Victory by Good SpeechSubhāsitajayasutta

At Sāvatthī.Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

“Once upon a time, mendicants, a battle was fought between the gods and the titans.“Bhūtapubbaṁ, bhikkhave, devāsurasaṅgāmo samupabyūḷho ahosi.

Then Vepacitti, lord of titans, said to Sakka, lord of gods,Atha kho, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ etadavoca: ‘Lord of gods, let there be victory by fine words!’‘hotu, devānaminda, subhāsitena jayo’ti.

‘Vepacitti, let there be victory by fine words!’‘Hotu, vepacitti, subhāsitena jayo’ti.

Then the gods and the titans appointed a panel of judges, saying,Atha kho, bhikkhave, devā ca asurā ca pārisajje ṭhapesuṁ: ‘These will understand our good and bad statements.’‘ime no subhāsitadubbhāsitaṁ ājānissantī’ti.

Then Vepacitti, lord of titans, said to Sakka, lord of gods,Atha kho, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ etadavoca: ‘Lord of gods, recite a verse!’‘bhaṇa, devānaminda, gāthan’ti.

When he said this, Sakka said to him,Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo vepacittiṁ asurindaṁ etadavoca: ‘Vepacitti, you are the elder gods here.‘tumhe khvettha, vepacitti, pubbadevā. Recite a verse.’Bhaṇa, vepacitti, gāthan’ti.

So Vepacitti spoke this verse:Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:

‘Fools would vent even more‘Bhiyyo bālā pabhijjeyyuṁ, if there’s no one to put a stop to them.no cassa paṭisedhako; So an intelligent person should stopTasmā bhusena daṇḍena, a fool with forceful punishment.’dhīro bālaṁ nisedhaye’ti.

The titans applauded Vepacitti’s verse, while the gods kept silent.Bhāsitāya kho pana, bhikkhave, vepacittinā asurindena gāthāya asurā anumodiṁsu, devā tuṇhī ahesuṁ.

Then Vepacitti said to Sakka,Atha kho, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ etadavoca: ‘Lord of gods, recite a verse!’‘bhaṇa, devānaminda, gāthan’ti. So Sakka spoke this verse:Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:

‘I think that this is the only way‘Etadeva ahaṁ maññe, to put a stop to a fool,bālassa paṭisedhanaṁ; when you know that the other is upset,Paraṁ saṅkupitaṁ ñatvā, be mindful and stay calm.’yo sato upasammatī’ti.

The gods applauded Sakka’s verse, while the titans kept silent.Bhāsitāya kho pana, bhikkhave, sakkena devānamindena gāthāya, devā anumodiṁsu, asurā tuṇhī ahesuṁ.

Then Sakka said to Vepacitti,Atha kho, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo vepacittiṁ asurindaṁ etadavoca: ‘Vepacitti, recite a verse!’‘bhaṇa, vepacitti, gāthan’ti. So Vepacitti spoke this verse:Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:

‘In this mere endurance, Vāsava,‘Etadeva titikkhāya, I see a flaw.vajjaṁ passāmi vāsava; When a fool thinks,Yadā naṁ maññati bālo, “He endures me out of fear,”bhayā myāyaṁ titikkhati; the simpleton will go after you even harder,Ajjhāruhati dummedho, like a cow chasing someone who runs away.’gova bhiyyo palāyinan’ti.

The titans applauded Vepacitti’s verse, while the gods kept silent.Bhāsitāya kho pana, bhikkhave, vepacittinā asurindena gāthāya asurā anumodiṁsu, devā tuṇhī ahesuṁ.

Then Vepacitti said to Sakka,Atha kho, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ etadavoca: ‘Lord of gods, recite a verse!’‘bhaṇa, devānaminda, gāthan’ti. So Sakka spoke this verse:Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo imā gāthāyo abhāsi:

‘Let him think this if he wishes, or not—‘Kāmaṁ maññatu vā mā vā, “He endures me out of fear.”bhayā myāyaṁ titikkhati; For the highest goal, one’s own,Sadatthaparamā atthā, naught better than patience is found.khantyā bhiyyo na vijjati.

When a strong personYo have balavā santo, endures a weakling,dubbalassa titikkhati; they call that the ultimate patience,Tamāhu paramaṁ khantiṁ, for a weakling must always be patient.niccaṁ khamati dubbalo.

The strength of follyAbalaṁ taṁ balaṁ āhu, is really just weakness, they say.yassa bālabalaṁ balaṁ; But no one can challenge a personBalassa dhammaguttassa, who’s strong, guarded by the teaching.paṭivattā na vijjati.

When you get angry at an angry personTasseva tena pāpiyo, you just make things worse for yourself.yo kuddhaṁ paṭikujjhati; When you don’t get angry at an angry personKuddhaṁ appaṭikujjhanto, you win a battle hard to win.saṅgāmaṁ jeti dujjayaṁ.

When you know that the other is angry,Ubhinnamatthaṁ carati, you act for the good of bothattano ca parassa ca; yourself and the otherParaṁ saṅkupitaṁ ñatvā, if you’re mindful and stay calm.yo sato upasammati.

People inexpert in the teachingUbhinnaṁ tikicchantānaṁ, consider one who heals bothattano ca parassa ca; oneself and the otherJanā maññanti bāloti, to be a fool.’ye dhammassa akovidā’ti.

The gods applauded Sakka’s verses, while the titans kept silent.Bhāsitāsu kho pana, bhikkhave, sakkena devānamindena gāthāsu, devā anumodiṁsu, asurā tuṇhī ahesuṁ.

Then the panel of judges consisting of both gods and titans said this,Atha kho, bhikkhave, devānañca asurānañca pārisajjā etadavocuṁ: ‘The verses spoken by Vepacitti‘bhāsitā kho vepacittinā asurindena gāthāyo. evoke punishment and violence. That’s how you get fights, arguments, and quarrels.Tā ca kho sadaṇḍāvacarā sasatthāvacarā, iti bhaṇḍanaṁ iti viggaho iti kalaho. The verses spoken by SakkaBhāsitā kho sakkena devānamindena gāthāyo. don’t evoke punishment and violence. That’s how you stay free of fights, arguments, and quarrels.Tā ca kho adaṇḍāvacarā asatthāvacarā, iti abhaṇḍanaṁ iti aviggaho iti akalaho.

Sakka, lord of gods, wins victory by fine words!’Sakkassa devānamindassa subhāsitena jayo’ti.

And that’s how Sakka came to win victory by fine words.”Iti kho, bhikkhave, sakkassa devānamindassa subhāsitena jayo ahosī”ti.