Reading guide
The sharpest challenge in the trilogy
SN 11.18 and SN 11.19 have Mātali ask his question with simple curiosity; here his framing is openly unflattering, describing the mendicants' bodies in blunt, unpleasant terms before asking why Sakka would envy such a life at all.
Envy named explicitly, not merely reverence
Unlike the earlier two discourses, Mātali doesn't just ask who Sakka worships; he specifically accuses Sakka of envy toward the homeless, a sharper and more personal framing of the same underlying question.
A description reclaimed rather than denied
Sakka doesn't dispute Mātali's unflattering physical description or soften it; he simply answers with what actually earns his admiration — qualities of conduct and freedom, not physical comfort.
Non-attachment described in concrete, specific terms
Sakka's praise isn't abstract; he names precisely what he admires — leaving a village without concern, hoarding nothing in storerooms or baskets, living on food prepared by others while keeping their vows.
A closing image of non-violence amid universal conflict
The discourse's final image widens the frame beyond personal virtue: gods fight titans and mortals fight each other, yet the mendicants Sakka praises remain unfighting even among those who fight — a fitting closing note for the chapter and for the trilogy it completes.
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.’
§2Then Sakka descended from the Palace of Victory, raised his cupped palms, and revered the mendicant Saṅgha. So Mātali the chariot handler addressed Sakka in verse:
§3‘It’s these who should worship you, namely the humans stuck in their putrid bodies, sunk in a carcass, stricken by hunger and thirst. Why then do you envy those who are homeless, Vāsava? Relate the seers’ way of life, let us hear what you say.’
§4‘This is why I envy the homeless, Mātali. When they leave a village, they proceed without concern. They hoard no goods in storerooms, nor in pots or baskets. They seek food prepared by others, and, true to their vows, live on that.
§5The attentive, whose words are full of wisdom, live peacefully and quietly. Gods fight with titans, and mortals fight each other, Mātali. Not fighting among those who fight, quenched among those who have taken up arms, not grasping among those who grasp: they’re who I worship, Mātali.’
§6‘Those who you worship seem to be the best in the world, Sakka. I too will worship those who you worship, Vāsava.’ After saying this, Maghavā the chief, king of gods, Sujā’s husband, having worshipped the mendicant Saṅgha, climbed into his chariot.”
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