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Warning! 
Translations, dictionaries and commentaries
were not made by the Blessed One. 
Cross-check with Pali in 4 main nikayas. 

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato

  • Saṁyutta Nikāya 2.5  Linked Discourses 2.5
  • 1. Paṭhamavagga  Chapter One

Dāmalisutta  With Dāmali

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.  At Sāvatthī.

Atha kho dāmali devaputto abhikkantāya rattiyā abhikkantavaṇṇo kevalakappaṁ jetavanaṁ obhāsetvā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ aṭṭhāsi.  Then, late at night, the glorious god Dāmali, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side,
Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho dāmali devaputto bhagavato santike imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:  and recited this verse in the Buddha’s presence:

“Karaṇīyametaṁ brāhmaṇena,  “This is what should be done by a brahmin:
Padhānaṁ akilāsunā;  unrelenting striving.
Kāmānaṁ vippahānena,  Then, with the giving up of sensual pleasures,
Na tenāsīsate bhavan”ti.  they won’t hope to be reborn.”

“Natthi kiccaṁ brāhmaṇassa,  “The brahmin has nothing left to do,”
(dāmalīti bhagavā)  said the Buddha to Dāmali,
Katakicco hi brāhmaṇo;  “for they’ve completed their task.
Yāva na gādhaṁ labhati nadīsu,  So long as a person fails to gain a footing in the river,
Āyūhati sabbagattebhi jantu;  they swim with every limb.
Gādhañca laddhāna thale ṭhito yo,  But someone who has gained a footing and stands on dry land
Nāyūhatī pāragato hi sova. 
sova → soti (bj, pts1ed, pts2ed, mr); hoti (sya-all, km); so (?)
need not swim, for they have reached the far shore.

Esūpamā dāmali brāhmaṇassa,  Dāmali, this is a simile for the brahmin,
Khīṇāsavassa nipakassa jhāyino;  alert, a meditator who has ended defilements.
Pappuyya jātimaraṇassa antaṁ,  Since they’ve reached the end of rebirth and death,
Nāyūhatī pāragato hi so”ti. 
hi so”ti → hotīti (sya-all, km)
they need not swim, for they have reached the far shore.”

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato

Warning! 
Translations, dictionaries and commentaries
were not made by the Blessed One. 
Cross-check with Pali in 4 main nikayas. 


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