Ja 221 The Story about the Renunciant’s Robe
(Kāsāvajātaka)
In the present laymen club together and offer robes to Devadatta. The Buddha, hearing about it, tells a story of how a hunter had dressed as a Paccekabuddha in order to kill elephants, and how he had rebuked him for dishonouring the robes.
1. Anikkasāvo kāsāvaṁ yo vatthaṁ paridahissati,
Apeto damasaccena, na so kāsāvam-arahati.
The one who, while still being impure, will put on the yellow robe, abstaining from restraint and truth, is not worthy of the yellow robe.
2. Yo ca vantakasāvassa, sīlesu susamāhito,
Upeto damasaccena, sa ve kāsāvam-arahatī ti.
The one who throws out any impurity, steady in virtue, endowed with restraint and truth, is worthy of the yellow robe.
In this connection, impure, The word means not-not-impure (a+ni+kasāva). impure is said to be lust, hatred, delusion, anger, rivalry, jealousy, selfishness, deceit, cheating, stubbornness, wrathfulness, conceit, great conceit, vanity, heedlessness, all unwholesome things, all wrong ways of living, all one thousand five hundred deeds leading to existence, that are called impure. For whatever person has not removed them, continuing and not relinquishing them, or going out from them, is known as one who is impure.
The yellow robe means being dyed in yellow dye it has the state of the flag of the worthy ones. In ancient India the normal male householder’s robe was white, and a yellow or stained robe was worn by renunciants. The flag of the worthy ones, is otherwise the flag of the Arahants.
The one who... will put on the... robe, having become such a one, such a robe he will put on, wear and wrap himself in.
Abstaining from restraint and truth, from what is reckoned as restraint of the sense faculties, from restraint, from what is reckoned as Nibbāna, from the ultimate truth, he abstains, he shuns it. Or, the word in the instrumental case has ablative meaning: from this restraint and truth, this is the meaning. Here truth means verbal truth, also the four truths is suitable.
Is not worthy of the yellow robe, that person, because of being impure, is not worthy of the yellow robe, the flag of the worthy ones, for him it is not suitable.
The one who... throws out any impurity, but the person, as previously mentioned, because of throwing off impurity, is free of impurity.
Steady in virtue, he who is well placed in the virtues of the paths and fruits, being led, stands like one established amongst them. This is a term for one possessing virtuous practices.
Endowed means possessed of.
With restraint and truth means with restraint and truth in the aforementioned manner.
Is worthy of the yellow robe, such a person is worthy of this robe that is a flag of the worthy ones.