Subhāsitajayasutta — Reader

Victory by Good Speech

Subhāsitajayasutta

At Sāvatthī. “Once upon a time, mendicants, a battle was fought between the gods and the titans. Then Vepacitti, lord of titans, said to Sakka, lord of gods, ‘Lord of gods, let there be victory by fine words!’

Sāvatthinidānaṁ. “Bhūtapubbaṁ, bhikkhave, devāsurasaṅgāmo samupabyūḷho ahosi. Atha kho, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ etadavoca: ‘hotu, devānaminda, subhāsitena jayo’ti.

‘Vepacitti, let there be victory by fine words!’ Then the gods and the titans appointed a panel of judges, saying, ‘These will understand our good and bad statements.’ Then Vepacitti, lord of titans, said to Sakka, lord of gods,

‘Hotu, vepacitti, subhāsitena jayo’ti. Atha kho, bhikkhave, devā ca asurā ca pārisajje ṭhapesuṁ: ‘ime no subhāsitadubbhāsitaṁ ājānissantī’ti. Atha kho, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ etadavoca:

‘Lord of gods, recite a verse!’ When he said this, Sakka said to him, ‘Vepacitti, you are the elder gods here. Recite a verse.’

‘bhaṇa, devānaminda, gāthan’ti. Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo vepacittiṁ asurindaṁ etadavoca: ‘tumhe khvettha, vepacitti, pubbadevā. Bhaṇa, vepacitti, gāthan’ti.

So Vepacitti spoke this verse: ‘Fools would vent even more if there’s no one to put a stop to them. So an intelligent person should stop

Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi: ‘Bhiyyo bālā pabhijjeyyuṁ, no cassa paṭisedhako; Tasmā bhusena daṇḍena,

a fool with forceful punishment.’ The titans applauded Vepacitti’s verse, while the gods kept silent. Then Vepacitti said to Sakka, ‘Lord of gods, recite a verse!’

dhīro bālaṁ nisedhaye’ti. Bhāsitāya kho pana, bhikkhave, vepacittinā asurindena gāthāya asurā anumodiṁsu, devā tuṇhī ahesuṁ. Atha kho, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ etadavoca: ‘bhaṇa, devānaminda, gāthan’ti.

So Sakka spoke this verse: ‘I think that this is the only way to put a stop to a fool, when you know that the other is upset,

Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi: ‘Etadeva ahaṁ maññe, bālassa paṭisedhanaṁ; Paraṁ saṅkupitaṁ ñatvā,

be mindful and stay calm.’ The gods applauded Sakka’s verse, while the titans kept silent. Then Sakka said to Vepacitti, ‘Vepacitti, recite a verse!’

yo sato upasammatī’ti. Bhāsitāya kho pana, bhikkhave, sakkena devānamindena gāthāya, devā anumodiṁsu, asurā tuṇhī ahesuṁ. Atha kho, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo vepacittiṁ asurindaṁ etadavoca: ‘bhaṇa, vepacitti, gāthan’ti.

So Vepacitti spoke this verse: ‘In this mere endurance, Vāsava, I see a flaw. When a fool thinks,

Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi: ‘Etadeva titikkhāya, vajjaṁ passāmi vāsava; Yadā naṁ maññati bālo,

“He endures me out of fear,” the simpleton will go after you even harder, like a cow chasing someone who runs away.’ The titans applauded Vepacitti’s verse, while the gods kept silent.

bhayā myāyaṁ titikkhati; Ajjhāruhati dummedho, gova bhiyyo palāyinan’ti. Bhāsitāya kho pana, bhikkhave, vepacittinā asurindena gāthāya asurā anumodiṁsu, devā tuṇhī ahesuṁ.

Then Vepacitti said to Sakka, ‘Lord of gods, recite a verse!’ So Sakka spoke this verse: ‘Let him think this if he wishes, or not—

Atha kho, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ etadavoca: ‘bhaṇa, devānaminda, gāthan’ti. Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo imā gāthāyo abhāsi: ‘Kāmaṁ maññatu vā mā vā,

“He endures me out of fear.” For the highest goal, one’s own, naught better than patience is found. When a strong person

bhayā myāyaṁ titikkhati; Sadatthaparamā atthā, khantyā bhiyyo na vijjati. Yo have balavā santo,

endures a weakling, they call that the ultimate patience, for a weakling must always be patient. The strength of folly

dubbalassa titikkhati; Tamāhu paramaṁ khantiṁ, niccaṁ khamati dubbalo. Abalaṁ taṁ balaṁ āhu,

is really just weakness, they say. But no one can challenge a person who’s strong, guarded by the teaching. When you get angry at an angry person

yassa bālabalaṁ balaṁ; Balassa dhammaguttassa, paṭivattā na vijjati. Tasseva tena pāpiyo,

you just make things worse for yourself. When you don’t get angry at an angry person you win a battle hard to win. When you know that the other is angry,

yo kuddhaṁ paṭikujjhati; Kuddhaṁ appaṭikujjhanto, saṅgāmaṁ jeti dujjayaṁ. Ubhinnamatthaṁ carati,

you act for the good of both yourself and the other if you’re mindful and stay calm. People inexpert in the teaching

attano ca parassa ca; Paraṁ saṅkupitaṁ ñatvā, yo sato upasammati. Ubhinnaṁ tikicchantānaṁ,

consider one who heals both oneself and the other to be a fool.’ The gods applauded Sakka’s verses, while the titans kept silent.

attano ca parassa ca; Janā maññanti bāloti, ye dhammassa akovidā’ti. Bhāsitāsu kho pana, bhikkhave, sakkena devānamindena gāthāsu, devā anumodiṁsu, asurā tuṇhī ahesuṁ.

Then the panel of judges consisting of both gods and titans said this, ‘The verses spoken by Vepacitti evoke punishment and violence. That’s how you get fights, arguments, and quarrels. The verses spoken by Sakka

Atha kho, bhikkhave, devānañca asurānañca pārisajjā etadavocuṁ: ‘bhāsitā kho vepacittinā asurindena gāthāyo. Tā ca kho sadaṇḍāvacarā sasatthāvacarā, iti bhaṇḍanaṁ iti viggaho iti kalaho. Bhāsitā kho sakkena devānamindena gāthāyo.

don’t evoke punishment and violence. That’s how you stay free of fights, arguments, and quarrels. Sakka, lord of gods, wins victory by fine words!’ And that’s how Sakka came to win victory by fine words.”

Tā ca kho adaṇḍāvacarā asatthāvacarā, iti abhaṇḍanaṁ iti aviggaho iti akalaho. Sakkassa devānamindassa subhāsitena jayo’ti. Iti kho, bhikkhave, sakkassa devānamindassa subhāsitena jayo ahosī”ti.