sutta » sn » sn3 » Saṁyutta Nikāya 3.19

Paṭhamaaputtakasutta

Childless Childless (1st)

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.
At Sāvatthī.
At Sāvatthī.

Atha kho rājā pasenadi kosalo divā divassa yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinnaṁ kho rājānaṁ pasenadiṁ kosalaṁ bhagavā etadavoca:
Then King Pasenadi of Kosala approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to him:
Then King Pasenadi of Kosala went up to the Buddha in the middle of the day, bowed, and sat down to one side. The Buddha said to him,

“handa kuto nu tvaṁ, mahārāja, āgacchasi divā divassā”ti?
“Where are you coming from, great king, in the middle of the day?”
“So, great king, where are you coming from in the middle of the day?”

“Idha, bhante, sāvatthiyaṁ seṭṭhi gahapati kālaṅkato.
“Here, venerable sir, a financier householder in Sāvatthī has died.
“Sir, here in Sāvatthī a financier householder has passed away.

Tamahaṁ aputtakaṁ sāpateyyaṁ rājantepuraṁ atiharitvā āgacchāmi.
I have come after conveying his heirless fortune to the palace, as he died intestate.
Since he died childless, I have come after transferring his fortune to the royal compound.

Asīti, bhante, satasahassāni hiraññasseva, ko pana vādo rūpiyassa.
There were eighty lakhs of gold, not to speak of silver,
There was eight million in gold, not to mention the silver.

Tassa kho pana, bhante, seṭṭhissa gahapatissa evarūpo bhattabhogo ahosi—
and yet, venerable sir, that financier householder’s meals were like this:
And yet that financier ate meals of

kaṇājakaṁ bhuñjati bilaṅgadutiyaṁ.
he ate red rice along with sour gruel.
rough gruel with pickles.

Evarūpo vatthabhogo ahosi—
His clothes were like this:
He wore clothes consisting of

sāṇaṁ dhāreti tipakkhavasanaṁ.
he wore a three-piece hempen garment.
three pieces of sunn hemp.

Evarūpo yānabhogo ahosi—
His vehicle was like this:
He traveled around in a vehicle that was

jajjararathakena yāti paṇṇachattakena dhāriyamānenā”ti.
he went about in a dilapidated little cart with a leaf awning. ”
a dilapidated little cart, holding a leaf as sunshade.”

“Evametaṁ, mahārāja, evametaṁ, mahārāja.
“So it is, great king! So it is, great king!
“That’s so true, great king! That’s so true!

Asappuriso kho, mahārāja, uḷāre bhoge labhitvā nevattānaṁ sukheti pīṇeti, na mātāpitaro sukheti pīṇeti, na puttadāraṁ sukheti pīṇeti, na dāsakammakaraporise sukheti pīṇeti, na mittāmacce sukheti pīṇeti, na samaṇabrāhmaṇesu uddhaggikaṁ dakkhiṇaṁ patiṭṭhāpeti sovaggikaṁ sukhavipākaṁ saggasaṁvattanikaṁ.
When an inferior man gains abundant wealth, he does not make himself happy and pleased, nor does he make his mother and father happy and pleased, nor his wife and children, nor his slaves, workers, and servants, nor his friends and colleagues; nor does he establish an offering for ascetics and brahmins, one leading upwards, of heavenly fruit, resulting in happiness, conducive to heaven.
When an untrue person has acquired exceptional wealth they don’t make themselves happy and pleased. Nor do they make their mother and father, partners and children, bondservants, workers, and staff, and friends and colleagues happy and pleased. And they don’t establish an uplifting religious donation for ascetics and brahmins that’s conducive to heaven, ripens in happiness, and leads to heaven.

Tassa te bhoge evaṁ sammā aparibhuñjiyamāne rājāno vā haranti corā vā haranti aggi vā ḍahati udakaṁ vā vahati appiyā vā dāyādā haranti.
Because his wealth is not being used properly, kings take it away, or thieves take it away, or fire burns it, or water carries it away, or unloved heirs take it.
Because they haven’t made proper use of that wealth, rulers or bandits take it, or fire consumes it, or flood sweeps it away, or unloved heirs take it.

Evaṁsa te, mahārāja, bhogā sammā aparibhuñjiyamānā parikkhayaṁ gacchanti, no paribhogaṁ.
Such being the case, great king, that wealth, not being used properly, goes to waste, not to utilization.
Since that wealth is not properly utilized, it’s wasted, not used.

Seyyathāpi, mahārāja, amanussaṭṭhāne pokkharaṇī acchodakā sītodakā sātodakā setodakā supatitthā ramaṇīyā.
“Suppose, great king, in a place uninhabited by human beings, there was a lotus pond with clear, cool, sweet, clean water, with good fords, delightful;
Suppose there was a lotus pond in an uninhabited region with clear, sweet, cool water, clean, with smooth banks, delightful.

Taṁ jano neva hareyya na piveyya na nahāyeyya na yathāpaccayaṁ vā kareyya.
but no people would take that water, or drink it, or bathe in it, or use it for any purpose.
But people don’t collect it or drink it or bathe in it or use it for any purpose.

Evañhi taṁ, mahārāja, udakaṁ sammā aparibhuñjiyamānaṁ parikkhayaṁ gaccheyya, no paribhogaṁ.
In such a case, great king, that water, not being used properly, would go to waste, not to utilization.
Since that water is not properly utilized, it’s wasted, not used.

