The Buddha confirms Venerable Mahāmoggallāna's clairvoyant vision of a headless trunk suffering in a ghostly incarnation, formerly a an executioner named taker in Rājagaha, illustrating the inescapable results of unwholesome kamma.
“Idhāhaṁ, āvuso, gijjhakūṭā pabbatā orohanto addasaṁ asīsakaṁ kabandhaṁ vehāsaṁ gacchantaṁ. Tassa ure akkhīni ceva honti mukhañca. Tamenaṁ gijjhāpi kākāpi kulalāpi anupatitvā anupatitvā vitacchenti virājenti. So sudaṁ aṭṭassaraṁ karoti …pe…
eso, bhikkhave, satto imasmiṁyeva rājagahe hāriko nāma coraghātako ahosi …pe….
Chaṭṭhaṁ.
Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).
“Idhāhaṁ, āvuso, gijjhakūṭā pabbatā orohanto addasaṁ asīsakaṁ kabandhaṁ vehāsaṁ gacchantaṁ.
“Just now, reverend, as I was descending from Vulture’s Peak Mountain I saw a headless trunk flying through the air.
Tassa ure akkhīni ceva honti mukhañca.
Its eyes and mouth were on its chest.
Tamenaṁ gijjhāpi kākāpi kulalāpi anupatitvā anupatitvā vitacchenti virājenti.
Vultures, crows, and hawks kept chasing it, pecking and clawing
So sudaṁ aṭṭassaraṁ karoti …pe…
as it screamed in pain. …” …
eso, bhikkhave, satto imasmiṁyeva rājagahe hāriko nāma coraghātako ahosi …pe….
“That being used to be an executioner named Taker right here in Rājagaha. …”
Chaṭṭhaṁ.
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Last updated on July 27, 2026