Nandavaggo
3-4: Sāriputtasuttaṁ (24)
The Discourse about Sāriputta
Evaṁ me sutaṁ:
Thus I heard:
ekaṁ samayaṁ Bhagavā Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati,
at one time the Gracious One was dwelling near Sāvatthī,
Jetavane Anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.
in Jeta's Wood, at Anāthapiṇḍika's monastery.
Tena kho pana samayena āyasmā Sāriputto
Then at that time venerable Sāriputta
Bhagavato avidūre nisinno hoti,
was sitting not far away from the Gracious One,
pallaṅkaṁ ābhujitvā, ujuṁ kāyaṁ paṇidhāya,
after folding his legs crosswise, and setting his body straight,
parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā. The relative clauses, in the form of absolutives, appear after the finite verb in this construction, which is sometimes mistranslated through taking the last of the absolutives as though it were the finite verb.01
and was attending to mindfulness at the front.
Addasā kho Bhagavā āyasmantaṁ Sāriputtaṁ avidūre nisinnaṁ, Although the auxilliary hoti is missing in the repetition, it has to be understood to give durative sense to nisinnaṁ, otherwise we would have to understand the absolutives which follow as occuring before the action of the finite verb.02
The Gracious One saw that venerable Sāriputta was sitting not far away,
pallaṅkaṁ ābhujitvā, ujuṁ kāyaṁ paṇidhāya,
after folding his legs crosswise, and setting his body straight,
parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā.
and was attending to mindfulness at the front.
Atha kho Bhagavā, etam-atthaṁ viditvā,
Then the Gracious One, having understood the significance of it,
tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ udānaṁ udānesi:
on that occasion uttered this exalted utterance:
“Yathā pi pabbato selo, ~ acalo suppatiṭṭhito, These nouns are in apposition, not predicated, as Ireland translates: Just as a mountain made of solid rock stands firm and unshakeable...03
“Just like a mountain rock, ~ unagitated, well established,
Evaṁ mohakkhayā bhikkhu ~ - pabbato va na vedhatī” ti
So is the monk, through the destruction of delusion ~ - like a mountain he does not shake.”