1At Sāvatthī. "Bhikkhus, once in the past a number of seers who were virtuous and of good character had settled down in leaf huts along the shore of the ocean. Now on that occasion the devas and the asuras were arrayed for a battle. Then it occurred to those seers who were virtuous and of good character: ‘The devas are righteous, the asuras unrighteous. There may be danger to us from the asuras. Let us approach Sambara, lord of the asuras, and ask him for a guarantee of safety.’ [n.631] Spk: For the most part, it is said, the battles between the devas and the asuras take place behind the great ocean. Often the asuras are defeated, and when they are fleeing from the devas, as they pass the hermitages of seers, they destroy their halls and walkways, etc.; for they believe that the seers are partial to Sakka and give him the counsel that leads to their defeat. Since the seers can repair the damaged facilities only with difficulty, when they heard that a battle was about to take place they realized they needed a guarantee of safety.
The identity of Sambara is problematic. Spk identifies him with Vepacitti (see n. 633), but C.Rh.D points out (at KS 1:305, n. 4) that SN11.23 suggests the two are distinct, Sambara having been Vepacitti's predecessor as lord of the asuras. MW states that Śambara is a demon often mentioned in the Ṛgveda; he was slain by Indra. For further discussion, see below n. 665.

"Then, bhikkhus, just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm or draw in his extended arm, those seers who were virtuous and of good character disappeared from their leaf huts along the shore of the ocean and reappeared in the presence of Sambara, lord of the asuras. Then those seers addressed Sambara in verse:

Sambara:

The seers:

6"Then, bhikkhus, having put a curse on Sambara, lord of the asuras, just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm or draw in his extended arm, those seers who were virtuous and of good character disappeared from the presence of Sambara and reappeared in their leaf huts on the shore of the ocean. sn.i.228 But after being cursed by those seers who were virtuous and of good character, Sambara, lord of the asuras, was gripped by alarm three times in the course of the night." [n.633] Spk: As soon as he fell asleep, he woke up howling as though he had been struck from all sides by a hundred spears. The other asuras came to inquire about his health and were still consoling him when dawn arrived. From then on his mind became sick and trembled (cittaṁ vepati); hence his other name, "Vepacitti," arose. Vepati is not in PED, but see MW, s.v. vip > vepate. Spk-pṭ glosses vepati with kampati pavedhati.

1Sāvatthiyaṁ. "Bhūtapubbaṁ, bhikkhave, sambahulā isayo sīlavanto kalyāṇadhammā samuddatīre paṇṇakuṭīsu sammanti. Tena kho pana samayena devāsurasaṅgāmo samupabyūḷho ahosi. Atha kho, bhikkhave, tesaṁ isīnaṁ sīlavantānaṁ kalyāṇadhammānaṁ etadahosi: ‘dhammikā kho devā, adhammikā asurā. Siyāpi no asurato bhayaṁ. Yannūna mayaṁ sambaraṁ asurindaṁ upasaṅkamitvā abhayadakkhiṇaṁ yāceyyāmā’ti.

Atha kho, bhikkhave, te isayo sīlavanto kalyāṇadhammā – seyyathāpi nāma balavā puriso samiñjitaṁ vā bāhaṁ pasāreyya, pasāritaṁ vā bāhaṁ samiñjeyya; evameva – samuddatīre paṇṇakuṭīsu antarahitā sambarassa asurindassa sammukhe pāturahesuṁ. Atha kho, bhikkhave, te isayo sīlavanto kalyāṇadhammā sambaraṁ asurindaṁ gāthāya ajjhabhāsiṁsu:

6Atha kho, bhikkhave, te isayo sīlavanto kalyāṇadhammā sambaraṁ asurindaṁ abhisapitvā – seyyathāpi nāma balavā puriso samiñjitaṁ vā bāhaṁ pasāreyya, pasāritaṁ vā bāhaṁ samiñjeyya; evameva – sambarassa asurindassa sammukhe antarahitā samuddatīre paṇṇakuṭīsu pāturahesuṁ. Atha kho, bhikkhave, sambaro asurindo tehi isīhi sīlavantehi kalyāṇadhammehi abhisapito rattiyā sudaṁ tikkhattuṁ ubbijjī"ti.

Paṭhamo vaggo.