The nun Sīsupacālā confronts Māra in verse when he challenges her for shaving her head yet approving no creed, declaring her devotion to the unrivaled Sakyan Buddha who is everywhere freed and unattached.

SN 5.8 With Sīsupacālā

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

Atha kho sīsupacālā bhikkhunī pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā …pe… aññatarasmiṁ rukkhamūle divāvihāraṁ nisīdi.

Atha kho māro pāpimā yena sīsupacālā bhikkhunī tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā sīsupacālaṁ bhikkhuniṁ etadavoca: “kassa nu tvaṁ, bhikkhuni, pāsaṇḍaṁ rocesī”ti?

“Na khvāhaṁ, āvuso, kassaci pāsaṇḍaṁ rocemī”ti.

“Kaṁ nu uddissa muṇḍāsi,
Samaṇī viya dissasi;
Na ca rocesi pāsaṇḍaṁ,
Kimiva carasi momūhā”ti.

“Ito bahiddhā pāsaṇḍā,
diṭṭhīsu pasīdanti te;
Na tesaṁ dhammaṁ rocemi,
te dhammassa akovidā.

Atthi sakyakule jāto,
buddho appaṭipuggalo;
Sabbābhibhū māranudo,
sabbatthamaparājito.

Sabbattha mutto asito,
sabbaṁ passati cakkhumā;
Sabbakammakkhayaṁ patto,
vimutto upadhisaṅkhaye;
So mayhaṁ bhagavā satthā,
tassa rocemi sāsanan”ti.

Atha kho māro pāpimā “jānāti maṁ sīsupacālā bhikkhunī”ti dukkhī dummano tatthevantaradhāyīti.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

At Sāvatthī.

Atha kho sīsupacālā bhikkhunī pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā …pe…

Then the nun Sīsupacālā robed up in the morning …

aññatarasmiṁ rukkhamūle divāvihāraṁ nisīdi.

and sat at the root of a tree for the day’s meditation.

Atha kho māro pāpimā yena sīsupacālā bhikkhunī tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā sīsupacālaṁ bhikkhuniṁ etadavoca:

Then Māra the Wicked went up to Sīsupacālā and said to her,

“kassa nu tvaṁ, bhikkhuni, pāsaṇḍaṁ rocesī”ti?

“Nun, whose creed do you approve of?”

“Na khvāhaṁ, āvuso, kassaci pāsaṇḍaṁ rocemī”ti.

“I don’t approve anyone’s creed, sir.”

“Kaṁ nu uddissa muṇḍāsi,

“In whose name did you shave your head?

Samaṇī viya dissasi;

You look like an ascetic,

Na ca rocesi pāsaṇḍaṁ,

but you don’t approve any creed.

Kimiva carasi momūhā”ti.

Why do you wander as if lost?”

“Ito bahiddhā pāsaṇḍā,

“Followers of other creeds

diṭṭhīsu pasīdanti te;

are confident in their views.

Na tesaṁ dhammaṁ rocemi,

But I don’t approve their teaching,

te dhammassa akovidā.

for they’re no experts in the Dhamma.

Atthi sakyakule jāto,

But there is one born in the Sakyan clan,

buddho appaṭipuggalo;

the unrivaled Buddha,

Sabbābhibhū māranudo,

vanquisher of all, dispeller of Māra,

sabbatthamaparājito.

everywhere undefeated,

Sabbattha mutto asito,

everywhere freed, and unattached,

sabbaṁ passati cakkhumā;

the Clear-eyed One sees all.

Sabbakammakkhayaṁ patto,

He has attained the end of all deeds,

vimutto upadhisaṅkhaye;

freed with the ending of attachments.

So mayhaṁ bhagavā satthā,

That Blessed One is my Teacher,

tassa rocemi sāsanan”ti.

and I approve his instruction.”

Atha kho māro pāpimā “jānāti maṁ sīsupacālā bhikkhunī”ti dukkhī dummano tatthevantaradhāyīti.

Then Māra the Wicked, thinking, “The nun Sīsupacālā knows me!” miserable and sad, vanished right there.

Topics & Qualities:

Craving

Craving

A driving ‘thirst’ that reaches out toward experiences, identities, or outcomes as the place to find satisfaction—“if only I had that.” It spins stories of lack, binds the mind to becoming, and invariably leads to suffering.

Also known as: wanting, yearning, longing, lit. thirst
Pāli: taṇha, abhijjhā
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Cultivation

Cultivation

The active practice of 'bringing into being' wholesome states. It is the deliberate nurturing of the bright state of mind.

Also known as: development, improvement, meditation, nurturing, growth
Pāli: bhāvanā
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Ending

Ending

The complete exhaustion and ending of craving, aversion, and delusion—the three roots of suffering. It refers to both the gradual wearing away of defilements through practice and the final cessation that constitutes Nibbāna.

Also known as: cessation, exhaustion, gradual ending, wearing away
Pāli: khaya, khīṇa, nirodha
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Jhana

Jhana

An abiding with a steady, collected awareness that is attained through seclusion from the five hindrances and unwholesome mental states. When supported by right view, a jhāna can be a basis for the wearing away of taints and directing the mind toward the vision of Nibbāna.

Also known as: meditation, undistracted awareness, absorption, mental absorption
Pāli: jhāna, samāhita, susamāhita, sammāsamādhi
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Wrong view

Wrong view

A distorted understanding that sees permanence in the impermanent, satisfaction in the unsatisfactory, or self in the not-self. Wrong view guides action by delusion, obscuring cause and effect, and closes the door to wisdom and release.

Also known as: distorted or inverted perception, untrue view, false belief
Pāli: micchādiṭṭhi
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Last updated on July 27, 2026