[^771]: This late sutta exhibits considerable literary sophistication. The A-plot concerns Sakka's rejection of his violent past and embrace of the Dhamma, while the B-plot concerns Pañcasikkha's more modest growth from a libertine to a married man. | This discourse is quoted by name and a passage discussed at SN 22.4. In addition, the dialogue at MN 37 picks up directly where this leaves off and may be considered a sequel. A Sanskrit parallel published by Ernst Waldschmidt in 1979 is available on SuttaCentral as SF 241. A different discourse of the same name is found at SN 35.118.

[^772]: Rhys Davids follows the commentary in translating this "the cave of Indra's Sāl Tree". However the Sanskrit yāvacchailaguhāyām supports "hill cave".

[^773]: Introduced in a minor role in DN 18, DN 19, and DN 20, Pañcasikha gets his moment to shine in this sutta. Outside of the Dīghanikāya, he appears only in SN 35.119. His name means "Fivecrest", evidently in reference to his impressive hairdo; a nymph or group of nymphs bore the synonymous name Pañcacūḍā, "Five Topknots". The centaur (gandhabba) was a wild rogue of music, dancing, and sex. He must be tamed, and here this is achieved through the power of love and filial respect. A less diplomatic approach is taken in Atharvaveda 4.37.7, where the gandharva with his "egg-crest" (śikhaṇḍino) is threatened with castration.

[^774]: The "arched harp" (vīṇa) was a multi-stringed instrument held in the lap, with the strings attached across a curved open arch or bow. It is not the modern Indian instrument called veena, which is a lute or stick zither. Gandhabbas are closely associated with music. Māra's harp is described in the same way (SN 4.23:10.7), and tradition says they were in fact the same instrument.

[^775]: In the Buddhist hierarchy of divinity, gandhabbas occupy a more humble place than the gods of the thirty-three, yet here Pañcasikha appears with them in a position of honor. In DN 19:28.3 we saw that the even more exalted Brahmā takes the form of Pañcasikha. This fluidity is characteristic of old Vedic cosmology, where there is no clear hierarchy of divinity. The formalized hierarchies in Buddhism and Hinduism are a later conception.

[^776]: We will learn later of how Sakka's appearance could be too disturbing for the Buddha while on retreat (DN 21:1.10.13). Pañcasikha, on the other hand, would appear alone, without a retinue. Note, however, that on subsequent occasions Sakka showed no such reticence, either because he was already a stream-enterer or because the Buddha was not in solitary retreat.

[^777]: The idea that the Buddha would be wooed by a love song seems like an absurd conceit, until you take into account the centaurs' dangerous reputation as inveterate lechers. Pañcasikha wants to show that he is maturing and finally seeking a commitment in a respectable marriage.

[^778]: Suriyavaccasā ("Sunshine") accords with the Vedic conception of the wife as the Sun (Sūryā, Rig Veda 10.85) who takes as husband Soma, the moon. She appears in Atharvaveda 8.10.27, which invokes the gandharvas with their female counterpart the "nymphs" (Pali accharā, Sanskrit āpsarásā).

[^779]: In Sanskrit literature, Timbaru (Sanskrit tumburu) was an elder gandharva musician in the courts of Indra and Kuvera. According to Rāmāyaṇa 3.4, he was cursed with a monstrous form by Kuvera due to an inappropriate lust for the nymph Rambhā. Upon his defeat at the hands of Rāma he was restored to his former status. Pañcasikha would have wanted to avoid a similar fate. Rather than Suriyavaccasā, the Sanskrit literature mentions his daughters Manuvantī and Sukeśī (Vāyupurāṇa 69.49 = Brahmāṇḍapurāṇa 2.7.13).

[^780]: Aṅgīrasi means "shining one" and is etymologically linked with agni ("fire"). Suriyavaccasā earned the name due to both her radiant nature and her family connections: her father Timbaru was a son of Kaśyapa, who was (according to certain lineages) brother of Aṅgīras, from whom the Aṅgīrasas were descended. In the Arthavaveda---the only early non-Buddhist source for a nymph named Suriyavaccasā---aṅgīrasi is associated with witchcraft (Atharvaveda 12.5.52). Aṅgīrasa is also a patronymic of the Buddha (DN 32:3.14).

