ahaṃ dasasataṃbyāmanti idaṃ satthā jetavane viharanto kilesaniggahaṃ ārabbha kathesi. vatthu pana pānīyajātake (jā. 1.11.59 ādayo) āvi bhavissati. idhāpi satthā antokoṭisanthāre kāmavitakkābhibhūte pañcasate bhikkhū disvā bhikkhusaṅghaṃ sannipātāpetvā “bhikkhave, āsaṅkitabbayuttakaṃ nāma āsaṅkituṃ vaṭṭati, kilesā nāma vaḍḍhantā vane nigrodhādayo viya rukkhaṃ, purisaṃ bhañjanti, teneva pubbepi koṭasimbaliyaṃ nibbattadevatā ekaṃ sakuṇaṃ nigrodhabījāni khāditvā attano rukkhassa sākhantare vaccaṃ pātentaṃ disvā ‘ito me vimānassa vināso bhavissatī’ti bhayappattā ahosī”ti vatvā atītaṃ āhari.
“I am ten hundred vyāmas in height”, this was spoken by the Śāsta-Teacher in Jetavana Vihara, concerning the subduing of defilements. This story will become clearer in the Paniya Jataka and others (Jataka 1.11.59, and following). Here too, the Śāsta-Teacher having seen the five-hundred bhiksus overcome by sensual investigative thoughts, and having assembled the bhikṣusaṃgha, said:
“Bhikṣus! What is appropriate to fear is called that which is proper to be cautious. Defilements are said to grow in a forest of nigrodha-banyan trees and others, and in this vain, they destroy the tree and the person. Thus, it was said that there was once a devī who had been born in the Kūṭaśālmalī Tree, and having seen a bird who had eaten of the nigrodha-banyan seeds, and who would, while perched upon the branches of the tree, would then drop excrement, he was overcome with fear.”
atīte bārāṇasiyaṃ brahmadatte rajjaṃ kārente bodhisatto koṭasimbaliyaṃ rukkhadevatā hutvā nibbatti. atheko supaṇṇarājā diyaḍḍhayojanasatikaṃ attabhāvaṃ māpetvā pakkhavātehi mahāsamudde udakaṃ dvidhā katvā ekaṃ byāmasahassāyāmaṃ nāgarājānaṃ naṅguṭṭhe gahetvā mukhenassa gahitagocaraṃ chaḍḍāpetvā koṭasimbaliṃ sandhāya vanamatthakena pāyāsi.
nāgarājā “olambento attānaṃ mocessāmī”ti nigrodharukkhe bhogaṃ pavesetvā nigrodhaṃ veṭhetvā gaṇhi.
Once upon a time, in Vārāṇasī, when king Brahmadatta once ruled, the Bodhisattva was born in the Kūṭaśālmalī Tree as a vrkṣadevatā. At that time, a suparṇarāja, having assumed a body one and a half yojanas in length, and with a blast of his wings upon the ocean, split it into two and seized upon a thousand vyāma long nāgarāja by the tail. Having been seized he was forced to vomit out the food he had eaten, and was being carried towards the Kūṭaśālmalī Tree, dangling over the forest canopy.
The Nāgarāja thought to himself:
“While dangling down, I will free myself.”
And so he inserted his coils within a nyagrodha-banyan tree, wrapped himself around it, and he held onto it tightly.
supaṇṇarañño mahābalatāya nāgarājassa ca mahāsarīratāya nigrodharukkho samugghāṭaṃ agamāsi. nāgarājā neva rukkhaṃ vissajjesi, supaṇṇarājā saddhiṃ nigrodharukkhena nāgarājānaṃ gahetvā koṭasimbaliṃ patvā nāgarājānaṃ khandhapiṭṭhe nipajjāpetvā udaramassa phāletvā nāgamedaṃ khāditvā sesakaḷevaraṃ samudde vissajjesi.
