Reading guide
A contest proposed by the losing side
It's Vepacitti, not Sakka, who first proposes deciding the matter by fine words rather than by force — a detail worth noticing given how the contest ultimately turns out for him.
Courtesy observed even between enemies
Before the verses begin, Sakka defers to Vepacitti to speak first, addressing him as one of the elder gods — a small procedural courtesy maintained even within open hostility between the two sides.
A judged contest, not a private exchange
Unlike SN 11.4's dialogue between Sakka and his own charioteer, this version stages the same content before an explicit panel of judges drawn from both gods and titans, whose reactions are recorded verse by verse.
Applause splits cleanly along partisan lines
Each side's judges applaud only their own champion's verse and fall silent for the other's, all the way through — a detail that makes the judges' final, unified ruling all the more notable by contrast.
A ruling that names its own criterion
Rather than simply declaring Sakka the winner, the judges spell out exactly why: Vepacitti's verses lead to punishment and conflict, Sakka's don't — making the standard for victory explicit rather than left for readers to infer.
Key terms
The text
§1At Sāvatthī. “Once upon a time, mendicants, a battle was fought between the gods and the titans. Then Vepacitti, lord of titans, said to Sakka, lord of gods, ‘Lord of gods, let there be victory by fine words!’ ‘Vepacitti, let there be victory by fine words!’ Then the gods and the titans appointed a panel of judges, saying, ‘These will understand our good and bad statements.’ Then Vepacitti, lord of titans, said to Sakka, lord of gods, ‘Lord of gods, recite a verse!’ When he said this, Sakka said to him, ‘Vepacitti, you are the elder gods here. Recite a verse.’ So Vepacitti spoke this verse:
§2‘Fools would vent even more if there’s no-one to put a stop to them. So an intelligent person should stop a fool with forceful punishment.’
§3The titans applauded Vepacitti’s verse, while the gods kept silent. Then Vepacitti said to Sakka, ‘Lord of gods, recite a verse!’ So Sakka spoke this verse: ‘I think that this is the only way to put a stop to a fool, when you know that the other is upset, be mindful and stay calm.’
§4The gods applauded Sakka’s verse, while the titans kept silent. Then Sakka said to Vepacitti, ‘Vepacitti, recite a verse!’ So Vepacitti spoke this verse: ‘In this mere endurance, Vāsava, I see a flaw. When a fool thinks, “He endures me out of fear,” the simpleton will go after you even harder, like a cow chasing someone who runs away.’
§5The titans applauded Vepacitti’s verse, while the gods kept silent. Then Vepacitti said to Sakka, ‘Lord of gods, recite a verse!’ So Sakka spoke this verse: ‘Let him think this if he wishes, or not—“He endures me out of fear.” For the highest goal, one’s own, naught better than patience is found. When a strong person endures a weakling, they call that the ultimate patience, for a weakling must always be patient.
§6The strength of folly is really just weakness, they say. But no-one can challenge a person who’s strong, guarded by the teaching. When you get angry at an angry person you just make things worse for yourself. When you don’t get angry at an angry person you win a battle hard to win. When you know that the other is angry, you act for the good of both yourself and the other if you’re mindful and stay calm. People inexpert in the teaching consider one who heals both oneself and the other to be a fool.’
§7The gods applauded Sakka’s verses, while the titans kept silent. Then the panel of judges consisting of both gods and titans said this, ‘The verses spoken by Vepacitti evoke punishment and violence. That’s how you get fights, arguments, and quarrels. The verses spoken by Sakka don’t evoke punishment and violence. That’s how you stay free of fights, arguments, and quarrels. Sakka, lord of gods, wins victory by fine words!’ And that’s how Sakka came to win victory by fine words.”
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