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4. Patipūjikakumārivatthu4.4 The Story about the One Who Honoured Her Husband
Pupphāni hevāti imaṃ dhammadesanaṃ satthā sāvatthiyaṃ viharanto patipūjikaṃ nāma kumārikaṃ ārabbha kathesi. Vatthu tāvatiṃsadevaloke samuṭṭhitaṃ.“Flowers indeed,” this Dhamma teaching was given by the Teacher while he was in residence at Sāvatthī with reference to a woman named Patipūjikā. The story begins in the Realm of the Thirty-Three.The Pāli introduction quotes only “Flowers indeed,” the opening words of verse 48. The original translation quoted the verse’s final clause. {1.363} marks page 363 of volume 1 of the Pāli Text Society Pāli text.
Tattha kira mālabhārī nāma devaputto accharāsahassaparivuto uyyānaṃ pāvisi.It seems that a Devaputta named Mālabhārī (Garland-Bearer), entered the pleasure-garden in the Realm of the Thirty-Three, accompanied by a thousand Accharās.Mālabhārī means “Garland-Bearer.” The original translation rendered the name “Garland-Wearer.”
Pañcasatā devadhītaro rukkhaṃ āruyha pupphāni pātenti, pañcasatā patitāni pupphāni gahetvā devaputtaṃ alaṅkaronti.Five hundred of these Accharās climbed trees and threw down flowers; five hundred others gathered up the flowers that fell and decked the god therewith.
Tāsu ekā devadhītā rukkhasākhāyameva cutā, sarīraṃ dīpasikhā viya nibbāyi.One of these Accharās, while she was on the branch of a tree, passed from that state of existence, her body vanishing like the flame of a lamp, and received a new conception in Sāvatthī in a certain family home.The Pāli places the nymph on a tree branch but does not say she was seated, as in the original translation. The Pāli says she was reborn in a family home at Sāvatthī; the original translation added the family’s social station.
Sā sāvatthiyaṃ ekasmiṃ kulagehe paṭisandhiṃ gahetvā jātakāle jātissarā hutvā “mālabhārīdevaputtassa bhariyāmhī”ti anussarantī vuḍḍhimanvāya gandhamālādīhi pūjaṃ katvā sāmikassa santike abhinibbattiṃ patthesi.Born with a recollection of her former states of existence, and remembering that she had been the wife of the Devaputta Mālabhārī, she made offerings of perfumes and garlands when she grew up, making the aspiration to be reborn with her former husband.[29.47] marks page 47 of volume 29 of the Harvard Oriental Series English translation.
Sā soḷasavassakāle parakulaṃ gatāpi salākabhattapakkhikabhattavassāvāsikādīni datvā,When she was sixteen years of age, she married into another family. And even then, whenever she gave the bhikkhus ticket-food or fortnightly-food or offerings for the rains retreat,Vassāvāsika refers to offerings for the rains retreat. The original translation called them food for the rainy season.
“ayaṃ me sāmikassa santike nibbattanatthāya paccayo hotū”ti vadati. Athassā bhikkhū “ayaṃ kumārikā uṭṭhāya samuṭṭhāya patimeva patthetīti patipūjikā”ti nāmaṃ kariṃsu.she would say: “May this offering assist me to obtain rebirth with my former husband.” Said the bhikkhus: “This woman, ever busy and active, yearns only for her husband.” Therefore they called her Patipūjikā (Husband-Honorer).
Sāpi nibaddhaṃ āsanasālaṃ paṭijaggati, pānīyaṃ upaṭṭhapeti, āsanāni paññapeti. Aññepi manussā salākabhattādīni dātukāmā,She cared regularly for the Assembly Hall, supplied water for drinking, and provided seats for the bhikkhus. Whenever others desired to give ticket-food or fortnightly-food, they would bring it and give it to her,
“amma, imānipi bhikkhusaṅghassa paṭipādeyyāsī”ti vatvā āharitvā denti. Sāpi etena niyāmena āgacchantī gacchantī ekapadavāre chapaññāsa kusaladhamme (dha. sa. 1; dha. sa. aṭṭha. 1 yevāpanakavaṇṇanā) paṭilabhati.saying: “Dear lady, pray present these to the Saṅgha of bhikkhus.” Going to and fro in this manner, she acquired fifty-six wholesome qualities with every step she took.The Pāli says she acquired fifty-six wholesome qualities with each step she took. The original translation said she obtained them “at one and the same time.”
Tassā kucchiyaṃ gabbho patiṭṭhahi. Sā dasamāsaccayena puttaṃ vijāyi. Tassa padasā gamanakāle aññampi aññampīti cattāro putte paṭilabhi.She became pregnant and at the end of ten lunar months gave birth to a son; when her son was old enough to walk, she gave birth to another son, and then to another, until she had four sons.
