SN 19.4's flayed-man image mirrored for a woman, with a paired cause
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
★☆☆☆☆ — this saṃyutta's first apparition described as female
Why this discourse
This discourse mirrors SN 19.4's flayed man exactly, now applied to a woman: a flayed woman flying through the air, chased and pecked at by the same three birds. The cause named is aticāriṇī, an adulteress, the feminine counterpart to SN 19.11's adulterer — this saṃyutta's first apparition explicitly described as female, twelve discourses into the collection.
Reading guide
A structural mirror, not a new image
Every element of this discourse's apparition — the flaying, the pursuing birds, the screaming — repeats SN 19.4's structure precisely, applied here to a woman rather than a man, confirming the saṃyutta reuses its established image-types across genders rather than inventing new forms for each.
The saṃyutta's first explicitly female apparition
After twelve discourses describing exclusively male beings, this discourse marks a notable shift, opening a run of three consecutive discourses (SN 19.13-15) concerning women specifically before returning to male and then explicitly monastic apparitions.
A cause paired with SN 19.11's adulterer
Aticāriṇī, an adulteress, directly parallels SN 19.11's pāradārika, an adulterer, suggesting a deliberate structural echo across the two discourses even though they aren't placed immediately adjacent to each other.
The same consequence for a mirrored transgression
Rather than describing a different or lesser consequence for the female version of this wrongdoing, this discourse applies the identical flaying-and-bird-attack apparition, treating the same transgression as carrying equivalent weight regardless of who commits it.
A pattern of paired male-and-female causes beginning to emerge
Read alongside SN 19.11 and the discourses following it, this discourse suggests Dutiyavagga is structured partly around paired transgressions — the same category of wrongdoing named for both a man and a woman — rather than a simple, unbroken list of unrelated cases.
Key terms
nicchaviṁ itthiṁ vehāsaṁ gacchantiṁ — “a flayed woman flying through the air” — this discourse's title image, mirroring SN 19.4's flayed man exactly.
aticāriṇī — “an adulteress” — the feminine counterpart to SN 19.11's pāradārika, adulterer.
…pe… — the peyyāla elision mark — the same compression convention continuing from the discourses before this one.
aṭṭassaraṁ karoti — “screamed in pain” — the recurring description, unchanged whether applied to a man or a woman.
tatiyaṁ — “the third” — this discourse's closing numbering tag.
The text
The discourse as preserved in the source, elided around SN 19.1's fuller frame narrative. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Just now, reverend, as I was descending from Vulture’s Peak Mountain I saw a flayed woman flying through the air. Vultures, crows, and hawks kept chasing her, pecking and clawing as she screamed in pain. …” … “That woman used to be an adulteress 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 discourse does this one's apparition structurally mirror?
Correct: A. The identical flaying-and-bird-attack structure, reused across genders.
Question 2 of 10
What significance does this discourse hold, twelve discourses into the collection?
Correct: A. Opening a run of three consecutive discourses concerning women specifically.
Question 3 of 10
What cause does this discourse name, and what does it parallel?
Correct: A. A deliberate structural echo across the two discourses, even though not immediately adjacent.
Question 4 of 10
Does this discourse describe a different or lesser consequence for the female version of this wrongdoing?
Correct: A. The same flaying-and-bird-attack image, unchanged in severity.
Question 5 of 10
What broader pattern does this discourse suggest about Dutiyavagga's structure?
Correct: A. Rather than a simple, unbroken list of unrelated cases.
Question 6 of 10
What birds chase and tear at the apparition in this discourse?
Correct: A. The same three birds named throughout this saṃyutta, regardless of the apparition's gender.
Question 7 of 10
How does the level of detail in this discourse compare to SN 19.4's?
Correct: A. A structural mirror rather than a newly invented image.
Question 8 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. The setting shared throughout this saṃyutta.
Question 9 of 10
Who are the two speakers in this discourse?
Correct: A. The same pair continuing throughout this saṃyutta.
