1On one occasion the Venerable Vangisa was living at Aḷavi at the Aggaḷava Shrine together with his preceptor, the Venerable Nigrodhakappa. Now on that occasion, the Venerable Vangisa, because of his own ingenuity, had been looking down at other well-behaved bhikkhus. [n.497] Spk states that he prided himself on his learning; however, paṭibhāna is used to mean skill in verbal expression and thus probably refers here specifically to Vangīsa's poetic talent. Then the thought occurred to the Venerable Vangisa: "It is a loss for me indeed, it is no gain for me! It is a mishap for me indeed, it is not well gained by me, that because of my ingenuity I look down upon other well-behaved bhikkhus."

Then the Venerable Vangisa, having aroused remorse in himself, on that occasion recited these verses:

2v.717 "Abandon conceit, O Gotama,
And leave the pathway of conceit entirely.
Infatuated with the pathway of conceit,
For a long time you’ve been remorseful. [n.498] Asesaṁ should be moved from pāda c into pāda b. Spk explains "pathway of conceit" (manapathaṁ) as the object of conceit and the states coexistent with conceit, but it may be just a metaphorical expression for conduct governed by conceit. Spk says he addressed himself as "Gotama" (the Buddha’s clan name) because he is a disciple of the Buddha Gotama, but this is hard to accept; see v. 721 just below where Ānanda is so addressed because he actually was a member of the Gotama clan. I do not know of any other instance of monks addressing themselves (or others) as "Gotama" simply on the ground that they are disciples of the Buddha Gotama.
In the next verse we should twice read mānahatā in place of Ee1 mānagatā. Th-a glosses mānena hataguṇā, "with good qualities destroyed by conceit."

3v.718 "People smeared by denigration,
Slain by conceit, fall into hell.
People sorrow for a long time,
Slain by conceit, reborn in hell.

4v.719 "But a bhikkhu never sorrows at all,
A path-knower practising rightly.
He experiences acclaim and happiness;
Truly they call him a seer of Dhamma. [n.499] Spk explains maggajino in pāda b as a "path-conqueror," i.e., "one who has conquered defilements by the path," but I follow Norman's suggestion (at GD, p. 164, n. to 84) that the word is a variant of maggaññu (< Skt mārgajña), formed by resolution with an epenthetic (svarabhakti) vowel rather than by assimilation. sn.i.188

5v.720 "Therefore be pliant here and strenuous;
Having abandoned the hindrances, be pure.
Having entirely abandoned conceit,
Be an end-maker by knowledge, peaceful." [n.500] Th-a glosses akhilo in pāda a with pañcacetokhilarahito, "devoid of the five kinds of mental barrenness," with reference to MN I 101,9–27. The five are doubt and perplexity about the Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha, and training, and anger towards one's co-religionists. This seems preferable to interpreting the word by way of the three khila—greed, hatred, and delusion (see n. 84)—as the five cetokhila are said to be obstacles to "ardour, exertion, persistence, and striving" and their elimination is thus a prerequisite for strenuous effort.
In pāda d, vijjayantakaro is a syntactical compound, here with the first member an instrumental or ablative; see n. 68. The verse lacks a finite verb, but Th-a says that the verse was spoken by way of self-admonition, and I have therefore supplied imperatives to convey this effect. The verse can be seen as describing a progression: "First be rid of the five obstacles to striving, then be strenuous. By effort abandon the five hindrances and attain purity of mind through concentration. On this basis, develop insight into nonself and abandon conceit. Thereby you will eradicate the taints by knowledge, make an end to suffering, and dwell in the peace of Nibbāna."

1Ekaṁ samayaṁ āyasmā vaṅgīso āḷaviyaṁ vihārati aggāḷave cetiye āyasmatā nigrodhakappena upajjhāyena saddhiṁ. Tena kho pana samayena āyasmā vaṅgīso attano paṭibhānena aññe pesale bhikkhū atimaññati. Atha kho āyasmato vaṅgīsassa etadahosi: "Alābhā vata me, na vata me lābhā; dulladdhaṁ vata me, na vata me suladdhaṁ; yvāhaṁ attano paṭibhānena aññe pesale bhikkhū atimaññāmī"ti.

Atha kho āyasmā vaṅgīso attanāva attano vippaṭisāraṁ uppādetvā tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imā gāthāyo abhāsi:

2"Mānaṁ pajahassu gotama,
Mānapathañca pajahassu;
Asesaṁ mānapathasmiṁ,
Samucchito vippaṭisārīhuvā cirarattaṁ.

3Makkhena makkhitā pajā,
Mānahatā nirayaṁ papatanti;
Socanti janā cirarattaṁ,
Mānahatā nirayaṁ upapannā.

4Na hi socati bhikkhu kadāci,
Maggajino sammāpaṭipanno;
Kittiñca sukhañca anubhoti,
Dhammadasoti tamāhu pahitattaṁ.

5Tasmā akhilodha padhānavā,
Nīvaraṇāni pahāya visuddho;
Mānañca pahāya asesaṁ,
Vijjāyantakaro samitāvī"ti.