Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 2.21

With Shiva

Sivasutta

Setting
Near Sāvatthī, in Jeta’s Grove, late at night
Speakers
The Buddha and the godling Shiva
Form
Six near-identical refrain stanzas, capped by the Buddha's own seventh stanza on the same refrain
Length
~2 minutes 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
★★★☆☆ — repetitive by design, best read for how each closing line differs

Why this discourse

This discourse opens this book's third and final sub-chapter with Shiva — the Pali spelling of Sanskrit Śiva, another rare appearance of a major Vedic deity's name in the early texts, following Veṇhu/Vishnu at SN 2.12 — reciting six stanzas that repeat the same three-line refrain, ‘associate only with the virtuous’, each time closing on a different benefit. The Buddha caps the sequence with a seventh stanza, keeping the refrain but naming the most complete benefit of all: release from all suffering.

Reading guide

A second Vedic name, a second rarity

Shiva joins Veṇhu (SN 2.12) as this book's second godling named for a major deity of the Vedic and later Hindu traditions, both flagged by SuttaCentral's own summaries as rare appearances of these specific names within the early Buddhist canon.

One refrain, six different closings

Each of Shiva's six stanzas repeats the same three opening lines exactly — associate with the virtuous, understand the true teaching — and varies only the fourth line's named benefit: things improving, wisdom gained, freedom from grief, standing out among relatives, a good rebirth, and simply living happily.

A seventh stanza, not a correction

The Buddha's reply keeps Shiva's refrain exactly and adds one more benefit rather than replacing any of the six — release from all suffering — positioning his addition as the culmination of Shiva's list rather than a rejection of it.

A progression from worldly to ultimate benefits

Read in sequence, Shiva's six benefits move roughly from modest and worldly (things improving) toward more significant ones (a good rebirth, living happily), and the Buddha's seventh completes that progression with the one benefit beyond all worldly gain: full release.

A structural relative of this vagga's other refrain verses

This six-times-repeated refrain with a capping seventh variant belongs to the same family as SN 1's ‘change one word’ verses and this book's earlier single-line substitutions, but scaled up to six repetitions before the Buddha's own addition, the largest such refrain sequence in this collection so far.

Key terms

Siva — “Shiva” — the Pali spelling of Sanskrit Śiva, this discourse's speaker and a rare figure of this name in the early texts.
sappurisa — “the virtuous, the good” — who the refrain urges association with, repeated unchanged across all seven stanzas.
saddhamma — “the true teaching” — what understanding brings, in the refrain's third line.
sabbadukkhā pamuccati — “released from all suffering” — the Buddha's own seventh and culminating benefit.
3. Various Sectarians — the source text's own heading for this book's third sub-chapter, the Nānātitthiyavagga, which this discourse opens.

The text

The discourse in full: Shiva's six-stanza refrain and the Buddha's capping seventh stanza. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Then, late at night, the glorious godling Shiva, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side, and recited these verses in the Buddha’s presence:

§2“Associate only with the virtuous! Try to get close to the virtuous! Understanding the true teaching of the good, things get better, not worse. Associate only with the virtuous! Try to get close to the virtuous! Understanding the true teaching of the good, wisdom is gained—but not from anyone else. Associate only with the virtuous! Try to get close to the virtuous! Understanding the true teaching of the good, you grieve not among the grieving. Associate only with the virtuous! Try to get close to the virtuous! Understanding the true teaching of the good, you shine among your relatives. Associate only with the virtuous! Try to get close to the virtuous! Understanding the true teaching of the good, sentient beings go to a good place. Associate only with the virtuous! Try to get close to the virtuous! Understanding the true teaching of the good, sentient beings live happily.”

§3Then the Buddha replied to Shiva in verse: “Associate only with the virtuous! Try to get close to the virtuous! Understanding the true teaching of the good, you’re released from all suffering.”

· · ·

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 sub-chapter does this discourse open?
Correct: A. Named for its closing discourse, SN 2.30, on disciples of various sectarian teachers.
Question 2 of 10
What refrain repeats across all of Shiva's six stanzas?
Correct: A. The three-line refrain kept constant while the fourth line's benefit changes.
Question 3 of 10
How does the Buddha's reply relate to Shiva's six stanzas?
Correct: A. Positioned as culmination rather than correction.
Question 4 of 10
What benefit does the Buddha's own stanza name?
Correct: A. The Buddha's seventh and most complete benefit, closing the sequence.
Question 5 of 10
Who is Shiva, according to this discourse's glance summary?
Correct: A. This book's second rare Vedic-deity-named godling, after Veṇhu/Vishnu at SN 2.12.
Question 6 of 10
What pattern do Shiva's six benefits follow in sequence?
Correct: A. Moving from things improving toward a good rebirth and living happily, before the Buddha's ultimate addition.
Question 7 of 10
How does this refrain sequence compare in scale to this book's other repeated-refrain discourses?
Correct: A. Six stanzas from Shiva plus the Buddha's seventh, more than any earlier refrain pattern in this book.
Question 8 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. The familiar late-night Jeta's Grove setting, resuming after the previous vagga's location changes.
Question 9 of 10
What does the refrain's third line say understanding the true teaching does?
Correct: A. Kept constant across all seven stanzas as the condition each benefit depends on.
Question 10 of 10
Why is this discourse's opening significant for the book as a whole?
Correct: A. The Nānātitthiyavagga, whose completion will finish SN 2 entirely.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 2.20 · With Anāthapiṇḍika