The elided template opening a new chapter, moving from bodily torment to environmental immersion
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — opening Dutiyavagga with an image unlike anything in Paṭhamavagga
Why this discourse
This discourse opens Dutiyavagga with a genuinely new kind of image, distinct from Paṭhamavagga's fragmentary remains, flayed bodies, and self-inflicted weapons: a man sunk over his head in a sewer. Rather than being attacked by something else, this being is submerged, immersed entirely in filth. The cause named is pāradārika, adultery, literally one who goes to another's wife — the first sexual wrongdoing named as a cause in this saṃyutta.
Reading guide
Immersion replacing attack as the mode of suffering
Every apparition in Paṭhamavagga involved something actively harming the being — birds pecking, weapons falling, a crushing weight; this discourse's affliction is instead one of total immersion in an unpleasant medium, a passive rather than actively inflicted suffering.
Sewer filth as a specific moral register
Gūthakūpa, a sewer or cesspit, introduces filth specifically as this discourse's image, a register distinct from blood, fire, or physical mutilation used elsewhere — associating this particular wrongdoing with contamination and degradation rather than physical violence.
Adultery as the vagga's opening cause
Pāradārika, defined literally as going to another's wife, is the first specifically sexual transgression named as a cause in this saṃyutta, opening Dutiyavagga with a category of wrongdoing entirely absent from Paṭhamavagga's ten discourses.
A brief, single-image discourse without elaboration
Unlike the more layered descriptions of earlier discourses, this one gives almost no additional detail beyond the sunk position itself — the image's power lies in its stark simplicity rather than accumulated specifics.
The first of several discourses building toward related female apparitions
This discourse's cause of adultery anticipates SN 19.13's flayed woman, named an adulteress using the corresponding feminine term, suggesting Dutiyavagga will pair related transgressions across its early discourses rather than presenting them in isolation.
Key terms
purisaṁ gūthakūpe sasīsakaṁ nimuggaṁ — “a man sunk over his head in a sewer” — this discourse's title image, immersion rather than active attack.
pāradāriko — “an adulterer” (literally “one who goes to another's wife”) — the first specifically sexual wrongdoing named as a cause in this saṃyutta.
gūthakūpa — “a sewer, a cesspit” — the specific medium of immersion, associating this wrongdoing with contamination rather than physical violence.
…pe… — the peyyāla elision mark — continuing the compression convention established across Paṭhamavagga.
paṭhamaṁ — “the first” — this discourse's closing numbering tag, opening Dutiyavagga's own count.
The text
The discourse as preserved in the source, elided around SN 19.1's fuller frame narrative. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1So I have heard. At one time near Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove … “Just now, reverend, as I was descending from Vulture’s Peak Mountain I saw a man sunk over his head in a sewer. …” … “That being used to be an adulterer right here in Rājagaha. …”
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Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What does this discourse's apparition consist of?
Correct: A. A genuinely new kind of image, distinct from every apparition in Paṭhamavagga.
Question 2 of 10
How does this discourse's mode of suffering differ from Paṭhamavagga's apparitions?
Correct: A. A shift from active attack to environmental immersion.
Question 3 of 10
What cause does this discourse name?
Correct: A. Opening Dutiyavagga with a category of wrongdoing absent from Paṭhamavagga's ten discourses.
Question 4 of 10
What does the sewer image specifically associate this wrongdoing with?
Correct: A. A moral register distinct from the blood, fire, or mutilation used elsewhere in this saṃyutta.
Question 5 of 10
How detailed is this discourse's description, compared to more elaborate discourses elsewhere in this saṃyutta?
Correct: A. The image's power lying in its stark simplicity rather than accumulated specifics.
Question 6 of 10
What later discourse does this discourse's cause anticipate?
Correct: A. Suggesting Dutiyavagga pairs related transgressions across its early discourses.
Question 7 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. The setting shared throughout this saṃyutta.
Question 8 of 10
Who are the two speakers in this discourse?
Correct: A. The same pair continuing throughout this saṃyutta.
Question 9 of 10
What does pāradārika literally mean?
Correct: A. The literal sense underlying this discourse's named cause.
Question 10 of 10
What numbering tag closes this discourse?
Correct: A. Opening Dutiyavagga's own count, distinct from its position as the eleventh discourse overall.
