Saṅkhapāla’s ConductSaṅkhapālacariya

“Then again when I was“Punāparaṁ yadā homi, Saṅkhapāla, a dragon of great psychic power,saṅkhapālo mahiddhiko; deadly-fanged, lethally venomous,Dāṭhāvudho ghoraviso, two-tongued, lord of serpents.dvijivho uragādhibhū.

At a crossroad on a highwayCatuppathe mahāmagge, crowded with many people,nānājanasamākule; I resolved on the four factors,Caturo aṅge adhiṭṭhāya, and made my home there.tattha vāsamakappayiṁ.

‘My outer skin and inner, flesh,Chaviyā cammena maṁsena, sinews and bones:Nahāruaṭṭhikehi vā; whoever has use for these,Yassa etena karaṇīyaṁ, they are already given, please take them.’Dinnaṁyeva harātu so.

Seeing me, the Bhojans,Addasaṁsu bhojaputtā, those violent and pitiless hunters,kharā luddā akāruṇā; came to me thereUpagañchuṁ mamaṁ tattha, with sticks and hammers in their hands.daṇḍamuggarapāṇino.

Having pierced my nose,Nāsāya vinivijjhitvā, tail, and spine,naṅguṭṭhe piṭṭhikaṇṭake; and fastened me to a pole,Kāje āropayitvāna, the Bhojans carried me away.bhojaputtā hariṁsu maṁ.

The earth from sea to sea,Sasāgarantaṁ pathaviṁ, with its forests and mountains—sakānanaṁ sapabbataṁ; had I wished, right thereIcchamāno cahaṁ tattha, I could have burnt it up with a blast from my nose.nāsāvātena jhāpaye.

Though pierced with stakes,Sūlehi vinivijjhante, and stabbed with knives,Koṭṭayantepi sattibhi; I did not get upset with the Bhojans:Bhojaputte na kuppāmi, this is my perfection of ethics.”Esā me sīlapāramī”ti.