Sā ekadivasaṃ dānaṃ datvā pūjaṃ katvā dhammaṃ sutvā sikkhāpadāni rakkhitvā divasapariyosāne taṃ khaṇaṃ nibbattena kenaci rogena kālaṃ katvā attano sāmikasseva santike nibbatti.One day she gave alms, rendered honor to the bhikkhus, listened to the Dhamma, and kept the precepts, and at the end of that day died of some sudden sickness and was reborn with her former husband.{1.364} marks page 364 of volume 1 of the Pāli Text Society Pāli text.
Itarāpi ettakaṃ kālaṃ devaputtaṃ alaṅkaronti eva. Devaputto taṃ disvā “tvaṃ pātova paṭṭhāya na dissasi,During all that time the other Accharās were decking the god with flowers. When the Devaputta Mālabhārī saw her, he said: “I have not seen you since morning.Mālabhārī asks why he has not seen her since morning. The original translation used “we.”
kuhiṃ gatāsī”ti āha. “Cutāmhi sāmī”ti. “Kiṃ vadesī”ti? “Evametaṃ, sāmī”ti. “Kuhiṃ nibbattāsī”ti? “Sāvatthiyaṃ kulagehe”ti. “Kittakaṃ kālaṃ tattha ṭhitāsī”ti?Where have you been?” – “I passed from this existence, husband.” – “What say you?” – “Precisely so, husband.” – “Where were you reborn?” – “In a family home at Sāvatthī.” – “How long a time did you remain there?”The Pāli again says only that she was reborn in a family home; the original translation added the family’s social station.
“Dasamāsaccayena mātu kucchito nikkhamitvā soḷasavassakāle parakulaṃ gantvā cattāro putte vijāyitvā dānādīni puññāni katvā tumhe patthetvā āgantvā tumhākameva santike nibbattāmhi,“At the end of the tenth lunar month I issued from the womb of my mother. When I was sixteen years old, I married into another family. I bore four sons, gave alms and performed other meritorious deeds,The Pāli refers to alms and other meritorious deeds, without specifying homage to the bhikkhus in these exchanges. The original translation added that action.
sāmī”ti. “Manussānaṃ kittakaṃ āyū”ti? “Vassasatamatta”nti. “Ettakamevā”ti?making an aspiration to return and be reborn with you, husband.” – “How long is the life of men?” – “Only a hundred years.” – “So short as that?”
“Āma, sāmī”ti. “Ettakaṃ āyuṃ gahetvā nibbattamanussā kiṃ nu kho suttapamattā kālaṃ atikkāmenti, udāhu dānādīni puññāni karontī”ti.– “Yes, husband.” – “If men are reborn with so short a time as that to live, do they spend their time asleep and heedless, or do they give alms and perform other meritorious deeds?” – “What say you,
“Kiṃ vadetha, sāmi”? “Asaṅkhyeyyaṃ āyuṃ gahetvā nibbattā viya ajarāmarā viya ca niccaṃ pamattā, manussā”ti.husband? Men are ever heedless, as if reborn with an incalculable number of years to live, as if in no wise subject to old age and death.”
Mālabhārīdevaputtassa mahāsaṃvego udapādi “vassasatamattamāyuṃ gahetvā nibbattamanussā kira pamattā nipajjitvā niddāyanti, kadā nu kho dukkhā muccissantī”ti?The Devaputta Mālabhārī was greatly agitated. He said: “If, as you say, men are reborn with only a hundred years to live, and if they lie heedless and asleep, when will they ever obtain release from suffering?”[29.48] marks page 48 of volume 29 of the Harvard Oriental Series English translation.
Manussānaṃ pana vassasataṃ tāvatiṃsānaṃ devānaṃ eko rattindivo, tāya rattiyā tiṃsarattiyo māso, tena māsena dvādasamāsiko saṃvaccharo, tena saṃvaccharena dibbavassasahassaṃ āyuppamāṇaṃ,Now a hundred of our years are equivalent to a night and a day in the Realm of the Thirty-Three Devas, thirty such nights and days make up a month, twelve such months make up a year, and the length of their lives is a thousand such celestial years;{1.365} marks page 365 of volume 1 of the Pāli Text Society Pāli text.
taṃ manussagaṇanāya tisso vassakoṭiyo, saṭṭhi ca vassasatasahassāni honti. Tasmā tassa devaputtassa ekadivasopi nātikkanto muhuttasadisova kālo ahosi. Evaṃ appāyukamanussānaṃ pamādo nāma ativiya ayuttoti.or, in human reckoning, thirty-six million years. Thus it was that for that Deva not a single day had passed; nay, not more than a moment of time. Thus, for people whose lives are so short, heedlessness is highly improper.The concluding judgment about heedlessness is the commentary narrator’s, not a further thought spoken by Mālabhārī as in the original translation.
