nibbāna. By so doing one gains the mundane and supramundane wisdom for the attainment of Nibbāna. But that does not come to pass merely by faith. When faith is born one approaches a teacher, lends an ear, and hears the Dhamma; thus one gains a desire to learn (sussūsaṁ). When one lends an ear and listens from a desire to learn, one gains wisdom. But one must also be diligent (appamatto), in the sense of being constantly mindful, and astute (vicakkhaṇa), able to distinguish what is well spoken and badly spoken. Through faith one enters upon the practice that leads to gaining wisdom. Through a desire to learn (sussūsāya) one carefully listens to the means for acquiring wisdom; through diligence (appamādena) one does not forget what one has learnt; through astuteness (vicakkhaṇatāya) one expands upon what one has learnt. Or else: through a desire to learn one lends an ear and listens to the Dhamma by which one gains wisdom; through diligence one bears in mind the Dhamma heard; by astuteness one examines the meaning and then gradually one realizes the ultimate truth.

8v.852 "Doing what is proper, dutiful,
One with initiative finds wealth. sn.i.215
By truthfulness one wins acclaim;
Giving, one binds friends.
That is how one does not sorrow
When passing from this world to the next. [n.601] Spk: Dutiful (dhuravā) means not neglecting one's responsibilities and implies mental energy; one with initiative (uṭṭhātā) implies physical energy. I here follow Be; in Se the last two lines come at the end of v. 850; in Ee1, at the end of both v. 852 and v. 853; in Sn, they are attached to neither verse.

9v.853 "The faithful seeker of the household life
In whom dwell these four qualities—
Truth, Dhamma, steadfastness, generosity—
Does not sorrow when he passes on.

10v.854 "Come now, ask others as well,
The many ascetics and brahmins,
Whether there is found here anything better
Than truth, self-control, generosity, and patience." [n.602] The problem is to correlate the two tetrads mentioned in vv. 853–54. The difficulty arises not only on account of the replacement of dhiti by khantyā in the second verse but also because of the variant readings of the second term. Perhaps the best reading is that in Se, which accords with Sn (Ee) vv. 187–88: in v. 853, saccaṁ dhammo dhiti cāgo; in v. 854, saccā damā cāga khantyā. Spk (Be) and Spk (Se) differ over the second term: the former has dammo and dammā, the latter dhammo and dhammā. The explanations in Spk-pṭ establish beyond doubt that dhammo and dama were the respective readings known to Dhammapala.
The four qualities mentioned at vv. 853–54 refer back to vv. 851–52. Truth corresponds to truthfulness in v. 852c (sacca in all three instances), while generosity (caga) clearly corresponds to giving (dadaṁ) in v. 852d. Spk (Se) explains that Dhamma is spoken of (in v. 851c) under the name of wisdom gained through a desire to learn, on which Spk-pṭ comments: "Wisdom is called Dhamma because of bearing up and examining (dhāraṇato upadhāraṇato) entities in accordance with actuality." (As the verb dhāreti (> dhāraṇa) is the stock etymological explanation of dhamma in the commentaries, we can infer that the author of Spk-pṭ had a text that read dhammo.) Steadfastness (dhiti) is spoken of under the names dutifulness and initiative (in v. 852ab).
In its paraphrase of v. 854, Spk states: "Come now, ask the many ascetics and brahmins whether there is any greater means for winning acclaim than truthfulness; any greater means for gaining mundane and supramundane wisdom than self-control (I suggest reading damā, following Spk-pṭ, which explains that wisdom is so designated because it controls [dameti] the defilements as well as body and speech, etc.); any greater means of binding friends than generosity; and any greater means for finding mundane and supramundane wealth than patience, which is identical with activated energy, (called patience) in the sense that it endures heavy burdens, and which is referred to by the names dutifulness and initiative."
Thus the correlations can be shown schematically as follows:
Thus the correlations can be shown schematically as follows:
1. 852: truthfulness = 853 & 854: truth.
2. 851: wisdom = 853: Dhamma = 854: self-control.
3. 852: giving = 853 & 854: generosity.
4. 852: dutifulness, initiative = 853: steadfastness = 854: patience.

