In the present one monk is overcome by passion and wishes to return to the lay life. The Buddha tells a story of one man who was impaled and the message he sent back to his wife expressing his longing and passing his wealth to her.

1. Ucce sakuṇa ḍemāna pattayāna vihaṅgama,
Vajjāsi kho tvaṁ vāmūruṁ, ciraṁ kho sā karissati!

O bird, flyer, flapper, sky-goer, up on high, you should speak to the one with beautiful thighs, she will be waiting a long time!

2. Idaṁ kho sā na jānāti asiṁ sattiñ-ca oḍḍitaṁ,
Sā caṇḍī kāhati kodhaṁ, taṁ me tapati no idaṁ.

She does not know this scimitar, this javelin, that has been set, she’ll be furious, angry, this torments me, not this impaling.

3. Esa uppalasannāho, nikkhañ-cussīsakohitaṁ,
Kāsikañ-ca muduṁ vatthaṁ, tappetu dhanikā piyā ti.

This lotus mace and armour, gold signet ring and hidden pillow, and fine cloth from Kāsi, may my dear consignee be satisfied.

In this connection, flyer means one going, traveling.

Flapper, this is a vocative, and so is sky-goer. Going along by his wings, he is going, flapping his wings, across the sky he goes, going across the sky.

Beautiful thighs means thighs like the trunk of a banana tree, he should speak of my being sat on a stake.

She will be waiting a long time, she, not knowing of this situation, will be waiting a long time for my coming, she will think like this: “For a long time he did not come to the one held dear,” this is the meaning.

Scimitar … javelin, he speaks with reference to the stake, something like a scimitar, or a javelin. Truly he was set, fixed for the purpose of impalement.

Furious means angry.

She will be angry, thinking: “He is too late,” she will be angry with me.

This torments me means her being angry torments me.

Not this impaling means it is not this stake which torments me, this is the explanation.

This lotus mace and armour, and so on, placed on the pillow in the house, he describes his goods.

In this connection, lotus mace and armour, a lotus mace and armour, is lotus mace and armour, a mace similar to a lotus, It seems from this that we must take uppala as the name of a kind of mace. and armour, this is the meaning.

Gold signet ring means a signet ring made from the five types of gold.

And fine cloth from Kāsi, Kāsi (modern-day Benares), was already famous for the quality of its cloth. he speaks in reference to a pair of fine Kāsi garments. It seems that such was placed on the pillow by him.

May my dear consignee be satisfied, having taken all of this, she, being my dear one who desired wealth, by this wealth may she be satisfied, fulfilled, become content.

 

last updated: November 2022