The Elephant
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14 Verses | Page 1 / 1
(Pali version)


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(Ⅰ)
(Ⅱ)
(Ⅲ)


23. 320  
ahaM naago va sangaame chaapato patitaM saraM
ativaakyaM titikkhissaM du-ssiilo hi bahu-jjano.
- I will bear criticism like an elephant in battle bears an arrow from a bow. Most people are bad behaviour. (Ⅰ)
- Even as an elephant on the battlefield endures the arrow shot from the bow, so shall I bear with abusive language. Verily, most people are ill-tempered. (Ⅱ)
23. 321  
dantaM nayanti samitiM dantaM raajaa'bhiruuhati
danto seTTho manussesu yo'tivaakyaM titikkhati.
- One can take a trained elephant even into a crowd. The king himself will ride a trained elephant. He who is disciplined is the best of men, since he can bear criticism. (Ⅰ)
- They lead a well-trained elephant to the assembly; the king mounts a well-tamed elephant. The self-controlled man who can bear with abusive language is the best among men. (Ⅱ)
23. 322  
varam assataraa dantaa aajaaniiyaa cha sindhavaa
kuñjaraa cha mahaa-naagaa atta-danto tato varaM.
- Trained mules are excellent, and so are thoroughbred horses from the Sindh, and so are great battle elephants, but more excellent than them all is a disciplined man. (Ⅰ)
- When trained, mules are good, so also are the horses of Sindhu breed and the great tuskers of noble lineage. But better than all these is the man who has controlled the senses. (Ⅱ)
23. 323  
na hi etehi yaanehi gachchheyya agataM disaM
yathaa'ttanaa su-dantena danto dantena gachchhati.
- There is no reaching the unattainable with mounts like these, but with himself well under control a disciplined man can get there. (Ⅰ)
- Not astride any of these (animals) can one reach the untrodden realm (nirvana), where a well-disciplined man goes only on his well-tamed (nature), his well-controlled self. (Ⅱ)
23. 324  
dhana-paalo naama kuñjaro
kaTuka-bhedano du-nnivaarayo
baddho kabaLaM na bhuñjati
sumarati naaga-vanassa kuñjaro.
- Dhammapalo, the elephant, is hard to control in rut. Even when tied up, he refuses his food. The great tusker is thinking of the elephant forest. (Ⅰ)
- The royal tusker named Dhanapalaka, with sap-flowing temples in its rut period, is difficult to control. It does not eat a morsel when bound. It eagerly longs for the elephant forest. (Ⅱ)
23. 325  
middhii yadaa hoti maha-gghaso cha
niddaayitaa samparivatta-saayii
mahaa-varaaho va nivaapa-puTTho
puna-ppunaM gabbham upeti mando.
- When a man is a lie-abed and over-eats, a lazy person who wallows in sleep like a great over-fed hog, a fool like that will be reborn time after time. (Ⅰ)
- If a man is torpid, gluttonous, slumberous and rolling to and fro like a huge hog which has been fattened by pig wash and podder, that indolent and stupid fool is born again and again. (Ⅱ)
23. 326  
idaM pure chittam achaari chaarikaM
yen'ichchhakaM yattha-kaamaM yathaa-sukhaM
tad ajj'ahaM niggahessaami yoniso
hatthi-ppabhinnaM viya ankusa-ggaho.
- My mind used formerly to go off wandering wherever it felt like, following its own inclination, but today I shall control it carefully, like a mahout does a rutting elephant. (Ⅰ)
- During the past, this mind of mine roamed freely as it liked, as it desired, at its own pleasure. But today, I shall fully keep it in check, even as the elephant driver with the point of a goad controls an unruly elephant in rut. (Ⅱ)
23. 327  
appamaada-rataa hotha sa-chittam anurakkhatha
duggaa addharath'attaanaM panke sanno va kuñjaro.
- Take pleasure in being careful. Guard your mind well. Extricate yourself from the mire, like a great tusker sunk in the mud. (Ⅰ)
- Be ever vigilant; keep close watch over your thoughts; extricate yourself from the mire of evil, as does an elephant sunk in the mud. (Ⅱ)
23. 328  
sache labhetha nipakaM sahaayaM
saddhiM charaM saadhu-vihaari-dhiiraM
abhibhuyya sabbaani parissayaani
chareyya ten'atta-mano satiimaa.
- If you find an intelligent companion, a wise and well-behaved person going the same way as yourself, then go along with him, overcoming all dangers, pleased at heart and mindful. (Ⅰ)
- If you find a wise companion to associate with you, one who leads a virtuous life and is diligent, you should lead a life with him joyfully and mindfully, conquering all obstacles. (Ⅱ)
23. 329  
no che labhetha nipakaM sahaayaM
saddhiM charaM saadhu-vihaari-dhiiraM
raajaa va raTThaM vijitaM pahaaya
eko chare maatang'araññe va naago.
- But if you do not find an intelligent companion, a wise and well-behaved person going the same way as yourself, then go on your way alone, like a king abandoning a conquered kingdom, or like a great elephant in the deep forest. (Ⅰ)
- If you do not find a wise companion to associate with you, one who leads a virtuous life and is diligent, then like the monarch who has renounced his conquered kingdom, and like Matanga the elephant in the forest, you should live alone. (Ⅱ)
23. 330  
ekassa charitaM seyyo n'atthi baale sahaayataa
eko chare na cha paapaani kayiraa
app'ossukko maatang'araññe va naago.
- It is better to travel alone. There is no companionship with a fool. Go on your way alone and commit no evil, without cares like a great elephant in the deep forest. (Ⅰ)
- It is better to lead a solitary life; there is no companionship with a childish person! Let one live alone committing no sin, having few wishes, like Matanga the elephant in the elephant grove. (Ⅱ)
23. 331  
atthamhi jaatamhi sukhaa sahaayaa
tuTThii sukhaa yaa itar'iitarena
paññaM sukhaM jiivita-sankhayamhi
sabbaso dukkhassa sukhaM pahaanaM.
- It is good to have companions when occasion arises, and it is good to be contented with whatever comes. Merit is good at the close of life, and the elimination of all suffering is good. (Ⅰ)
- Companions are pleasant to have when a need arises; contentment is pleasant when it is mutual; merit is pleasant at the last hour; pleasant is the extinction of all suffering. (Ⅱ)
23. 332  
sukhaa matteyyataa loke atho pettayyataa sukhaa
sukhaa saamaññataa loke atho brahmaññataa sukhaa.
- Good is filial devotion to one's mother in the world, and devotion to one's father is good. It is good to be a sanyasi in the world and to be a brahmin too. (Ⅰ)
- To be a mother in this world is bliss; to be a father in this world is bliss; to be a homeless recluse in this world is bliss, and to be a Brahman in this world is bliss (sukha). (Ⅱ)
23. 333  
sukhaM yaava jaraa siilaM sukhaa saddhaa patitiTThaa
sukho paññaaya paTilaabho paapaanaM akaraNaM sukhaM.
- Good is good behaviour up to old age, good is firmly established faith, good is the acquisition of understanding, and abstention from evil is good. (Ⅰ)
- The virtue that lasts to the end of life is bliss; steadfast faith is also bliss; the attainment of wisdom is bliss, and not to commit sin is bliss. (Ⅱ)


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