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Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 2.13

With Dīghalaṭṭhi

Dīghalaṭṭhisutta

Setting
Near Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove, late at night — this book's first discourse not set at Sāvatthī
Speakers
The Buddha and the godling Dīghalaṭṭhi
Form
A single four-line verse, with the full narrative frame restated for a new location
Length
~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
★★☆☆☆ — textually simple, but worth reading against its verbatim predecessor

Why this discourse

This discourse marks a change of location — the first in this book not set at Sāvatthī's Jeta’s Grove — and with it, the full opening narrative frame is restated rather than abbreviated to ‘standing to one side’. The verse Dīghalaṭṭhi then speaks is not new: it repeats, word for word, the same four-line verse the godling Kassapa spoke at SN 2.2, now placed in an unrelated speaker's mouth at a different location entirely.

Reading guide

A change of scene, signaled by a fuller frame

Every discourse in this book so far has been set at Sāvatthī; this one moves to Rājagaha's Bamboo Grove, and the narrative frame expands accordingly — ‘So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha…’ — the same opening formula used for the book's very first discourse, SN 2.1, restated here because the setting itself needs re-establishing.

The same verse, a different speaker

Dīghalaṭṭhi's verse is identical, word for word, to the verse spoken by the godling Kassapa at SN 2.2: the same meditator freed in mind, the same arising and passing of the world, the same closing claim of reward.

Repetition across unrelated discourses, not within one

This collection has already shown verses repeated within a single discourse's retelling (SN 2.8, SN 2.20) and closing images shared between different discourses (SN 1.9 and SN 1.38); this is a distinct third case — the identical verse recurring as the entirety of two separate, unrelated discourses with different speakers and different settings.

What the repetition suggests about these verses

That the same four lines could serve as a complete discourse spoken independently by two different godlings in two different places suggests these were treated as portable, freestanding verses of praise rather than as material composed for one specific occasion.

No new content, but not without interest

Because the verse itself supplies nothing new, this discourse's interest lies entirely in its framing: the location change, the restated formula, and the fact of repetition itself, rather than in any new teaching.

Key terms

Rājagaha — “Rājagaha” — the location of this discourse, this book's first departure from Sāvatthī.
Veḷuvana — “Bamboo Grove” — the specific monastery near Rājagaha named as this discourse's setting.
jhāyī vimutto — “a meditator, freed in mind” — the verse's opening phrase, identical to SN 2.2.
lokassa udayabbayaṁ — “the arising and passing of the world” — the verse's central claim, repeated word for word from SN 2.2.
suvimutta nirūpadhi — “good-hearted, independent” — the verse's final descriptive pair, closing the reward claim exactly as in SN 2.2.

The text

The discourse in full: a restated opening frame at a new location, and a verse already heard at SN 2.2. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground. Then, late at night, the glorious godling Dīghalaṭṭhi, lighting up the entire Bamboo Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side, and spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:

§2“If a mendicant is a meditator, freed in mind, and if they desire the heart’s fulfillment— having known the arising and passing of the world, good-hearted, independent, that is their reward.”

· · ·

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 is distinctive about this discourse's setting?
Correct: A. Set at Rājagaha's Bamboo Grove instead of the usual Jeta's Grove.
Question 2 of 10
Why is the full opening narrative frame restated here?
Correct: A. The same fuller formula used at SN 2.1, now needed again for a new location.
Question 3 of 10
What is unusual about the verse Dīghalaṭṭhi speaks?
Correct: A. The same meditator-freed-in-mind verse, repeated by an unrelated speaker.
Question 4 of 10
Who spoke this same verse earlier in this book?
Correct: A. SN 2.2's Dutiyakassapasutta contains the identical verse.
Question 5 of 10
How does this repetition differ from the elided repeats seen at SN 2.8 and SN 2.20?
Correct: A. A distinct third pattern: the same verse as the entirety of two unconnected discourses.
Question 6 of 10
What does this repetition suggest about verses like this one?
Correct: A. The reading guide's cautious inference from the same verse appearing as two independent discourses.
Question 7 of 10
Where does this discourse's interest chiefly lie, according to the reading guide?
Correct: A. The verse itself supplies nothing new; the discourse's interest is structural.
Question 8 of 10
What is the name of the monastery near Rājagaha named in this discourse?
Correct: A. Named explicitly in this discourse's restated opening frame.
Question 9 of 10
Who is Dīghalaṭṭhi, in relation to Kassapa of SN 2.2?
Correct: A. No textual claim links the two figures beyond sharing an identical verse.
Question 10 of 10
What does the verse's final line claim?
Correct: A. Identical to SN 2.2's closing claim, word for word.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

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