← KN

Thag 2.16

Mahākāḷa

Mahākāḷattheragāthā

from: The Book of the Twos

Chapter Two

Mahākāḷa

There’s a big black woman who looks like a crow.
She broke off thigh-bones, first one then another;
she broke off arm-bones, first one then another;
she broke off a skull like a curd-bowl, and then
arranged them and sat nearby.

When an ignorant person builds up attachments,
that dullard returns to suffering again and again.
So let one who understands <j>not build up attachments:
may I never again lie with a broken skull!

Translation: German (Ayyā Sabbamittā), English (Bhikkhu Sujato). Source: SuttaCentral / Bilara (public domain, CC0).

These texts are freely available — anyone who wishes can support the work with a gift.