[^781]: "Saints" is arahantā, which I normally translate as "perfected ones".

[^782]: Parinibbāpaya, "please quench me". Pañcasikha subverts imagery employed by the Buddha---quenching thirst, cooling breezes, extinguished flames---to erotic effect.

[^783]: Pañcasikha is showing off his literary skill. The same image, the elephant, illustrates opposing qualities, peaceful and violent. In these two sides of sensual desire, he reveals, unconsciously perhaps, the rapacious side of his own nature. For Pañcasikha, the elephant bursting its bonds illustrates his crazed devotion, whereas later it illustrates breaking free of desire (DN 21:1.12.45).

[^784]: For how a married couple may stay together in this life and the next, see AN 4.55.

[^785]: Pañcasikha is using the present participle jigīsāno in the historical present.

[^786]: In Indian culture, a gandharva wedding is a pure love-match, without the blessing of parents or priests. Here, however, Pañcasikha wants to do the right thing and get the father's blessing.

[^787]: If Pañcasikha was seeking the Buddha's approval for his love-match, he was doomed to disappointment, as the Buddha and his mendicants do not involve themselves in arranging marriages. The Buddha sidesteps the issue by politely complementing Pañcasikha on his musicianship.

[^788]: "When did you compose" is also at MN 56:30.1.

[^789]: "Sister" (bhaginī) is a respectful term of address, but is normally used in a chaste sense. When Raṭṭhapāla calls his wives "sister", they faint in shock (MN 82:23.4).

[^790]: Sikhaṇḍī ("egg-crested") is the term for the centaur as seductive threat to women in Atharvaveda 4.37.7. It is also a poetic term for a peacock.

[^791]: It is rare for the Buddha to address a deity as "venerable" (āyasmā), a term usually reserved for monks. Moggallāna addresses Sakka as "the venerable Kosiya" at MN 37:10.6; Mahākassapa calls him Kosiya without honorific at Ud 3.7:3.12. | The word kosiya is explained by the commentaries as "owl", which, if correct, would have been the totem for a clan of that name. It is, however, a patronymic: Rig Veda 1.10.11 has indra kauśika which means "Indra, son of Kuśika (or Kuśa)". Kuśa grass is critical to the performance of Vedic rites, and the label probably initially implied "Brahmanized", i.e. a king whose reign was authorized according to Vedic ritual. Kosiya is said to be a low class family name (Bu Pc 2:2.1.18).

[^792]: A paricārikā is a maid attending on a nymph (MN 37:8.12). | Bhūjati (variant bhuñjatī) does not seem to appear elsewhere.

[^793]: Sakka pointedly ignores this, but perhaps his shame at disturbing the Buddha's meditation explains his oblique method of gaining an audience.

[^794]: This implies she was a stream-enterer.

[^795]: In Buddhism, sex is mutable between lives and even within one life (Bu Pj 1:10.6.1). Later Buddhists sometimes held that the status of a male was preferable. Here this is not stated outright, but the narrative implies that she thought her station was improved when becoming a male. Notably, it is not the Buddha who says this, but Sakka, relaying the story of another deity. That the proponent was a woman, at least formerly, is a trope of Indian literature: a woman is the ideal misogynist (see eg. Ja 61 or Śivapurāna chapter 4). Here, though, the situation is nuanced, because despite her (presumed) inferior status, she has better rebirth than the monks she served.

[^796]: The realm of centaurs is "inferior" because the centaurs are known for their ribald sexuality.

[^797]: Kutomukhā, which occurs only in this sutta, contrasts with sammukhā ("in the presence of", "from the mouth of"). The commentary explains it as a rhetorical question, "Were you distracted or falling asleep?" Alternatively, it might mean "From whom did you learn the Buddha's teaching?" It recurs later in the verses. This is not the only such case: duddiṭṭharūpaṁ and kāyaṁ brahmapurohitaṁ are other examples of terms found nowhere else in the Pali canon, yet found here both in prose and in verse. Clearly one has been copied from the other; it seems to me that the rarity of these terms and the greater coherence of the verses suggests that the prose is a (somewhat altered) summary of the verses.

