The Buddha confirms Venerable Mahāmoggallāna's clairvoyant vision of a man whose body hairs were needles suffering in a ghostly incarnation, formerly a an informant in Rājagaha, illustrating the inescapable results of unwholesome kamma.
“Idhāhaṁ, āvuso, gijjhakūṭā pabbatā orohanto addasaṁ sūcilomaṁ purisaṁ vehāsaṁ gacchantaṁ. Tassa tā sūciyo sīse pavisitvā mukhato nikkhamanti; mukhe pavisitvā urato nikkhamanti; ure pavisitvā udarato nikkhamanti; udare pavisitvā ūrūhi nikkhamanti; ūrūsu pavisitvā jaṅghāhi nikkhamanti; jaṅghāsu pavisitvā pādehi nikkhamanti; so sudaṁ aṭṭassaraṁ karoti …pe…
eso, bhikkhave, satto imasmiṁyeva rājagahe sūcako ahosi …pe….
Navamaṁ.
Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).
“Idhāhaṁ, āvuso, gijjhakūṭā pabbatā orohanto addasaṁ sūcilomaṁ purisaṁ vehāsaṁ gacchantaṁ.
“Just now, reverend, as I was descending from Vulture’s Peak Mountain I saw a man whose body hairs were needles flying through the air.
Tassa tā sūciyo sīse pavisitvā mukhato nikkhamanti;
The needles bored into his head and out his mouth,
mukhe pavisitvā urato nikkhamanti;
into his mouth and out his chest,
ure pavisitvā udarato nikkhamanti;
into his chest and out his belly,
udare pavisitvā ūrūhi nikkhamanti;
into his belly and out his thighs,
ūrūsu pavisitvā jaṅghāhi nikkhamanti;
into his thighs and out his calves,
jaṅghāsu pavisitvā pādehi nikkhamanti;
and into his calves and out his feet.
so sudaṁ aṭṭassaraṁ karoti …pe…
And he screamed in pain. …” …
eso, bhikkhave, satto imasmiṁyeva rājagahe sūcako ahosi …pe….
“That being used to be an informant right here in Rājagaha. …”
Navamaṁ.
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Last updated on July 27, 2026