In the present Devadatta goes round praising his disciple and the disciple praises Devadatta in return, all to seek gains from the layfolk. The Buddha tells a story of a jackal who, wanting a fruit, praised a crow, and how they were scared away.

1. Koyaṁ bindussaro vaggu saravantānam-uttamo,
Accuto Jambusākhāya moracchāpo va kūjatī ti?

Who is this with a lovely, rich, supremely melodious sound, who chirps unbroken like a young peacock on the Jambu tree’s branch?

In this connection, rich sound, endowed with a rich, undiffused, precise sound.

Lovely means sweet-sounding.

Unbroken means not died, settled.

Chirps like a young peacock, with a pleasing sound like a young peacock, he says: “Who is this that chirps?”

2. Kulaputto va jānāti kulaputtaṁ pasaṁsituṁ,
Byagghacchāpasarīvaṇṇa, bhuñja samma dadāmi te ti.

A son of good family knows how to praise a good family, my friend, similar to a young tiger, It seems -ī- in sarī is m.c. PED: Sari, according to Payogasiddhi = sarisa (sadisa) cp. sarīvaṇṇa Ja.ii.439 (= samāna-vaṇṇa, C.). I give to you, please eat.

In this connection, similar to a young tiger, you appear to be similar in form to a young tiger, by this I say, my dear, who are similar to a young tiger.

My friend … I give to you, please eat, friend, eat as much as you need of this black plum fruit that I give to you.

3. Cirassaṁ vata passāmi musāvādī samāgate,
Vantādaṁ kuṇapādañ-ca, aññamaññaṁ pasaṁsake ti.

I see after a long time those who speak falsely come together, accepting vomit and corpses, and those who praise one another.

In this connection, accepting vomit means a crow eating food vomited by another.

And accepting corpses means a jackal who eats corpses.

 

last updated: November 2022