A few verses from the story of the elephant who, pierced by a hunter's dart, sees the ochre robe and will not strike back.
- When chanted
- Chanted in the paritta service, paired with the Khandha Paritta and closed by the same colophon.
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
The shortest of the parittas in this stretch, and the only one that is purely narrative. It takes a scene from a birth story rather than a formula, and does not explain itself.
The elephant of the story is the Great Being, the Buddha in an earlier life. The hunter has come to kill him for his tusks.
Meaning and purpose
The scene turns on a moment of recognition. As he touched him, thinking I shall kill him, he caught sight of the ochre robe, the banner of the seers — the hunter is wearing a monk's robe as a disguise, and the elephant sees it while being killed.
The thought that arises is given as a maxim rather than a feeling: the banner of the arahants is not to be slain by the good. What restrains the elephant is not affection for the hunter but a rule about what the robe means, held to even when the robe is being used to murder him.
That is why it is chanted for protection, and the logic is unlike the other parittas here. The others declare loving-kindness or state a truth. This one simply shows what somebody did while pierced by a dart and afflicted — and offers that as the thing worth having power in the world.
The chant
As the book prints it: page 88 →
page 88วะธิสสะเมนันติ ปะรามะสันโต,
Vadhissamenanti parāmasanto,
As he touched him, thinking 'I shall kill him',
กาสาวะมัททักขิ ธะชัง อิสีนัง,
Kāsāvamaddakkhi dhajaṃ isīnaṃ,
he caught sight of the ochre robe, the banner of the seers;
ทุกเขนะ ผุฏฐัสสุทะปาทิ สัญญา,
Dukkhena phuṭṭhassudapādi saññā,
and though struck with pain, a thought arose in him —
อะระหัทธะโช สัพภิ อะวัชฌะรูโป,
Arahaddhajo sabbhi avajjharūpo,
the banner of the arahants is not to be slain by the good.
สัลเลนะ วิทโธ พ๎ยะถิโตปิ สันโต,
Sallena viddho byathitopi santo,
Pierced by the dart and afflicted though he was,
กาสาวะวัตถัมหิ มะนัง นะ ทุสสะยิ,
Kāsāvavatthamhi manaṃ na dussayi,
he did not let his mind be corrupted towards the ochre cloth.
สะเจ อิมัง นาคะวะเรนะ สัจจัง,
Sace imaṃ nāgavarena saccaṃ,
If this be truth, by the noble elephant's word,
มา มัง วะเน พาละมิคา อะคัญฉุนติ.
Mā maṃ vane bālamigā agañchunti.
may the beasts of the forest not come upon me.
ขันธะปะริตตัง ฉัททันตะปะริตตัง นิฏฐิตัง.
Khandhaparittaṃ chaddantaparittaṃ niṭṭhitaṃ.
Here end the Khandha Paritta and the Chaddanta Paritta.