Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).
“Bhūtapubbaṁ, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo deve tāvatiṁse anunayamāno tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:
“Once upon a time, mendicants, Sakka, lord of gods, guiding the gods of the thirty-three, spoke this verse:
‘Cātuddasiṁ pañcadasiṁ,
‘Whoever wants to be like me
yā ca pakkhassa aṭṭhamī;
would observe the sabbath
Pāṭihāriyapakkhañca,
complete in all eight factors,
aṭṭhaṅgasusamāgataṁ;
on the fourteenth and the fifteenth days,
Uposathaṁ upavaseyya,
and the eighth day of the fortnight,
yopissa mādiso naro’ti.
as well as on the fortnightly special displays.’
Sā kho panesā, bhikkhave, sakkena devānamindena gāthā duggītā na sugītā dubbhāsitā na subhāsitā.
But that verse was poorly sung by Sakka, lord of gods, not well sung; poorly spoken, not well spoken.
Taṁ kissa hetu?
Why is that?
Sakko hi, bhikkhave, devānamindo aparimutto jātiyā jarāya maraṇena sokehi paridevehi dukkhehi domanassehi upāyāsehi, ‘aparimutto dukkhasmā’ti vadāmi.
Because Sakka, lord of gods, is not exempt from rebirth, old age, and death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. He is not exempt from suffering, I say.
Yo ca kho so, bhikkhave, bhikkhu arahaṁ khīṇāsavo vusitavā katakaraṇīyo ohitabhāro anuppattasadattho parikkhīṇabhavasaṁyojano sammadaññāvimutto, tassa kho etaṁ, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno kallaṁ vacanāya:
But for a mendicant who is perfected—with defilements ended, who has completed the spiritual journey, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, achieved their heart’s goal, utterly ended the fetter of continued existence, and is rightly freed through enlightenment—it is appropriate to say:
‘Cātuddasiṁ pañcadasiṁ,
‘Whoever wants to be like me
yā ca pakkhassa aṭṭhamī;
would observe the sabbath,
Pāṭihāriyapakkhañca,
complete in all eight factors,
aṭṭhaṅgasusamāgataṁ;
on the fourteenth and the fifteenth days,
Uposathaṁ upavaseyya,
and the eighth day of the fortnight,
yopissa mādiso naro’ti.
as well as on the fortnightly special displays.’
Taṁ kissa hetu?
Why is that?
So hi, bhikkhave, bhikkhu parimutto jātiyā jarāya maraṇena sokehi paridevehi dukkhehi domanassehi upāyāsehi, ‘parimutto dukkhasmā’ti vadāmī”ti.
Because that mendicant is exempt from rebirth, old age, and death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. He is exempt from suffering, I say.”
Aṭṭhamaṁ.
Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).
“Once upon a time, mendicants, Sakka, lord of gods, guiding the gods of the thirty-three, spoke this verse:
‘Whoever wants to be like me
would observe the sabbath
complete in all eight factors,
on the fourteenth and the fifteenth days,
and the eighth day of the fortnight,
as well as on the fortnightly special displays.’
But that verse was poorly sung by Sakka, lord of gods, not well sung; poorly spoken, not well spoken.
Why is that?
Because Sakka, lord of gods, is not exempt from rebirth, old age, and death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. He is not exempt from suffering, I say.
But for a mendicant who is perfected—with defilements ended, who has completed the spiritual journey, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, achieved their heart’s goal, utterly ended the fetter of continued existence, and is rightly freed through enlightenment—it is appropriate to say:
‘Whoever wants to be like me
would observe the sabbath,
complete in all eight factors,
on the fourteenth and the fifteenth days,
and the eighth day of the fortnight,
as well as on the fortnightly special displays.’
Why is that?
Because that mendicant is exempt from rebirth, old age, and death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. He is exempt from suffering, I say.”
“Bhūtapubbaṁ, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo deve tāvatiṁse anunayamāno tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:
‘Cātuddasiṁ pañcadasiṁ,
yā ca pakkhassa aṭṭhamī;
Pāṭihāriyapakkhañca,
aṭṭhaṅgasusamāgataṁ;
Uposathaṁ upavaseyya,
yopissa mādiso naro’ti.
Sā kho panesā, bhikkhave, sakkena devānamindena gāthā duggītā na sugītā dubbhāsitā na subhāsitā.
Taṁ kissa hetu?
Sakko hi, bhikkhave, devānamindo aparimutto jātiyā jarāya maraṇena sokehi paridevehi dukkhehi domanassehi upāyāsehi, ‘aparimutto dukkhasmā’ti vadāmi.
Yo ca kho so, bhikkhave, bhikkhu arahaṁ khīṇāsavo vusitavā katakaraṇīyo ohitabhāro anuppattasadattho parikkhīṇabhavasaṁyojano sammadaññāvimutto, tassa kho etaṁ, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno kallaṁ vacanāya:
‘Cātuddasiṁ pañcadasiṁ,
yā ca pakkhassa aṭṭhamī;
Pāṭihāriyapakkhañca,
aṭṭhaṅgasusamāgataṁ;
Uposathaṁ upavaseyya,
yopissa mādiso naro’ti.
Taṁ kissa hetu?
So hi, bhikkhave, bhikkhu parimutto jātiyā jarāya maraṇena sokehi paridevehi dukkhehi domanassehi upāyāsehi, ‘parimutto dukkhasmā’ti vadāmī”ti.
Aṭṭhamaṁ.