[^798]: The commentary explains the verb "gained" (paṭilabhiṁsu) as serving dual roles here: "gaining" of "absorption mindfulness" (jhānasatiṁ), upon which they "gain" rebirth in the Brahmā realm. However, the verses below speak of "recollecting" (anussaraṁ) the Buddha's teachings at this juncture. Compare Bu NP 23:1.1.20, where the king "remembered" his long-forgotten promise (vissaritvā cirena satiṁ paṭilabhitvā). AN 4.191:2.24 speaks of the "arising of memory" (satuppādo) in a deity when reminded of Dhamma passages they once recited as a monk. | The phrase kāyaṁ brahmapurohitaṁ is syntactically incongruous; I think it was clumsily copied from the verses below, where the required verb (ajjhagaṁsu) is present. The commentary explains it as "a Minister of Brahmā's body" (brahmapurohitasarīraṁ), but in such contexts kāya usually means "host".

[^799]: When bowing, it is a special sign of devotion to touch the feet of the one revered (eg. MN 89:9.1).

[^800]: Here Gopaka shifts from speaking about them in third person to speaking to them in second person.

[^801]: Tidiva is an abbreviated reference to the thirty-three gods.

[^802]: I.e. she was a lay person.

[^803]: Up until now, the verses have been spoken by Gopaka, but here a narrator appears.

[^804]: Normally rebirth is described as passing away in one realm then being reborn in another. Yet here the gods of the thirty-three---in their traditional abode on Mount Meru---were watching them literally fly from one realm to another.

[^805]: The truncated janind' is not vocative janinda for Sakka, but nominative janindo for the Buddha.

[^806]: "Sakyan Sage" (sakyamuni) became a favorite epithet of the Buddha, but in early texts it appears only here and the Ratanasutta (Snp 2.1:4.2).

[^807]: "Sons" in a spiritual sense.

[^808]: The commentary says, "In this dispensation the explanation of the teaching is such that because of it, disciples become endowed with such qualities" (ettha sāsane evarūpā dhammappakāsanā, yāya sāvakā etehi guṇehi samannāgatā honti). This explains the feminine etādisī; pakasanā, which is normally neuter, is feminine here. This use is fairly common in later texts (it occurs at the conclusion of the Ṭīkā for this sutta).

[^809]: Kiṅkaṅkhati is a unique term for "doubt".

[^810]: The end point of Gopaka's speech is hard to determine, as there is no -ti to mark it. Various editions and translations either ignore the issue or end it in different places. The next line marks the beginning of Sakka's direct speech to the Buddha, and I think it makes the best sense to assume that up to here he has been relating the story he was told.

[^811]: This question hints at Sakka's own evolution from the battlegod of the Vedas to an acolyte of peace.

[^812]: Jealousy is wanting what others have, while stinginess is not wanting to share what you have.

[^813]: Compare with such contexts as the side branch of dependent origination at DN 15:9.1, the origins of disputes at Snp 4.11, and the analysis of proliferation at MN 18. Note the constructive use of the "yes, and" method of questioning. Sakka finds wisdom due to his curiosity, neither being too-easily sated with a simple answer, nor quibbling that the answer is inadequate, but building on the foundations of understanding.

[^814]: Compare Snp 4.11:4.1.

[^815]: Here we depart from the normal sequence, which is that feelings give rise to craving (taṇhā). In Snp 4.11:6.1 it is said that pleasure and pain give rise to desire, not thought.

[^816]: "Judgments that emerge from the proliferation of perceptions" renders papañcasaññāsaṅkhā. Again the sequence departs from MN 18:16.1, which says that thoughts---which are normal and morally neutral psychological processes---give rise to "proliferation" (papañca), which is when craving and delusion cause thought to spin out of control. "Proliferation" then solidifies into "judgments" that fuel an individual's delusion of "self" persisting through time.

