Cp 20

Saṅkhapālacariya

“Punāparaṁ yadā homi, saṅkhapālo mahiddhiko; Dāṭhāvudho ghoraviso, dvijivho uragādhibhū.

Saṅkhapāla’s Conduct

“Then again when I was Saṅkhapāla, a dragon of great psychic power, deadly-fanged, lethally venomous, two-tongued, lord of serpents.

Catuppathe mahāmagge, nānājanasamākule; Caturo aṅge adhiṭṭhāya, tattha vāsamakappayiṁ.

At a crossroad on a highway crowded with many people, I resolved on the four factors, and made my home there.

Chaviyā cammena maṁsena, Nahāruaṭṭhikehi vā; Yassa etena karaṇīyaṁ, Dinnaṁyeva harātu so.

‘My outer skin and inner, flesh, sinews and bones: whoever has use for these, they are already given, please take them.’

Addasaṁsu bhojaputtā, kharā luddā akāruṇā; Upagañchuṁ mamaṁ tattha, daṇḍamuggarapāṇino.

Seeing me, the Bhojans, those violent and pitiless hunters, came to me there with sticks and hammers in their hands.

Nāsāya vinivijjhitvā, naṅguṭṭhe piṭṭhikaṇṭake; Kāje āropayitvāna, bhojaputtā hariṁsu maṁ.

Having pierced my nose, tail, and spine, and fastened me to a pole, the Bhojans carried me away.

Sasāgarantaṁ pathaviṁ, sakānanaṁ sapabbataṁ; Icchamāno cahaṁ tattha, nāsāvātena jhāpaye.

The earth from sea to sea, with its forests and mountains— had I wished, right there I could have burnt it up with a blast from my nose.

Sūlehi vinivijjhante, Koṭṭayantepi sattibhi; Bhojaputte na kuppāmi, Esā me sīlapāramī”ti.

Though pierced with stakes, and stabbed with knives, I did not get upset with the Bhojans: this is my perfection of ethics.”