However, due to the great strength of the suparṇarāja and the great size of the nāgarāja, the nyagrodha-banyan tree was completely uprooted. The nāgarāja, however, did not it let go, and so the suparṇarāja having seized the nāgarāja, brought along the nyagrodha tree and arrived at the Kūṭaśālmalī Tree. There, he laid down the nāgarāja on the trunk and tore open his abdomen, and having eaten of the flesh, he cast the corpse’s remains into the ocean.
tasmiṃ pana nigrodhe ekā sakuṇikā atthi, sā nigrodharukkhe vissaṭṭhe uppatitvā koṭasimbaliyā sākhantare nisīdi. rukkhadevatā taṃ disvā “ayaṃ sakuṇikā mama rukkhakkhandhe vaccaṃ pātessati, tato nigrodhagaccho vā pilakkhagaccho vā uṭṭhahitvā sakalarukkhaṃ ottharitvā gacchissati, atha me vimānaṃ nassissatī”ti bhītatasitā pavedhi. tassā pavedhantiyā koṭasimbalīpi yāva mūlā pavedhi.
Now, in that nyagrodha tree was a small bird, and when the nyagrodha tree was released, he flew out of it and perched herself among the branches of the Kūṭaśālmalī Tree. The vrkṣadevī having seen the bird thought to herself:
“This small bird will drop excrement onto the trunk of my tree. Therein, a nyagrodha or pilaksa tree sprout will arise, spreading over the whole tree, and thus my vimana-complex will be surely destroyed!”
And so frightened and terrified, he trembled. While he trembled, so too did even the Kūṭaśālmalī Tree shake down to its roots.
supaṇṇarājā taṃ pavedhamānaṃ disvā kāraṇaṃ pucchanto dve gāthā abhāsi –
“ahaṃ dasasataṃbyāmaṃ, uragamādāya āgato,
tañca mañca mahākāyaṃ, dhārayaṃ nappavedhasi.
“athimaṃ khuddakaṃ pakkhiṃ, appamaṃsataraṃ mayā,
dhārayaṃ byathasi bhītā, kamatthaṃ koṭasimbalī”ti.
The suparṇarāja, seeing her tremble, said aloud:
“I, a hundred thousand vyamas in length, brought with me an uraga-serpent,
Both he and I are great-bodied beings, and while supporting us you did not tremble.
But now, there is this small bird who is insignificant compared to me,
Yet while supporting her, you tremble, what is the reason for this, Kūṭaśālmalī?”
tattha dasasataṃbyāmanti sahassabyāmamattāyāmaṃ. uragamādāya āgatoti evaṃ mahantaṃ uragaṃ ādāya idha āgato. tañca mañcāti tañca uragaṃ mañca. dhārayanti dhārayamānā. byathasīti kampasi. kamatthanti kiṃ atthaṃ, kena kāraṇenāti pucchati, kaṃ vā atthaṃ sampassamānātipi attho. koṭasimbalīti rukkhanāmena devaputtaṃ ālapati. so hi simbalirukkho khandhasākhamahantatāya koṭasimbalināmaṃ labhati, tasmiṃ adhivatthadevaputtassapi tadeva nāmaṃ.
There, ten hundred vyāmas is a measure of a thousand vyāmas in length. “Having taken the uraga-serpent and come” means that he came here having brought with him a great uraga-serpent. “He and I” refers to the serpent and himself. “Dharanyati” means “while supporting”. “Byathasi” means “you tremble”. “Kammatham” means “for what purpose, for what reason?” or alternatively “what benefit do you seek?”. “Kutasalmali” is an address to the devaputra via the name of the tree. That salmali tree, due to the greatness of its trunk and its branches, has received the name of Kutasalmali, and that devaputra living in there also receives that name.
athassa kāraṇaṃ kathento devaputto catasso gāthā abhāsi –
“maṃsabhakkho tuvaṃ rāja, phalabhakkho ayaṃ dijo,
ayaṃ nigrodhabījāni, pilakkhudumbarāni ca,
assatthāni ca bhakkhitvā, khandhe me ohadissati.
“te rukkhā saṃvirūhanti, mama passe nivātajā,
te maṃ pariyonandhissanti, arukkhaṃ maṃ karissare.
“santi aññepi rukkhā se, mūlino khandhino dumā,
iminā sakuṇajātena, bījamāharitā hatā.
“ajjhārūhābhivaḍḍhanti, brahantampi vanappatiṃ,
tasmā rāja pavedhāmi, sampassaṃnāgataṃ bhaya”nti.
