Aṇguttara Nikāya
VIII. Aṭṭhaka Nipāta
II: Mahā Vagga
The Book of Eights
Suttas 17-18
Purisa-Bandhana Suttaṃ
and
Itthi-Bandhana Suttaṃ
Translated from the Pali
by
Michael M. Olds
The Pāḷi
Aṭṭhahi bhikkhave ākārehi itthi purisaṃ (purisaṃ itthi) bandhati.|| ||
Katamehi aṭṭhahi?
Rūpena bhikkhave itthi purisaṃ (purisaṃ itthi) bandhati,||
hasitena bhikkhave itthi purisaṃ (purisaṃ itthi) bandhati,||
bhaṇitena bhikkhave itthi purisaṃ (purisaṃ itthi) bandhati,||
gītena bhikkhave itthi purisaṃ (purisaṃ itthi) bandhati,||
roṇṇena bhikkhave itthi purisaṃ (purisaṃ itthi) bandhati,||
ākappena bhikkhave itthi purisaṃ (purisaṃ itthi) bandhati,||
vana-bhaṇgena bhikkhave itthi purisaṃ (purisaṃ itthi) bandhati,||
phassena bhikkhave itthi purisaṃ (purisaṃ itthi) bandhati.|| ||
Imehi kho bhikkhave aṭṭhah'ākārehi itthi purisaṃ (purisaṃ itthi) bandhati.|| ||
Tehi bhikkhave sattā subaddhā yeva pāsena baddhā ti.|| ||
Vocabulary
itthi: woman. PED: ... perhaps with Sanskrit saatuḥ uterus, fr. Idg. ṣii to sow or produce, Latin sero, Gothic saian, Old High German saen, Annglo Saxon saawan ... also Cymr. hil progeny, Old Irish sīl seed ... [no mention of sire] The regular representative of Vedit strī is P. thī, which only occurs rarely.
purisaṃ: man. Male.
ākārehi: ākāra: to making, the way of making (property, qualtity, attribute) + Ka: stuff
bandhati: band: bond, > bandhana; PED: Latin: offendimentum i.e. band; Gothic: bindan = Old High German: bintan, English: bind; Sanskrit: bandhu relation. Causative: to bind, combine, unite, 2. to tie on, bind or put on to, fig. to apply to, put to, settle on; 3. to fix, prepare, get up, put together; 4. to acquire, get; 5. to compose. II. to cause to be bound
rūpena: rūpa is basically anything that has become a thing and that even includes ideas; from there it is anything that originates as perception of light, from there to matter, and from there it is used as matter, visible object, shape, body, form, figure, Hare: appearance; this is the 'energy' that is seen by the sorcerers of Don Juan's lineage but includes that which is seen by the ordinary eye
hasitena: hasita: laughing, merry, laughter, mirth
bhañitena: bhañati: speaking, reciting
gitena: You've heard of the Bhagavad Ghita, yes? The Song of God. Song. In one sense. In the first meaning more like incantation. "Giita: sung, recited, solemnly proclaimed, enunciated ... of mantas (mantras).
roññena: > ruñña > runny; weeping, crying, lamentation; the water works; here it comes! aww, jeeze, you're not gonna cry, are you?
ākappena: ā + kappa (fittings, such as the harness of a horse or the rigging on a ship); attire, appearance, 2. deportment (kappa in the sense of what is fitting, propper)
vana-bhañgena: vana = woods, forest, jungle, garden; bhañga: "broken"; broken branches; [Sanskrit: bhanga; Africans: Dakka; Avesta: bhangha; Polish pienka = Vedic ṣaña; Pali: saña and sāna, Greek cannabis; German: hanf, English: hemp.]
phassena: touch.
Sutta 17
Purisa-Bandhana Suttaṃ
Women's Wiles
[17.1][pts][bodh] Eight, Beggars, are the wiles with which women men begile.
What Eight?
By shape, Beggars, women men begile,
By laughter, Beggars, women men begile,
By fascinating speech, Beggars, women men begile,
By enchanting song, Beggars, women men begile,
By running tears, Beggars, women men begile,
By bedazzling ornament, Beggars, women men begile,
By potions of jungle herb[1], Beggars, women men begile
By touch, Beggars, women men begile.
These Beggars are the eight wiles with which women men begile.
And, Beggars, beings so ensnared are snared indeed.
Sutta 18
Purisa-Bandhana Suttaṃ
Man's Works
[18.1][pts][bodh] Eight, Beggars, are the works with which man enraptures women.
What Eight?
By appearances, Beggars, man enraptures women,
By a good sense of humor, Beggars, man enraptures women,
By spellbinding speech, Beggars, man enraptures women,
By raptures, Beggars, man enraptures women,
By bringing them to tears, Beggars, man enraptures women,
By gifts of bedazzling ornament, Beggars, man enraptures women,
By potions of jungle herb, Beggars, man enraptures women
By touch, Beggars, man enraptures women.
These Beggars are the eight works with which man enraptures women.
And, Beggars, beings so ensnared are snared indeed.
[1] Bhaṇga. Numerous slang terms for cannibis are common words for other similar things: 'weed', 'tea', 'herb' 'leaf', so here the reverse may apply. Today 'bhanga' would not be understood as "flowers" but 'wild cannibis blooms' = "forest flowers". On the other hand there is a considerable body of anecdotal evidence that cannibis flowers are and have always been used to enhanse sexual pleasure. PED: "Bhanga1 (nt.) [cp. Sanskrit bhanga, which occurs already Atharva-veda XI. 6. 15 (see Zimmer. Altind. Leben 68), also Av. baṃha, Polish pienka hemp. On its possible etymology connection with Vedic shaṇa (Ath. Veda II. 4. 5) = Pāli saṇa and sāṇa hemp ( = Gr. κάνναβις Ger. hanf, E. hemp) see Walde, Latin Wtb. s. v. cannabis] hemp..." Bhk. Bodhi: 'gift', which is delicate, but not a good translation and, in spite of the warning that we should be wary of Greeks bearing "gifts" does not give people sufficient warning as to this significant danger of entrapment. In those days a 'potion' would be made by boiling the Bhaṇga in their butter-rich milk.
