sutta » kn » thig » Therīgāthā 13.3

Cāpātherīgāthā

Cāpā Verses of the Elder Cāpā

“Laṭṭhihattho pure āsi,
“Once I carried a hermit’s staff,
“In the past I handled a staff,

so dāni migaluddako;
but these days I hunt deer.
now I am a deer hunter.

Āsāya palipā ghorā,
My desires have made me unable to cross
Desire held me back from passing over

nāsakkhi pārametave.
from the awful marsh to the far shore.
the terrible marsh to the far shore.

Sumattaṁ maṁ maññamānā,
Thinking me so in love with her,
Cāpā is lying there,

cāpā puttamatosayi;
Cāpā kept our son happy.
sure that I am captivated by our child.

Cāpāya bandhanaṁ chetvā,
Having cut Cāpā’s bond,
I need to cut my bond with Cāpā

pabbajissaṁ punopahaṁ”.
I’ll go forth once again.”
and go forth again.

“Mā me kujjhi mahāvīra,
“Don’t be mad at me, great hero!
The Great Hero will not be upset with me!

mā me kujjhi mahāmuni;
Don’t be mad at me, great sage!
The Great Sage will not be upset with me!

Na hi kodhaparetassa,
If you’re mired in anger you can’t stay pure,
Because how could a pure one with spiritual power

suddhi atthi kuto tapo”.
let alone be fervent.”
be overcome by anger?

“Pakkamissañca nāḷāto,
“I’m going to leave Nālā!
I will escape from her claws!

kodha nāḷāya vacchati;
For who’d stay here at Nālā!
Who would want to live trapped by claws,

Bandhantī itthirūpena,
With their figures, the women trap
that in the shape of a female capture

samaṇe dhammajīvino”.
ascetics who live righteously.”
contemplatives who are living a life of Dhamma?”

“Ehi kāḷa nivattassu,
“Please, Kāḷa, come back to me.
“Come back here, Kāḷa,

bhuñja kāme yathā pure;
Enjoy pleasures like you did before.
enjoy sensual pleasures like you did in the past.

Ahañca te vasīkatā,
I’ll be under your control,
My family and I

ye ca me santi ñātakā”.
along with any relatives I have.”
are under your power.”

“Etto cāpe catubbhāgaṁ,
“Cāpā, if even a quarter
“Oh Cāpā, even a fraction

yathā bhāsasi tvañca me;
of what you say were true,
of what you say to me,

Tayi rattassa posassa,
it would be a splendid thing
for an infatuated man,

uḷāraṁ vata taṁ siyā”.
for a man in love with you!”
would be wonderful indeed.”

“Kāḷaṅginiṁva takkāriṁ,
“Kāḷa, I am like a sprouting iris
“Kālā, I am like an acacia tree

pupphitaṁ girimuddhani;
flowering on a mountain top,
flowering at the peak of a mountain,

Phullaṁ dālimalaṭṭhiṁva,
like a blossoming pomegranate,
a blossoming pomegranate,

antodīpeva pāṭaliṁ.
like a patala tree on an isle;
a trumpet flower tree on an island.

Haricandanalittaṅgiṁ,
my limbs are anointed with yellow sandalwood,
My limbs are anointed in yellow sandalwood,

kāsikuttamadhāriniṁ;
and I wear the finest Kāsi cloth:
and I wear the best fabrics from Kāsi.

Taṁ maṁ rūpavatiṁ santiṁ,
when I am so very beautiful,
How can you go and leave me behind,

kassa ohāya gacchasi”.
how can you abandon me and leave?”
when I am so beautiful?”

“Sākuntikova sakuṇiṁ,
“You’re like a fowler
“You are like a fowler

yathā bandhitumicchati;
who wants to catch a bird;
who longs to capture a bird,

Āharimena rūpena,
but you won’t trap me
but even with your attractive body

na maṁ tvaṁ bādhayissasi”.
with your captivating form.”
you will not capture me.”

“Imañca me puttaphalaṁ,
“But this child, my fruit,
“And this child of mine,

kāḷa uppāditaṁ tayā;
was begotten by you, Kāḷa.
Kāḷā, has come into existence because of you.

Taṁ maṁ puttavatiṁ santiṁ,
When I have this child,
How can you go and abandon me,

kassa ohāya gacchasi”.
how can you abandon me and leave?”
when I have this child?”

“Jahanti putte sappaññā,
“The wise give up
“The wise leave children,

tato ñātī tato dhanaṁ;
children, family, and wealth.
relatives, and wealth.

Pabbajanti mahāvīrā,
Great heroes go forth
Great heroes go forth,

nāgo chetvāva bandhanaṁ”.
like elephants breaking their bonds.”
like a Nāga who has cut all bonds.”