And so, wishing to explain to him the reason, the devaputra spoke with a four-verse gatha:
“O, king, you are a flesh-eater, and this bird is a fruit-eater,
Eating the nyagrodha seeds as well as the pilakṣa and the udumbara,
And the aśvattha, he will deposit them on my trunk.
Those trees will grow on my sides and my sheltered areas,
They will encircle me, causing me no longer to be a tree.
There too are other trees once rooted, but they too have been destroyed by this bird who carries around these seeds.
They grow excessively, even over the trees of the great forests,
And so for this reason, O, King, is why I tremble.”
tattha ohadissatīti vaccaṃ pātessati. te rukkhāti tehi bījehi jātā nigrodhādayo rukkhā. saṃvirūhantīti saṃviruhissanti vaḍḍhissanti. mama passeti mama sākhantarādīsu. nivātajāti mama sākhāhi vātassa nivāritattā nivāte jātā. te maṃ pariyonandhissantīti ete evaṃ vaḍḍhitā maṃ pariyonandhissantīti ayametthādhippāyo. karissareti athevaṃ pariyonandhitvā maṃ arukkhameva karissanti sabbaso bhañjissanti. rukkhā seti rukkhā. mūlino khandhinoti mūlasampannā ceva khandhasampannā ca. dumāti rukkhavevacanameva. bījamāharitāti bījaṃ āharitvā. hatāti aññepi imasmiṃ vane rukkhā vināsitā santi. ajjhārūhābhivaḍḍhantīti nigrodhādayo rukkhā ajjhārūhā hutvā mahantampi aññaṃ vanappatiṃ atikkamma vaḍḍhantīti dasseti. ettha pana vane pati, vanassa pati, vanappatīti tayopi pāṭhāyeva. rājāti supaṇṇaṃ ālapati.
“Ohadissati” means the bird will drop dung. “Those trees” refer to the nigrodha and other trees born from those seeds. “They will sprout” means they will grow. “In my vicinity” means in the spaces between the branches.
rukkhadevatāya vacanaṃ sutvā supaṇṇo osānagāthamāha –
“saṅkeyya saṅkitabbāni, rakkheyyānāgataṃ bhayaṃ,
anāgatabhayā dhīro, ubho loke avekkhatī”ti.
Having heard the what was spoken by the vrkṣadevī, the suparṇa uttered this concluding gāthā:
“One ought to carefully reflect on what is worthy of being suspected. One ought to guard against future danger. A wise one, aware of future dangers, reflects upon both this world and the next.”
tattha anāgataṃ bhayanti pāṇātipātādīhi viramanto diṭṭhadhammikampi samparāyikampi anāgataṃ bhayaṃ rakkhati nāma, pāpamitte veripuggale ca anupasaṅkamanto anāgatabhayaṃ rakkhati nāma. evaṃ anāgataṃ bhayaṃ rakkheyya. anāgatabhayāti anāgatabhayakāraṇā taṃ bhayaṃ passanto dhīro idhalokañca paralokañca avekkhati oloketi nāma.
evañca pana vatvā supaṇṇo attano ānubhāvena taṃ pakkhiṃ tamhā rukkhā palāpesi.
And so, having said thus, the suparṇa with his own majestic splendour drove that bird away from the tree.
satthā imaṃ dhammadesanaṃ āharitvā “āsaṅkitabbayuttakaṃ āsaṅkituṃ vaṭṭatī”ti vatvā saccāni pakāsetvā jātakaṃ samodhānesi, saccapariyosāne pañcasatā bhikkhū arahattaphale patiṭṭhahiṃsu.
tadā supaṇṇarājā sāriputto ahosi, rukkhadevatā pana ahameva ahosinti.
The Śāsta-teacher after having given this Dharma Teaching said:
“It is proper to be cautious about what is worthy of caution.”
Having revealed these truths, He identified the current persons who were those in the Jātaka, and at the end of the teaching, five-hundred bhikṣus attain the fruit of arhatship.
“At that time, the suparṇarāja was the current Śāriputra, and the vrkṣadevī was Myself.”
koṭasimbalijātakavaṇṇanā sattamā.
Thus ends the Kūṭaśālmalījātakavarṇanā.
Saddharmatā 