Evameva kho, mahārāja, asappuriso uḷāre bhoge labhitvā nevattānaṁ sukheti pīṇeti, na mātāpitaro sukheti pīṇeti, na puttadāraṁ sukheti pīṇeti, na dāsakammakaraporise sukheti pīṇeti, na mittāmacce sukheti pīṇeti, na samaṇabrāhmaṇesu uddhaggikaṁ dakkhiṇaṁ patiṭṭhāpeti sovaggikaṁ sukhavipākaṁ saggasaṁvattanikaṁ.
So too, great king, when an inferior man gains abundant wealth . . . that wealth, not being used properly, goes to waste, not to utilization.
In the same way, when an untrue person has acquired exceptional wealth …

Tassa te bhoge evaṁ sammā aparibhuñjiyamāne rājāno vā haranti, corā vā haranti, aggi vā ḍahati, udakaṁ vā vahati, appiyā vā dāyādā haranti.

Evaṁsa te, mahārāja, bhogā sammā aparibhuñjiyamānā parikkhayaṁ gacchanti, no paribhogaṁ.
it’s wasted, not used.

Sappuriso ca kho, mahārāja, uḷāre bhoge labhitvā attānaṁ sukheti pīṇeti, mātāpitaro sukheti pīṇeti, puttadāraṁ sukheti pīṇeti, dāsakammakaraporise sukheti pīṇeti, mittāmacce sukheti pīṇeti, samaṇabrāhmaṇesu uddhaggikaṁ dakkhiṇaṁ patiṭṭhāpeti sovaggikaṁ sukhavipākaṁ saggasaṁvattanikaṁ.
“But, great king, when a superior man gains abundant wealth, he makes himself happy and pleased, and he makes his mother and father happy and pleased, and his wife and children, and his slaves, workers, and servants, and his friends and colleagues; and he establishes an offering for ascetics and brahmins, one leading upwards, of heavenly fruit, resulting in happiness, conducive to heaven.
When a true person has acquired exceptional wealth they make themselves happy and pleased. And they make their mother and father, partners and children, bondservants, workers, and staff, and friends and colleagues happy and pleased. And they establish an uplifting religious donation for ascetics and brahmins that’s conducive to heaven, ripens in happiness, and leads to heaven.

Tassa te bhoge evaṁ sammā paribhuñjiyamāne neva rājāno haranti, na corā haranti, na aggi ḍahati, na udakaṁ vahati, na appiyā dāyādā haranti.
Because his wealth is being used properly, kings do not take it away, thieves do not take it away, fire does not burn it, water does not carry it away, and unloved heirs do not take it.
Because they make proper use of that wealth, rulers or bandits don’t take it, fire doesn’t consume it, flood doesn’t sweep it away, and unloved heirs don’t take it.

Evaṁsa te, mahārāja, bhogā sammā paribhuñjiyamānā paribhogaṁ gacchanti, no parikkhayaṁ.
Such being the case, great king, that wealth, being used properly, goes to utilization, not to waste.
Since that wealth is properly utilized, it’s used, not wasted.

Seyyathāpi, mahārāja, gāmassa vā nigamassa vā avidūre pokkharaṇī acchodakā sītodakā sātodakā setodakā supatitthā ramaṇīyā.
“Suppose, great king, not far from a village or a town, there was a lotus pond with clear, cool, sweet, clean water, with good fords, delightful;
Suppose there was a lotus pond not far from a town or village with clear, sweet, cool water, clean, with smooth banks, delightful.

Tañca udakaṁ jano hareyyapi piveyyapi nahāyeyyapi yathāpaccayampi kareyya.
and people would take that water, and drink it, and bathe in it, and use it for their purposes.
And people collected it and drank it and bathed in it and used it for their own purpose.

Evañhi taṁ, mahārāja, udakaṁ sammā paribhuñjiyamānaṁ paribhogaṁ gaccheyya, no parikkhayaṁ.
In such a case, great king, that water, being used properly, would go to utilization, not to waste.
Since that water is properly utilized, it’s used, not wasted.

Evameva kho, mahārāja, sappuriso uḷāre bhoge labhitvā attānaṁ sukheti pīṇeti, mātāpitaro sukheti pīṇeti, puttadāraṁ sukheti pīṇeti, dāsakammakaraporise sukheti pīṇeti, mittāmacce sukheti pīṇeti, samaṇabrāhmaṇesu uddhaggikaṁ dakkhiṇaṁ patiṭṭhāpeti sovaggikaṁ sukhavipākaṁ saggasaṁvattanikaṁ.
So too, great king, when a superior man gains abundant wealth . . . that wealth, being used properly, goes to utilization, not to waste.
In the same way, when a true person has acquired exceptional wealth …

Tassa te bhoge evaṁ sammā paribhuñjiyamāne neva rājāno haranti, na corā haranti, na aggi ḍahati, na udakaṁ vahati, na appiyā dāyādā haranti.

Evaṁsa te, mahārāja, bhogā sammā paribhuñjiyamānā paribhogaṁ gacchanti, no parikkhayan”ti.
it’s used, not wasted.

“Amanussaṭṭhāne udakaṁva sītaṁ,
“As cool water in a desolate place
As cool water in an uninhabited region

Tadapeyyamānaṁ parisosameti;
Evaporates without being drunk,
evaporates when not drunk;

Evaṁ dhanaṁ kāpuriso labhitvā,
So when a scoundrel acquires wealth
so too when a sinner acquires wealth,

Nevattanā bhuñjati no dadāti.
He neither enjoys himself nor gives.
they neither use it themselves nor give it away.

Dhīro ca viññū adhigamma bhoge,
“But when the wise man obtains wealth
But when a wise and sensible person <j>gets hold of wealth,

So bhuñjati kiccakaro ca hoti;
He enjoys himself and does his duty.
they use it and do their duty.

So ñātisaṅghaṁ nisabho bharitvā,
Having supported his kin, free from blame,
That head, having supported the family unit,

Anindito saggamupeti ṭhānan”ti.
That noble man goes to a heavenly state. ”
blameless, goes to a heavenly place.”