Evaṁ me sutaṁ— ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā pāvāyaṁ viharati ajakalāpake cetiye, ajakalāpakassa yakkhassa bhavane. Tena kho pana samayena bhagavā rattandhakāratimisāyaṁ abbhokāse nisinno hoti; devo ca ekamekaṁ phusāyati. Atha kho ajakalāpako yakkho bhagavato bhayaṁ chambhitattaṁ lomahaṁsaṁ uppādetukāmo yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavato avidūre tikkhattuṁ “akkulo pakkulo”ti akkulapakkulikaṁ akāsi: “eso te, samaṇa, pisāco”ti.
Thus have I heard—At one time, the Blessed One was staying in Pāvā, at the Ajakalāpaka shrine, the burial site of the native spirit Ajakalāpaka. At that time, the Blessed One was sitting in the open air during the pitch black darkness of night, while a gentle rain drizzled down. Then the native spirit Ajakalāpaka, wishing to arouse fear, trepidation, and hair-raising awe in the Blessed One, approached him. Drawing near, the spirit stood not far from the Blessed One and made strange, unsettling sounds three times: “Akkulo! Pakkulo!” He then said, “This is your demon, ascetic!”
Atha kho bhagavā etamatthaṁ viditvā tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ udānaṁ udānesi:
Then, understanding the significance of this, the Blessed One at that time expressed this inspired utterance:
“Yadā sakesu dhammesu,
pāragū hoti brāhmaṇo;
Atha etaṁ pisācañca,
pakkulañcātivattatī”ti.
When a sage has gone beyond
his own attachments;
then the brahmin transcends
both this demon and the mayhem.