1At Sāvatthī. The Blessed One said this: sn.i.221

1Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

"Once in the past, bhikkhus, the devas and the asuras were arrayed for battle. Then Vepacitti, lord of the asuras, addressed the asuras thus:[n.613] See n. 157. Spk here says that he is the oldest of all the asuras. ‘Dear sirs, in the impending battle between the devas and the asuras, if the asuras win and the devas are defeated, bind Sakka, lord of the devas, by his four limbs and neck and bring him to me in the city of the asuras.’ And Sakka, lord of the devas, addressed the Tāvatiṁsa devas thus: ‘Dear sirs, in the impending battle between the devas and the asuras, if the devas win and the asuras are defeated, bind Vepacitti, lord of the asuras, by his four limbs and neck and bring him to me in the Sudhamma assembly hall.’
"In that battle, bhikkhus, the devas won and the asuras were defeated. Then the Tāvatiṁsa devas bound Vepacitti by his four limbs and neck and brought him to Sakka in the Sudhamma assembly hall.[n.614] A similar incident is related at SN35.248 (IV 201,18–202,4). When Sakka was entering and leaving the Sudhamma assembly hall, Vepacitti, bound by his four limbs and neck, abused and reviled him with rude, harsh words. Then, bhikkhus, Mātali the charioteer addressed Sakka, lord of the devas, in verse:

"Bhūtapubbaṁ, bhikkhave, devāsurasaṅgāmo samupabyūḷho ahosi. Atha kho, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo asure āmantesi: ‘Sace, mārisā, devānaṁ asurasaṅgāme samupabyūḷhe asurā jineyyuṁ devā parājineyyuṁ, yena naṁ sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ kaṇṭhapañcamehi bandhanehi bandhitvā mama santike āneyyātha asurapuran’ti. Sakkopi kho, bhikkhave, devānamindo deve tāvatiṁse āmantesi: ‘Sace, mārisā, devānaṁ asurasaṅgāme samupabyūḷhe devā jineyyuṁ asurā parājineyyuṁ, yena naṁ vepacittiṁ asurindaṁ kaṇṭhapañcamehi bandhanehi bandhitvā mama santike āneyyātha sudhammasabhan’ti.
Tasmiṁ kho pana, bhikkhave, saṅgāme devā jiniṁsu, asurā parājiniṁsu. Atha kho, bhikkhave, devā tāvatiṁsā vepacittiṁ asurindaṁ kaṇṭhapañcamehi bandhanehi bandhitvā sakkassa devānamindassa santike ānesuṁ sudhammasabhaṁ. Tatra sudaṁ, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo kaṇṭhapañcamehi bandhanehi baddho sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ sudhammasabhaṁ pavisantañca nikkhamantañca asabbhāhi pharusāhi vācāhi akkosati paribhāsati. Atha kho, bhikkhave, mātali saṅgāhako sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ gāthāhi ajjhabhāsi: 

2v.872 "‘When face to face with Vepacitti
Is it, Maghava, from fear or weakness
That you endure him so patiently,
Listening to his harsh words?’

Sakka:

2‘Bhayā nu maghavā sakka,
dubbalyā no titikkhasi;
Suṇanto pharusaṁ vācaṁ,
sammukhā vepacittino’ti.

3v.873 "‘It is neither through fear nor weakness
That I am patient with Vepacitti.
How can a wise person like me
Engage in combat with a fool?’

Mātali:

3‘Nāhaṁ bhayā na dubbalyā,
khamāmi vepacittino;
Kathañhi mādiso viññū,
bālena paṭisaṁyuje’ti.

4v.874 "‘Fools would vent their anger even more
If no one would keep them in check.
Hence with drastic punishment
The wise man should restrain the fool.’[n.615] in pāda a, Be, Se, and Ee2 read pabhijjeyyuṁ, Ee1 pakujjheyyuṁ. The latter is recognized by Spk as a v.l. The dialogue represents a contest between two opposing models of political leadership, with Mātali advocating the principle of despotic rule, Sakka the principle of benevolent rule. The despotic political philosophy seems more in keeping with the character of the asuras, and indeed in the following sutta Vepacitti himself proclaims the verses here ascribed to Mātali.

Sakka:

4‘Bhiyyo bālā pabhijjeyyuṁ,
no cassa paṭisedhako;
Tasmā bhusena daṇḍena,
dhīro bālaṁ nisedhaye’ti.

5v.875 "‘I myself think this alone
Is the way to check the fool:
When one knows one's foe is angry
One mindfully maintains one's peace.’

5‘Etadeva ahaṁ maññe,
bālassa paṭisedhanaṁ;
Paraṁ saṅkupitaṁ ñatvā,
yo sato upasammatī’ti.

