Sāvatthinidānaṁ.
At Sāvatthi.
Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho rājā pasenadi kosalo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “atthi nu kho, bhante, jātassa aññatra jarāmaraṇā”ti?
Seated to one side, King Pasenadi of Kosala said to the Blessed One: “Venerable sir, for one who is born, is there anything other than aging and death?”
“Natthi kho, mahārāja, jātassa aññatra jarāmaraṇā. Yepi te, mahārāja, khattiyamahāsālā aḍḍhā mahaddhanā mahābhogā pahūtajātarūparajatā pahūtavittūpakaraṇā pahūtadhanadhaññā, tesampi jātānaṁ natthi aññatra jarāmaraṇā.
“Great king, for one who is born, there is nothing other than aging and death. Even for |affluent aristocrats::wealthy men of the royal caste, wealthy family of noblemen [khattiyamahāsālā]|, rich, with great wealth and property, with abundant gold and silver, abundant possessions and commodities, abundant money and grain—for them too, having been born, there is nothing other than aging and death.
Yepi te, mahārāja, brāhmaṇamahāsālā aḍḍhā mahaddhanā mahābhogā pahūtajātarūparajatā pahūtavittūpakaraṇā pahūtadhanadhaññā, tesampi jātānaṁ natthi aññatra jarāmaraṇā.
Even for affluent Brahmins, rich, with great wealth and property, with abundant gold and silver, abundant possessions and commodities, abundant money and grain—for them too, having been born, there is nothing other than aging and death.
Yepi te, mahārāja, gahapatimahāsālā aḍḍhā mahaddhanā mahābhogā pahūtajātarūparajatā pahūtavittūpakaraṇā pahūtadhanadhaññā, tesampi jātānaṁ natthi aññatra jarāmaraṇā.
Even for affluent householders, rich, with great wealth and property, with abundant gold and silver, abundant possessions and commodities, abundant money and grain—for them too, having been born, there is nothing other than aging and death.
Yepi te, mahārāja, bhikkhū arahanto khīṇāsavā vusitavanto katakaraṇīyā ohitabhārā anuppattasadatthā parikkhīṇabhavasaṁyojanā sammadaññāvimuttā, tesampāyaṁ kāyo bhedanadhammo nikkhepanadhammo”ti.
Even for bhikkhus, great king, who are |Arahants::fully awakened ones, free from all mental defilements; worthy of offerings and veneration; also an epithet of the Buddha [arahant]|, |whose taints have worn away::who is awakened through the complete exhaustion of the taints of sensuality, becoming, and ignorance; an epithet for an Arahant [khīṇāsava]|, who have fulfilled the spiritual life, who have done what had to be done, having put down the burden, having achieved the highest goal, |having exhausted the fetter of existence::who has worn away the bonds of continued conditional existence, i.e. the karmically conditioned mode of being that leads to future rebirth [parikkhīṇabhavasaṃyojana]|, and |who are freed through complete comprehension::one who is liberated by perfect understanding, epithet of an Arahant [sammadaññāvimutta]|—even for them, this body is subject to breaking up, and subject to being laid down.”
Idamavoca bhagavā. Idaṁ vatvāna sugato athāparaṁ etadavoca satthā:
The Blessed One said this. Having spoken thus, the Accomplished One further said this:
“Jīranti ve rājarathā sucittā,
Atho sarīrampi jaraṁ upeti;
Satañca dhammo na jaraṁ upeti,
Santo have sabbhi pavedayantī”ti.
“The well adorned chariots of kings wear out,
this body too undergoes decay;
but the |Dhamma of the sages::the teaching of the Buddhas that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth [sataṃ + dhamma]| does not age,
the wise |make it known::pass it on, proclaim [pavedayati]| to the virtuous persons.”