Punadivase bhikkhū gāmaṃ paviṭṭhā āsanasālaṃ apaṭijaggitaṃ, āsanāni apaññattāni, pānīyaṃ anuṭṭhapitaṃ disvā, “kahaṃ patipūjikā”ti āhaṃsu. “Bhante, kahaṃ tumhe taṃ dakkhissatha,On the following day the bhikkhus, on entering the village, found the Assembly Hall uncared for, no seats provided, no water supplied for drinking. “Where is Patipūjikā?” said they. “Venerable Sirs, how could you expect to see her? Yesterday at eventide,
hiyyo ayyesu bhuñjitvā gatesu sāyanhasamaye matā”ti. Taṃ sutvā puthujjanā bhikkhū tassā upakāraṃ sarantā assūni sandhāretuṃ nāsakkhiṃsu. Khīṇāsavānaṃ dhammasaṃvego udapādi.after your reverences had eaten and departed, she died.” Thereupon ordinary bhikkhus, remembering her kindly services to them, were unable to restrain their tears; while bhikkhus who had destroyed the pollutants were overcome with spiritual urgency.Puthujjanā are ordinary, unenlightened bhikkhus. The original translation called them “unattained.”
Te bhattakiccaṃ katvā vihāraṃ gantvā satthāraṃ vanditvā pucchiṃsu – “bhante,After their meal, they went to the monastery and asked the Teacher: “Venerable Sir,Bhattakicca means their meal; the original translation specified breakfast.
patipūjikā nāma upāsikā uṭṭhāya samuṭṭhāya nānappakārāni puññāni katvā sāmikameva patthesi, sā idāni matā, kahaṃ nu kho nibbattā”ti? “Attano sāmikasseva santike, bhikkhave”ti.Patipūjikā, busy and active, performed all manner of works of merit and yearned only for her husband. Now she is dead. Where was she reborn?” – “Bhikkhus, she was reborn with her own husband.”
“Natthi, bhante, sāmikassa santike”ti. “Na sā, bhikkhave, etaṃ sāmikaṃ pattheti, tāvatiṃsabhavane tassā mālabhārīdevaputto nāma sāmiko,– “But, venerable Sir, she is not with her husband.” – “Bhikkhus, she yearned not for that husband. Her husband was the Devaputta Mālabhārī in the Realm of the Thirty-Three.
sā tassa pupphapilandhanaṭṭhānato cavitvā puna gantvā tasseva santike nibbattā”ti. “Evaṃ kira, bhante”ti.She passed from that state of existence while decking him with flowers. Now she has returned to where she was before and has been reborn with him.” – “Venerable Sir, is what you say true?”
“Āma, bhikkhave”ti. “Aho parittaṃ, bhante, sattānaṃ jīvitaṃ, pātova amhe parivisitvā sāyaṃ uppannabyādhinā matā”ti. Satthā “āma, bhikkhave,– “Yes, bhikkhus, what I say is true.” – “Oh, how short, venerable Sir, is the life of creatures in this world! Early in the morning she served us with food, and in the evening she sickened and died.” The Teacher replied: “Yes, bhikkhus,The Teacher distinguishes sensual objects (vatthukāma) from sensual desires (kilesakāma), which the original translation rendered as “things of earth” and “desires for sensual pleasures.”
parittaṃ sattānaṃ jīvitaṃ nāma, teneva ime satte vatthukāmehi ceva kilesakāmehi ca atitte eva antako attano vase vattetvā kandante paridevante gahetvā gacchatī”ti vatvā imaṃ gāthamāha –the life of creatures in this world is indeed short. Therefore, while creatures remain unsated by sensual objects and sensual desires, death overpowers them and carries them off wailing and weeping.” So saying, he pronounced the following verse:{1.366} marks page 366 of volume 1 of the Pāli Text Society Pāli text.
48. “Pupphāni heva pacinantaṃ, byāsattamanasaṃ naraṃ; Atittaṃyeva kāmesu, antako kurute vasa”nti.The End-Maker takes control of the one whose mind is attached to collecting flowers, even though he is unsated with pleasures.
Tattha pupphāni heva pacinantanti pupphārāme mālākāro nānāpupphāni viya attabhāvapaṭibaddhāni ceva upakaraṇapaṭibaddhāni ca kāmaguṇapupphāni ocinantameva.
Byāsattamanasaṃ naranti asampattesu patthanāvasena, sampattesu gedhavasena vividhenākārena āsattacittaṃ.
Atittaṃyeva kāmesūti vatthukāmakilesakāmesu pariyesanenapi paṭilābhenapi paribhogenapi nidhānenapi atittaṃ eva samānaṃ.
Antako kurute vasanti maraṇasaṅkhāto antako kandantaṃ paridevantaṃ gahetvā gacchanto attano vasaṃ pāpetīti attho.
Desanāvasāne bahū sotāpattiphalādīni pattā, desanā mahājanassa sātthikā jātāti.At the end of the teaching many attained the fruition of Stream-entry and so on, and there was benefit for many people from the teaching.
Patipūjikakumārivatthu catutthaṃ.