Dhammapada 203

203

Jighacchāparamā rogā,
saṅkhāraparamā dukhā;
Etaṃ ñatvā yathābhūtaṃ,
nibbānaṃ paramaṃ sukhaṃ.

Hunger is the worst of diseases, the body the greatest of pains; if one knows this truly, that is Nirvâna, the highest happiness.
[202. I take kali in the sense of an unlucky die which makes a player lose his game. A real simile seems wanted here, as in verse 251, where, for the same reason, I translate graha by 'shark,' not by 'captivitas,' as Dr. Fausböll proposes. The same scholar translates kali in our verse by 'peccatum.' If there is any objection to translating kali in Pâli by 'unlucky die,' I should still prefer to take it in the sense of the age of depravity, or the demon of depravity. To judge from Abhidhânappadîpikâ, 1106, kali was used for parâgaya, i.e. loss at game, a losing throw, and occurs in that sense again in verse 252. The Chinese translation has, 'there is no distress (poison) worse than hate.' A similar verse occurs Mahâbh. Sântip. 175, v. 35.
'Body' for khandha is a free translation, but it is difficult to find any other rendering. The Chinese translation also has 'body.' According to the Buddhists each sentient being consists of five khandhas (skandha), or aggregates, the organized body (rûpakhandha) with its four internal capacities of sensation (vedanâ), perception (sañgñâ), conception (samskâra), knowledge (vigñâna). See Burnouf, Introd. pp. 589, 634; Lotus, p. 335.