Saṃyutta Nikāya
I. Sagātha Vagga
10. Yakkha-Saṃyutta
The Book of the Kindred Sayings
I. Kindred Sayings with Verses
10. The Yakkha Suttas
Sutta 11
Virā or Cīrā Suttaṃ
Virā (or Cīrā)[1]
Translated by Mrs. Rhys Davids
Assisted by Sūriyagoḍa Sumangala Thera
Copyright The Pali Text Society. Public Domain.
[11.1] THUS HAVE I HEARD: —
The Exalted One was once staying near Rājagaha,
in the Bamboo Grove,
at the Squirrels' Feeding-ground.
Now on that occasion a certain lay-follower
gave food to Virā the Bhikkhunī.
And a yakkha, enthusiastic about Sukkā,
went into Rājagaha,
going from chariot-road to chariot-road,
from crossways to crossways,
and in that hour uttered this verse: —
"0 surely plenteous merit hath he wrought,
That layman wise who Virā's wants supplied —
Virā, who from all bonds is wholly free!"
[1] Virā as the feminine form of Vīra (cf. Pss. of the Brethren, VIII) would seem to be the more likely of the two. v and c in Singhalese are almost identical letters. Neither of them is found elsewhere. B. is silent.
