Ja 146 The Story about the Crows emptying the Sea
(Kākajātaka)
In the present some people ordain late in life and persist in going to their families for alms, and lamenting the passing of their wives, but making no progress in the monastic life. The Buddha tells how, in the past, a pair of crows had got drunk on the remains of a sacrifice, and had lost his wife in the ocean, and how he and his friends had tried to empty the ocean with their beaks (full story).
1. Api nu hanukā santā, mukhañ-ca parisussati,
Oramāma, na pārema, pūrate va mahodadhī ti.
Our jaws are tired, our mouths are dry, we must stop, not try to empty, the sea which is full to the brim.
In this connection, our jaws are tired, our jaws are tired, Making it clear that the ambiguous nu equals no, our, here. our jaws are weary.
We must stop, not try to empty, by our strength we drag away, deposit, the water of the great ocean, but we are unable to make empty this sea which is full to the brim.