Samyuttanikaya 22.8.5.79_4

22.8.5.79_4

Uṇhena ruppanaṃ avīcimahāniraye pākaṭaṃ hoti. Jighacchāya ruppanaṃ pettivisaye ceva dubbhikkhakāle ca pākaṭaṃ. Pipāsāya ruppanaṃ kālakañjikādīsu pākaṭaṃ. Eko kira kālakañjikaasuro pipāsaṃ adhivāsetuṃ asakkonto yojanagambhīravitthāraṃ mahāgaṅgaṃ otari, tassa gatagataṭṭhāne udakaṃ chijjati, dhūmo uggacchati, tatte piṭṭhipāsāṇe caṅkamanakālo viya hoti. Tassa udakasaddaṃ sutvā ito cito ca vicarantasseva ratti vibhāyi. Atha naṃ pātova bhikkhācāraṃ gacchantā tiṃsamattā piṇḍacārikabhikkhū disvā ‘‘ko nāma tvaṃ sappurisā’’ti? Pucchiṃsu. ‘‘Petohamasmi, bhante’’ti. ‘‘Kiṃ pariyesasī’’ti? ‘‘Pānīyaṃ, bhante’’ti. ‘‘Ayaṃ gaṅgā paripuṇṇā, kiṃ tvaṃ na passasī’’ti? ‘‘Na upakappati, bhante’’ti. Tena hi gaṅgāpiṭṭhe nipajja, mukhe te pānīyaṃ āsiñcissāmā’’ti. So vālikāpuḷine uttāno nipajji. Bhikkhū tiṃsamatte patte nīharitvā udakaṃ āharitvā tassa mukhe āsiñciṃsu. Tesaṃ tathā karontānaṃyeva velā upakaṭṭhā jātā. Tato ‘‘bhikkhācārakālo amhākaṃ sappurisa, kacci te assādamattā laddhā’’ti āhaṃsu. Peto ‘‘sace me, bhante, tiṃsamattānaṃ ayyānaṃ tiṃsapattehi āsittaudakato aḍḍhapasatamattampi paragalaṃ gataṃ, petattabhāvato mokkho mā hotū’’ti āha. Evaṃ pipāsāya ruppanaṃ pettivisaye pākaṭaṃ.

Being deformed by heat is evident in the great Avīci hell. Being deformed by hunger is evident in the realm of ghosts and in times of famine. Being deformed by thirst is evident among the Kālakañjika asuras and others. One Kālakañjika asura, it is said, unable to bear his thirst, went down into the great Ganges, a league deep and a league wide. Wherever he went, the water was cut off, smoke arose, and it was as though he were walking on a heated stone slab. While he was wandering here and there listening to the sound of water, night turned to dawn. Then, seeing him early in the morning as they were going on their alms round, about thirty monks walking for alms asked: 'Who are you, good sir?' 'Venerable sirs, I am a ghost.' 'What are you seeking?' 'Drinking water, venerable sirs.' 'This Ganges is full, do you not see it?' 'It is of no use to me, venerable sirs.' 'Then lie down on the bank of the Ganges; we will pour drinking water into your mouth.' He lay on his back on the sandbank. The monks took out about thirty bowls, brought water, and poured it into his mouth. While they were doing this, the time [for alms] drew near. Then they said: 'It is our time for the alms round, good sir; surely you have gotten a mere taste?' The ghost said: 'Venerable sirs, if even half a handful of the water poured from the thirty bowls by the thirty venerable ones has passed down my throat, may I never be released from the state of a ghost!' Thus being deformed by thirst is evident in the realm of ghosts.