The Discourse about the Courtesan

ekaṁ samayaṁ Bhagavā Rājagahe viharati,
at one time the Gracious One was dwelling near Rājagaha,

Veḷuvane Kalandakanivāpe.
in Bamboo Wood, at the Squirrels' Feeding Place.

Tena kho pana samayena Rājagahe dve pūgā,
Then at that time in Rājagaha there were two gangs,

aññatarissā gaṇikāya sārattā honti paṭibaddhacittā.
who were impassioned with a certain courtesan, whose minds were bound.

Bhaṇḍanajātā kalahajātā vivādāpannā,
Contending, quarelling, and disputing,

aññam-aññaṁ pāṇihi pi upakkamanti, leḍḍūhi pi upakkamanti,
they attacked each other with their hands, attacked with clods of earth,

daṇḍehi pi upakkamanti, satthehi pi upakkamanti,
attacked with sticks, attacked with swords,

te tattha maraṇam-pi nigacchanti, maraṇamattam-pi dukkhaṁ.
and there (and then) they underwent death, and pain like unto death.

Atha kho sambahulā bhikkhū pubbanhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā,
Then many monks, having dressed in the morning time,

pattacīvaram-ādāya, Rājagahaṁ piṇḍāya pavisiṁsu,
after picking up their bowls and robes, entered Rājagaha for alms,

Rājagahe piṇḍāya caritvā, pacchābhattaṁ piṇḍapātapaṭikkantā,
and after walking for alms in Rājagaha, while returning from the alms-round after the meal,

upasaṅkamitvā Bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdiṁsu.
and after going and worshipping the Gracious One, they sat down on one side.

Ekamantaṁ nisinnā kho te bhikkhū Bhagavantaṁ etad-avocuṁ:
While sat on one side those monks said this to the Gracious One:

“Idha bhante Rājagahe dve pūgā,
“Here, reverend Sir, in Rājagaha there are two gangs,

aññatarissā gaṇikāya sārattā paṭibaddhacittā.
who are impassioned with a certain courtesan, whose minds are bound.

Bhaṇḍanajātā kalahajātā vivādāpannā
Contending, quarelling, and disputing,

aññam-aññaṁ pāṇihi pi upakkamanti, leḍḍūhi pi upakkamanti,
they attack each other with their hands, attack with clods of earth,

daṇḍehi pi upakkamanti, satthehi pi upakkamanti,
attack with sticks, attack with swords,

te tattha maraṇam-pi nigacchanti, maraṇamattam-pi dukkhan”-ti.
and there (and then) they undergo death, and pain like unto death.”

Atha kho Bhagavā, etam-atthaṁ viditvā,
Then the Gracious One, having understood the significance of it,

tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ udānaṁ udānesi: It will be noted that the Udāna that follows has very little to do with the prose introduction. One can't help feeling that there is some sort of mis-match here, and that the real occasion for the utterance has been lost. It is also worth pointing out that the Udāna is in prose in this section, whereas most (if not all) are in verse, which casts further doubt on the authenticity of the Discourse as it stands.⁰¹
on that occasion uttered this exalted utterance:

“Yañ-ca pattaṁ yañ-ca pattabbaṁ -
“What has been attained, and what can be attained -

ubhayam-etaṁ rajānukiṇṇaṁ āturassānusikkhato.
these two are strewn with dust, for that miserable one in (wrong) training.

Ye ca sikkhāsārā sīlabbatajīvitabrahmacariya-upaṭṭhānasārā -
Those who hold the training rules as the essence, or virtue and practices, (right) livelihood, celibacy, and attendance as the essence -

ayam-eko anto.
this is one end.

Ye ca evaṁvādino: ‘Natthi kāmesu doso” ti -
Those who say this: ‘There is no fault in sense pleasures” -

ayaṁ dutiyo anto.
this is the second end.

Iccete ubho antā kaṭasivaḍḍhanā, kaṭasiyo diṭṭhiṁ vaḍḍhenti.
Thus these two ends promote the cemetery grounds, and the cemetery grounds promote (wrong) view.

Ete te ubho ante anabhiññāya olīyanti eke atidhāvanti eke.
Not having understood these two ends, some get stuck, some go too far.

Ye ca kho te abhiññāya tatra ca nāhesuṁ tena ca na maññiṁsu maññati means to think, to conceive, but it means it here in a way that implies its cognate māna, conceit, hence the translation.⁰² -
But for those who have understood these, who were not in that, and because of that do not conceive (a conceit) -

Vaṭṭaṁ tesaṁ natthi paññāpanāyā” ti.
there is no Cycle (of Saṁsāra) to be assigned for them.”