Daharasutta

Evaṁ me sutaṁ— ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. Atha kho rājā pasenadi kosalo yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavatā saddhiṁ sammodi. Sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho rājā pasenadi kosalo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “bhavampi no gotamo anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddhoti paṭijānātī”ti? “Yañhi taṁ, mahārāja, sammā vadamāno vadeyya ‘anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddho’ti, mameva taṁ sammā vadamāno vadeyya. Ahañhi, mahārāja, anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddho”ti.

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala went up to the Buddha, and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said to the Buddha, “Does the worthy Gotama claim to have awakened to the supreme perfect awakening?” “If anyone should rightly be said to have awakened to the supreme perfect awakening, it’s me. For, Great King, I have awakened to the supreme perfect awakening.”

“Yepi te, bho gotama, samaṇabrāhmaṇā saṅghino gaṇino gaṇācariyā ñātā yasassino titthakarā sādhusammatā bahujanassa, seyyathidaṁ— pūraṇo kassapo, makkhali gosālo, nigaṇṭho nāṭaputto, sañcayo belaṭṭhaputto, pakudho kaccāyano, ajito kesakambalo; tepi mayā ‘anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddhoti paṭijānāthā’ti puṭṭhā samānā anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddhoti na paṭijānanti. Kiṁ pana bhavaṁ gotamo daharo ceva jātiyā navo ca pabbajjāyā”ti?

“Well, there are those ascetics and brahmins who lead an order and a community, and tutor a community. They’re well-known and famous religious founders, deemed holy by many people. That is, Pūraṇa Kassapa, the bamboo-staffed ascetic Gosāla, the Jain ascetic of the Ñātika clan, Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta, Pakudha Kaccāyana, and Ajita of the hair blanket. I also asked them whether they claimed to have awakened to the supreme perfect awakening, but they made no such claim. So why do you, given that you’re so young in age and newly gone forth?”

“Cattāro kho me, mahārāja, daharāti na uññātabbā, daharāti na paribhotabbā. Katame cattāro? Khattiyo kho, mahārāja, daharoti na uññātabbo, daharoti na paribhotabbo. Urago kho, mahārāja, daharoti na uññātabbo, daharoti na paribhotabbo. Aggi kho, mahārāja, daharoti na uññātabbo, daharoti na paribhotabbo. Bhikkhu, kho, mahārāja, daharoti na uññātabbo, daharoti na paribhotabbo. Ime kho, mahārāja, cattāro daharāti na uññātabbā, daharāti na paribhotabbā”ti.

“Great king, these four things should not be looked down upon or disparaged because they are young. What four? An aristocrat, a serpent, a fire, and a mendicant. These four things should not be looked down upon or disparaged because they are young.”

Idamavoca bhagavā. Idaṁ vatvāna sugato athāparaṁ etadavoca satthā:

That is what the Buddha said. Then the Holy One, the Teacher, went on to say:

“Khattiyaṁ jātisampannaṁ, abhijātaṁ yasassinaṁ; Daharoti nāvajāneyya, na naṁ paribhave naro.

“A man should not despise an aristocrat of impeccable lineage, high-born and famous, just because they’re young.

Ṭhānañhi so manujindo, rajjaṁ laddhāna khattiyo; So kuddho rājadaṇḍena, tasmiṁ pakkamate bhusaṁ; Tasmā taṁ parivajjeyya, rakkhaṁ jīvitamattano.

For it’s possible that that lord of mankind, as aristocrat, will gain the throne. And in his anger he’ll execute a royal punishment, and have you violently beaten. Hence you should avoid him for the sake of your own life.

Gāme vā yadi vā raññe, yattha passe bhujaṅgamaṁ; Daharoti nāvajāneyya, na naṁ paribhave naro.

Whether in village or wilderness, wherever a serpent is seen, a man should not look down on it or despise it for its youth.

Uccāvacehi vaṇṇehi, urago carati tejasī; So āsajja ḍaṁse bālaṁ, naraṁ nāriñca ekadā; Tasmā taṁ parivajjeyya, rakkhaṁ jīvitamattano.

With its rainbow of colors, the serpent of fiery breath glides along. It lashes out and bites the fool, both men and women alike. Hence you should avoid it for the sake of your own life.

Pahūtabhakkhaṁ jālinaṁ, pāvakaṁ kaṇhavattaniṁ; Daharoti nāvajāneyya, na naṁ paribhave naro.

A fire devours a vast amount, a conflagration with a blackened trail. A man should not look down on it just because it’s young.

Laddhā hi so upādānaṁ, mahā hutvāna pāvako; So āsajja ḍahe bālaṁ, naraṁ nāriñca ekadā; Tasmā taṁ parivajjeyya, rakkhaṁ jīvitamattano.

For once it gets fuel it’ll become a big conflagration. It’ll lash out and burn the fool, both men and women alike. Hence you should avoid it for the sake of your own life.

Vanaṁ yadaggi ḍahati, pāvako kaṇhavattanī; Jāyanti tattha pārohā, ahorattānamaccaye.

When a forest is burned by fire, a conflagration with a blackened trail, the shoots will spring up there again, with the passing of the days and nights.

Yañca kho sīlasampanno, bhikkhu ḍahati tejasā; Na tassa puttā pasavo, dāyādā vindare dhanaṁ; Anapaccā adāyādā, tālāvatthū bhavanti te.

But if a mendicant endowed with ethics burns you with their power, you’ll have no children or livestock, nor will your heirs find wealth. Childless and heirless you become, like a palm-tree stump.

Tasmā hi paṇḍito poso, sampassaṁ atthamattano; Bhujaṅgamaṁ pāvakañca, khattiyañca yasassinaṁ; Bhikkhuñca sīlasampannaṁ, sammadeva samācare”ti.

That’s why an astute person, seeing what’s good for themselves, would always treat these properly: a serpent, a conflagration, a famous aristocrat, and a mendicant endowed with ethics.”

Evaṁ vutte, rājā pasenadi kosalo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “abhikkantaṁ, bhante, abhikkantaṁ, bhante. Seyyathāpi, bhante, nikkujjitaṁ vā ukkujjeyya, paṭicchannaṁ vā vivareyya, mūḷhassa vā maggaṁ ācikkheyya, andhakāre vā telapajjotaṁ dhāreyya: ‘cakkhumanto rūpāni dakkhantī’ti; evamevaṁ bhagavatā anekapariyāyena dhammo pakāsito. Esāhaṁ, bhante, bhagavantaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi dhammañca bhikkhusaṅghañca. Upāsakaṁ maṁ, bhante, bhagavā dhāretu ajjatagge pāṇupetaṁ saraṇaṁ gatan”ti.

When this was said, King Pasenadi of Kosala said to the Buddha, “Excellent, sir! Excellent! As if he were righting the overturned, or revealing the hidden, or pointing out the path to the lost, or lighting a lamp in the dark so people with clear eyes can see what’s there, the Buddha has made the teaching clear in many ways. I go for refuge to the Buddha, to the teaching, and to the mendicant Saṅgha. From this day forth, may the Buddha remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”