Mātali:

6v.876 "‘I see this fault, O Vāsavā,
In practising patient endurance:
When the fool thinks of you thus,
"He endures me out of fear,"
The dolt will chase you even more
As a bull does one who flees.’ sn.i.222

6‘Etadeva titikkhāya,
vajjaṁ passāmi vāsava;
Yadā naṁ maññati bālo,
bhayā myāyaṁ titikkhati;
Ajjhāruhati dummedho,
gova bhiyyo palāyinan’ti.

Sakka:

7v.877 "‘Let it be whether or not he thinks,
"He endures me out of fear,"
Of goals that culminate in one's own good
None is found better than patience.[n.616] I translate pādas cd guided by Spk's paraphrase: "Among the goals (or goods) which culminate in one's own good, there is found no other goal (or good) better than patience" (tesu saka-atthaparamesu atthesu khantito uttaritaro añño attho na vijjati). Because of the discrepancy between the plural sadatthaparama attha in pāda c and the singular verb vijjati in pāda d, it seems necessary to read the nominative clause in pāda c as doing service for a locative or genitive, as Spk suggests, with a singular subject implicit. The only alternative would be to amend pāda c to read singular sadatthaparamo attho, but no text has this reading. Cp. v. 854d above and v. 895d below. Ñāṇamoli splits the two pādas syntactically and translates: "One's own good is the best of all, and there is none surpasses patience" (The Guide, p. 227), but this seems too free.
Note that Sakka speaks from the perspective of mundane ethical values rather than from the transcendent perspective of the Dhamma. From that perspective sadattha is identified with arahantship, which cannot be gained simply by patience.

7‘Kāmaṁ maññatu vā mā vā,
bhayā myāyaṁ titikkhati;
Sadatthaparamā atthā,
khantyā bhiyyo na vijjati.

8v.878 "‘When a person endowed with strength
Patiently endures a weakling,
They call that the supreme patience;
The weakling must be patient always.[n.617] C.Rh.D takes niccaṁ khamati dubbalo to mean that a weak person must always be tolerated (see KS 1:285), but dubbalo, as nominative, is clearly the subject of khamati, not its object. My translation conforms to Ñāṇamoli's (in Minor Readings and Illustrator, p. 162), but was made independently. Ñāṇamoli's note speaks for my interpretation as well: "The rendering here … seeks to bring out that patience is a necessity rather than a virtue in the weak, but appears as a virtue in the forbearance of the strong. The verse is a difficult one."

8Yo have balavā santo,
dubbalassa titikkhati;
Tamāhu paramaṁ khantiṁ,
niccaṁ khamati dubbalo.

9v.879 "‘They call that strength no strength at all—
The strength that is the strength of folly—
But no one can reproach a person
Who is strong because guarded by Dhamma.[n.618] Spk: Dhammaguttassa: to one who is protected by the Dhamma or to one who is protecting the Dhamma (dhammena rakkhitassa dhammaṁ va rakkhantassa).

9Abalaṁ taṁ balaṁ āhu,
yassa bālabalaṁ balaṁ;
Balassa dhammaguttassa,
paṭivattā na vijjati.

10v.880 "‘One who repays an angry man with anger
Thereby makes things worse for himself.
Not repaying an angry man with anger,
One wins a battle hard to win.

10Tasseva tena pāpiyo,
yo kuddhaṁ paṭikujjhati;
Kuddhaṁ appaṭikujjhanto,
saṅgāmaṁ jeti dujjayaṁ.

11v.881 "‘He practises for the welfare of both,
His own and the other's,
When, knowing that his foe is angry,
He mindfully maintains his peace.

11Ubhinnamatthaṁ carati,
attano ca parassa ca;
Paraṁ saṅkupitaṁ ñatvā,
yo sato upasammati.

12v.882 "‘When he achieves the cure of both—
His own and the other's—
The people who consider him a fool
Are unskilled in the Dhamma.’

12Ubhinnaṁ tikicchantānaṁ,
attano ca parassa ca;
Janā maññanti bāloti,
ye dhammassa akovidā’ti.

13"So, bhikkhus, if Sakka, lord of the devas, subsisting on the fruit of his own merit, exercising supreme sovereignty and rulership over the Tāvatiṁsa devas, will be one who speaks in praise of patience and gentleness, then how much more would it be fitting here for you, who have gone forth in such a well-expounded Dhamma and Discipline, to be patient and gentle."

13So hi nāma, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo sakaṁ puññaphalaṁ upajīvamāno devānaṁ tāvatiṁsānaṁ issariyādhipaccaṁ rajjaṁ kārento khantisoraccassa vaṇṇavādī bhavissati. Idha kho taṁ, bhikkhave, sobhetha yaṁ tumhe evaṁ svākkhāte dhammavinaye pabbajitā samānā khamā ca bhaveyyātha soratā cā"ti.