11v.855 "Why now should I ask this question
Of the many ascetics and brahmins?
Today I have understood
The good pertaining to the future life. [n.603] Although Spk explains attho in pāda d as the visible benefit (diṭṭhadhammika) and samparayiko as the benefit in a future life, there seems to be no compelling reason not to take the two words at their face value as adjective and noun bearing a single significance, namely, the good pertaining to the future life.

12v.856 "Indeed, for my sake the Buddha came
To reside at Aḷavi.
Today I have understood
Where a gift bears great fruit.

13v.857 "I myself will travel about
From village to village, town to town,
Paying homage to the Enlightened One
And to the excellence of the Dhamma." [n.604] Spk continues with the background story: Just as the yakkha finished speaking this verse, the sun rose and the king's men arrived bringing the prince as a sacrificial offering. They handed the infant to the yakkha, who presented him to the Buddha. The Master recited some verses of blessing over the boy and returned him to the king's men. When the prince reached maturity, he was known as Hatthaka Āḷavaka, because he had been passed around from one person's hands (hattha) to another's. He attained the stage of nonreturner and was one of the Buddha’s foremost lay disciples, the chief of those who win followings through the four bases of beneficence (saṅgahavatthu; see AN I 26,7–9). The Buddha holds him up as a model for male lay followers at SN17.23 and praises his virtues at AN IV 217–20.

2"Kiṁsūdha vittaṁ purisassa seṭṭhaṁ,
Kiṁsu suciṇṇaṁ sukhamāvahāti;
Kiṁsu have sādutaraṁ rasānaṁ,
Kathaṁjīviṁ jīvitamāhu seṭṭhan"ti.

3"Saddhīdha vittaṁ purisassa seṭṭhaṁ,
Dhammo suciṇṇo sukhamāvahāti;
Saccaṁ have sādutaraṁ rasānaṁ,
Paññājīviṁ jīvitamāhu seṭṭhan"ti.

4"Kathaṁsu tarati oghaṁ,
kathaṁsu tarati aṇṇavaṁ;
Kathaṁsu dukkhamacceti,
kathaṁsu parisujjhatī"ti.

5"Saddhāya tarati oghaṁ,
appamādena aṇṇavaṁ;
Vīriyena dukkhamacceti,
paññāya parisujjhatī"ti.

6"Kathaṁsu labhate paññaṁ,
kathaṁsu vindate dhanaṁ;
Kathaṁsu kittiṁ pappoti,
kathaṁ mittāni ganthati;
Asmā lokā paraṁ lokaṁ,
kathaṁ pecca na socatī"ti.

7"Saddahāno arahataṁ,
dhammaṁ nibbānapattiyā;
Sussūsaṁ labhate paññaṁ,
appamatto vicakkhaṇo.

8Patirūpakārī dhuravā,
uṭṭhātā vindate dhanaṁ;
Saccena kittiṁ pappoti,
dadaṁ mittāni ganthati;
Asmā lokā paraṁ lokaṁ,
evaṁ pecca na socati.

9Yassete caturo dhammā,
saddhassa gharamesino;
Saccaṁ dhammo dhiti cāgo,
sa ve pecca na socati.

10Iṅgha aññepi pucchassu,
puthū samaṇabrāhmaṇe;
Yadi saccā dhammā cāgā,
khantyā bhiyyodha vijjatī"ti.

11"Kathaṁ nu dāni puccheyyaṁ,
puthū samaṇabrāhmaṇe;
Yohaṁ ajja pajānāmi,
yo attho samparāyiko.

12Atthāya vata me buddho,
vāsāyāḷavimāgamā;
Yohaṁ ajja pajānāmi,
yattha dinnaṁ mahapphalaṁ.

13So ahaṁ vicarissāmi,
Gāmā gāmaṁ purā puraṁ;
Namassamāno sambuddhaṁ,
Dhammassa ca sudhammatan"ti.

14Indako sakka sūci ca,
Maṇibhaddo ca sānu ca;
Piyaṅkara punabbasu sudatto ca,
Dve sukkā cīraāḷavīti dvādasa.