In the present the monks go round importuning people to give them workers and goods for the huts they are building. The Buddha reproves them and tells a story of how even the Nāgas dislike being begged from, with the story of one ascetic who begged for his friend the Nāga’s jewel, only to be abandoned by him.

1. Mamannapānaṁ vipulaṁ uḷāraṁ
Uppajjatīmassa maṇissa hetu,
Taṁ te na dassaṁ atiyācakosi,
Na cāpi te assamam-āgamissaṁ.

For me extensive and rich food and drinks are available because of this jewel, I won’t give it to you, you ask too much, nor will I come back to your hermitage.

2. Susū yathā sakkharadhotapāṇī,
Tāsesimaṁ selaṁ yācamāno,
Taṁ te na dassaṁ atiyācakosi,
Na cāpi te assamam-āgamissan-ti.

Like a boy Susū is m.c. for susu, singular. with a sharpened sword in hand, you scare me as you beg for this sapphire, I won’t give it to you, you ask too much, nor will I come back to your hermitage.

In this connection, for me ... food and drinks, for me divine food such as rice gruel and other foods, and divine drinks divided into the eight kinds of drinks. MNidd lists the eight when explaining the line, Annānamatho pānānaṁ: mango (ambapānaṁ), black plum drink (jambu-), banana (coca-), plantain (moca-), honey (madhu-), grape (muddika-), water-lily (sāluka-), sweet berry (phārusa-).

Extensive means many.

Rich means the best, the excellent.

Give it to you means give the jewel to you.

You ask too much means having exceeded the time and the measure, three times today for my dear, pleasant, jewel treasure you are begging, you are begging excessively.

Nor will I come back to your hermitage means not only will I not give it, I also will not come back to your hermitage.

Like a boy means like what is known as a youth, a young man.

Holding a sharpened sword in hand means with a sharpened sword in hand, a sword in the hand sharpened on a rock with oil. Given this and the next definition in the commentary it appears that sakkharā is being used as a synonym for a sword, but I cannot find anywhere in Pāḷi or Sanskrit where sakkharā (Skt: śarkarā) means a sword. It seems always to mean a rock, apart from here.

You scare me as you beg for this sapphire, begging for this jewel after drawing a sword with a golden handle, like a young man saying: “I will cut your head off,” you scare me.

3. Na taṁ yāce yassa piyaṁ jigīse,
Desso hoti atiyācanāya,
Nāgo maṇiṁ yācito brāhmaṇena,
Adassanaṁ yeva tad-ajjhagamā ti.

You shouldn’t beg or desire what he holds dear, through excessive begging he is detested, the Nāga, whose jewel the brahmin begged, went away and he was surely not seen.

In this connection, you shouldn’t beg, you should not beg for goods.

Desire what he holds dear means you should know which goods are dear to that person.

He is detested means he is not dear.

Through excessive begging means having exceeded the limit, by him begging the finest goods through excessive begging.

He went away and was surely not seen means beginning from there he went away and was not seen again.

 

last updated: November 2022