The Buddha confirms Venerable Mahāmoggallāna's clairvoyant vision of a man whose body hairs were arrows suffering in a ghostly incarnation, formerly a punisher in Rājagaha, illustrating the inescapable results of unwholesome kamma.
“Idhāhaṁ, āvuso, gijjhakūṭā pabbatā orohanto addasaṁ usulomaṁ purisaṁ vehāsaṁ gacchantaṁ. Tassa te usū uppatitvā uppatitvā tasseva kāye nipatanti. So sudaṁ aṭṭassaraṁ karoti …pe…
eso, bhikkhave, satto imasmiṁyeva rājagahe kāraṇiko ahosi …pe….
Sattamaṁ.
Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).
“Idhāhaṁ, āvuso, gijjhakūṭā pabbatā orohanto addasaṁ usulomaṁ purisaṁ vehāsaṁ gacchantaṁ.
“Just now, reverend, as I was descending from Vulture’s Peak Mountain I saw a man whose body hairs were arrows flying through the air.
Tassa te usū uppatitvā uppatitvā tasseva kāye nipatanti.
And those arrows kept rising up and falling on his body
So sudaṁ aṭṭassaraṁ karoti …pe…
as he screamed in pain. …” …
eso, bhikkhave, satto imasmiṁyeva rājagahe kāraṇiko ahosi …pe….
“That being used to be a punisher right here in Rājagaha. …”
Sattamaṁ.
Sign in to mark this page as read
Last updated on July 27, 2026