Aṅgulimāla's act of truth, spoken to a woman in difficult labour, said three times over.
- When chanted
- Chanted for a woman in labour, and in the paritta service in its place as the ninth.
A note on this chant. The book prints this chant in Pali only, with no Thai translation. The English here is a working translation prepared for this edition — it is not the book's own, and has not yet been checked by a teacher.
Historical background
Three sentences, repeated three times, and that is the whole chant. It is the shortest text in the Tamnan and among the most used.
Who says it matters more here than in any other chant in the book. Aṅgulimāla had been a murderer who wore a garland of his victims' fingers before he was ordained, which is what makes his sentence difficult.
Meaning and purpose
The truth he states is bounded with great care: sister, since I was born in the noble birth, I am not aware of having intentionally deprived any living being of life. Every clause of it is doing work.
อะริยายะ ชาติยา — the noble birth — means his ordination, not his birth from a mother, and the qualification is what makes the statement true. He is not claiming never to have killed. He is dating the claim.
And then a second hedge: I am not aware of. Not I have not, but I am not aware of having. A man with his history states only what he can actually vouch for, and the tradition holds that this scrupulously limited sentence is what has the power in it. By that truth, may you be well and may your child be well.
The chant
As the book prints it: page 96 →
page 96ยะโตหัง ภะคินิ อะริยายะ ชาติยา ชาโต,
Yatohaṃ bhagini ariyāya jātiyā jāto,
Sister, since I was born in the noble birth,
นาภิชานามิ สัญจิจจะ ปาณัง ชีวิตา โวโรเปตา,
Nābhijānāmi sañcicca pāṇaṃ jīvitā voropetā,
I am not aware of having intentionally deprived any living being of life;
เตนะ สัจเจนะ โสตถิ เต โหตุ โสตถิ คัพภัสสะ.
Tena saccena sotthi te hotu sotthi gabbhassa.
by that truth, may you be well and may your child be well.
ยะโตหัง ภะคินิ อะริยายะ ชาติยา ชาโต,
Yatohaṃ bhagini ariyāya jātiyā jāto,
Sister, since I was born in the noble birth,
นาภิชานามิ สัญจิจจะ ปาณัง ชีวิตา โวโรเปตา,
Nābhijānāmi sañcicca pāṇaṃ jīvitā voropetā,
I am not aware of having intentionally deprived any living being of life;
เตนะ สัจเจนะ โสตถิ เต โหตุ โสตถิ คัพภัสสะ.
Tena saccena sotthi te hotu sotthi gabbhassa.
by that truth, may you be well and may your child be well.
ยะโตหัง ภะคินิ อะริยายะ ชาติยา ชาโต,
Yatohaṃ bhagini ariyāya jātiyā jāto,
Sister, since I was born in the noble birth,
นาภิชานามิ สัญจิจจะ ปาณัง ชีวิตา โวโรเปตา,
Nābhijānāmi sañcicca pāṇaṃ jīvitā voropetā,
I am not aware of having intentionally deprived any living being of life;
เตนะ สัจเจนะ โสตถิ เต โหตุ โสตถิ คัพภัสสะ.
Tena saccena sotthi te hotu sotthi gabbhassa.
by that truth, may you be well and may your child be well.
อังคุลิมาละปะริตตัง นิฏฐิตัง.
Aṅgulimālaparittaṃ niṭṭhitaṃ.
Here ends the Aṅgulimāla Paritta.