sutta » kn » thig » Therīgāthā 13.3

Cāpātherīgāthā

Verses of the Elder Cāpā Cāpā

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

… Cāpā therī ….
The Elder Cāpā