“Idāni te imaṁ puttaṁ,
“Now, this son of yours:
“Now this is your child,

Daṇḍena churikāya vā;
I’ll strike him to the ground right here,
who, with a knife or a stick,

Bhūmiyaṁ vā nisumbhissaṁ,
with a stick or with a knife!
I will knock down on the ground,

Puttasokā na gacchasi”.
Grieving your son, you will not leave.”
struck by grief after the loss of your child you will not go.”

“Sace puttaṁ siṅgālānaṁ,
“Even if you feed our son
“Even if you fed our child

kukkurānaṁ padāhisi;
to jackals and dogs,
to dogs and jackals,

Na maṁ puttakatte jammi,
I’d never return again, you bitch,
not even for my own child, you wretch,

punarāvattayissasi”.
not even for the child’s sake.”
would I ever come back.”

“Handa kho dāni bhaddante,
“Well then, sir, tell me,
“Alright now, venerable sir,

kuhiṁ kāḷa gamissasi;
where will you go, Kāḷa?
then where will you go, Kāḷa?

Katamaṁ gāmanigamaṁ,
To what village or town,
To what town or village,

nagaraṁ rājadhāniyo”.
city or capital?”
to what borough or royal city?”

“Ahumha pubbe gaṇino,
“Last time we had followers,
“In the past we had a following,

Assamaṇā samaṇamānino;
we weren’t ascetics, we just thought we were.
we thought we were contemplatives, but we actually were not.

Gāmena gāmaṁ vicarimha,
We wandered from village to village,
We wandered from village to village,

Nagare rājadhāniyo.
to cities and capitals.
from towns to royal cities.

Eso hi bhagavā buddho,
But now the Blessed One, the Buddha,
But there is the Bhagavant, the Buddha,

nadiṁ nerañjaraṁ pati;
back on the bank of the Nerañjara River,
by the River Nerañjara;

Sabbadukkhappahānāya,
teaches the Dhamma so that living creatures
for the removal of all suffering,

dhammaṁ deseti pāṇinaṁ;
may abandon all suffering.
he preaches the Dhamma to sentient beings.

Tassāhaṁ santikaṁ gacchaṁ,
I shall go to his presence,
I will go to him,

so me satthā bhavissati”.
he shall be my Teacher.”
and he will become my Teacher.”

“Vandanaṁ dāni vajjāsi,
“Now please convey my respects
“Now bring homage

lokanāthaṁ anuttaraṁ;
to the supreme protector of the world.
to the protector of the world, the unsurpassable one.

Padakkhiṇañca katvāna,
Circling him to your right,
Keeping him to your right,

ādiseyyāsi dakkhiṇaṁ”.
dedicate my religious donation.”
you will dedicate a gift.”

“Etaṁ kho labbhamamhehi,
“This is the proper thing to do,
“That indeed is proper for me,

yathā bhāsasi tvañca me;
just as you have said to me.
just as you say to me,

Vandanaṁ dāni te vajjaṁ,
I’ll convey your respects
to bring your homage

lokanāthaṁ anuttaraṁ;
to the supreme protector of the world.
to the protector of the world, the unsurpassable one.

Padakkhiṇañca katvāna,
Circling him to my right,
Keeping him to my right,

ādisissāmi dakkhiṇaṁ”.
I’ll dedicate your religious donation.”
I will dedicate a gift.”

Tato ca kāḷo pakkāmi,
Then Kāḷa set out
From there, Kāḷa went on

nadiṁ nerañjaraṁ pati;
back to the bank of the Nerañjara River.
to the River Nerañjara,

So addasāsi sambuddhaṁ,
He saw the Awakened One
he saw the Self-Enlightened One,

desentaṁ amataṁ padaṁ.
teaching the state free of death:
expounding the path to the deathless.

Dukkhaṁ dukkhasamuppādaṁ,
suffering, suffering’s origin,
Suffering, the origin of suffering,

dukkhassa ca atikkamaṁ;
suffering’s transcendence,
and the overcoming of suffering.

Ariyaṁ caṭṭhaṅgikaṁ maggaṁ,
and the noble eightfold path
and the Noble Eightfold Path

dukkhūpasamagāminaṁ.
that leads to the stilling of suffering.
leading to the appeasement of suffering.

Tassa pādāni vanditvā,
He paid homage at his feet,
He paid homage at his feet,

Katvāna naṁ padakkhiṇaṁ;
circling him to his right,
and keeping him to his right,

Cāpāya ādisitvāna,
and conveyed Cāpā’s dedication;
announced Cāpā’s dedication

Pabbajiṁ anagāriyaṁ;
then he went forth to homelessness.
and went forth into homelessness.

Tisso vijjā anuppattā,
He attained the three knowledges,
He obtained the three knowledges,

Kataṁ buddhassa sāsanaṁ.
and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.
and completed the teaching of the Buddha.

… Cāpā therī ….
The Elder Cāpā