Reading guide
An ordinary occasion framing an unexpected question
The setting couldn't be more casual — Sakka simply wants to go see some scenery — making the depth of what follows land with more weight for how unassuming its context is.
A private habit noticed and questioned
Mātali doesn't ask Sakka to explain himself out of nowhere; he notices a specific, repeated gesture — cupped palms toward the four directions — and asks about it directly, prompting the discourse's actual content.
A question that names Sakka's own status first
Mātali's question doesn't simply ask who Sakka worships; it first lists everyone who worships Sakka himself — brahmins, aristocrats, the four great kings, the gods of the Thirty-Three — making the question's implicit puzzle explicit before asking it.
Two groups named, not one
Sakka's answer doesn't single out only the fully ordained; he explicitly includes ethical lay householders who provide for their families in a principled way, extending his reverence beyond the monastic community alone — the detail that gives this discourse its title.
A companion piece to the discourse before it
Where SN 11.17 concerns how homage should properly be offered to a Buddha, this discourse turns the same theme in the opposite direction — not how Sakka should be worshipped, but who Sakka himself chooses to worship despite being worshipped by everyone.
Key terms
The text
§1“Once upon a time, mendicants, Sakka, lord of gods, addressed his chariot handler Mātali, ‘My dear Mātali, harness the chariot with its team of a thousand thoroughbreds. We will go to a park and see the scenery.’ ‘Yes, lord,’ replied Mātali. He harnessed the chariot and informed Sakka, ‘Good fellow, the chariot with its team of a thousand thoroughbreds has been harnessed. Please go at your convenience.’ Then Sakka descended from the Palace of Victory, raised his cupped palms, and revered the various quarters. So Mātali the chariot handler addressed Sakka in verse:
§2‘Those proficient in the three Vedas worship you, as do all the aristocrats on earth, the four great kings, and the glorious host of Thirty. So what’s the name of the spirit that you worship, Sakka?’
§3‘Those proficient in the three Vedas worship me, as do all the aristocrats on earth, the four great kings, and the glorious host of Thirty. But I revere those accomplished in ethics, who have long trained in immersion, who have rightly gone forth for the culmination of spiritual life.
§4I also worship those householders, the ethical lay followers who make merit, Mātali, providing for a partner in a principled manner.’
§5‘Those who you worship seem to be the best in the world, Sakka. I too will worship those who you worship, Sakka.’ After saying this, Maghavā the chief, king of gods, Sujā’s husband, having worshiped the various quarters climbed into his chariot.”
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