[^817]: Jaññā is 3rd singular optative (cp. AN 9.6:3.4).

[^818]: That is, second jhāna is better than first jhāna.

[^819]: Overwhelmingly, the suttas speak of happiness in the path to liberation. They do, however, also acknowledge that sometimes temporary states of sadness leading to disillusionment can spur a person on the path.

[^820]: It is hard to know what the text is getting at here, as there is no "sadness" in any jhāna.

[^821]: Here the Buddha emphasizes the psychological and spiritual underpinnings of the "monastic code" (pātimokkha).

[^822]: The suttas frequently describe three kinds of search: for sensual pleasures, for continued existence, and for a spiritual path (eg. SN 45.161:7.3). The last search led the Buddha to awakening (MN 26:15.1).

[^823]: Sakka switches his term of address for the Buddha from mārisa to the more respectful bhante here, then back to mārisa below. This passage is found at MN 114:24.5, where bhante is used, suggesting it was imported from there.

[^824]: For a more detailed analysis of this, see MN 152.

[^825]: The Pali ekanta ("single") here is a little tricky; it could mean either "the same" or "of one goal". The Sanskrit has just eka (ekakāmā ekacchandāḥ, "one desire, one wish"), while the commentary explains the first and last terms as "one goal" and the middle terms as "one".

[^826]: The Buddha points out that spiritual teachers, when faced with a world of experiential diversity, tend to prioritize their own experience or doctrine, dismissing others as less real or meaningful.

[^827]: This is the final substantive question of the series. It is picked up in MN 37:2.2 where Sakka, in a subsequent visit, inquires further as to the nature of those who have realized the ultimate goal.

[^828]: "Turbulence" is ejā, from a root meaning "motion, agitation", and hence the opposite of the "imperturbable" (aneja) peace of the Buddha (SN 35.90).

[^829]: Compare Ajātasattu's experience at DN 2:15.1.

[^830]: "Nectar" is ojā, in Vedic texts called soma or amṛta ("ambrosia" of immortality). The battle over nectar by gods (deva) and demons (asura) is a very ancient element of Indo-European mythology.

[^831]: Here Sakka makes a clean break from the violent delights he enjoyed in former (Vedic) times.

[^832]: Punarāyu is a unique term. It probably means that Sakka can extend his current fortunate birth due to the merit of Dhamma.

[^833]: To die "unconfused" or "consciously" is said to be a benefit of Dhamma practice (eg. AN 5.215:2.3).

[^834]: "According to method" (ñāyena) recalls ñāyapaṭipanno as a description of the noble ones. It means practicing according with the noble eightfold path, a "method" that yields definite results.

[^835]: This refers to the possibility of achieving perfection (arahattā).

[^836]: That is, after passing away as Sakka and being reborn as a human, he will subsequently return to the heaven realm.

[^837]: He predicts that his final life will be in this high realm that is inhabited by non-returners (AN 9.12:6.7).

[^838]: Karomasi is middle imperative 1st plural, "we should do", glossed by the commentary as "we should pay homage" (namakkāraṁ karoma).

[^839]: Samaṁ is an indeclinable in the sense "likewise".

[^840]: Sāmaṁ is an indeclinable in the sense "oneself, personally, one's own".

[^841]: A gandharva wedding must be a mutual love match.

[^842]: "Touching the ground with his hand" is a unique gesture in the early Pali, immortalized in later legend when the Buddha touches the ground to invoke the Earth Goddess as witness of his striving.

[^843]: Sakka is also said to have been accompanied by 80,000 deities at SN 40.10:4.4. This is one of many indications that this is a late discourse, several of which have been touched on above: late or unique terminology; fancy literary styles; adoption of doctrinal passages from elsewhere in a sometimes clumsy fashion; and so on. In determining whether a sutta is late or early, we do not rely on a single definitive reason, but on a cluster of independent criteria which taken together are most easily explained in terms of historical development.