A peyyāla stub — only the opening question is given, with the source itself instructing readers to fill in the rest from SN 29.7
Length
under a 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
★☆☆☆☆ — understood only alongside SN 29.7
Why this discourse
The third of SN 29.7–10's four-part set, compressed identically to SN 29.8: only the opening question is given — why is someone reborn among moisture-born dragons — with the same "tell all in full" instruction pointing back to SN 29.7, this time with moisture-born substituted for egg-born.
Reading guide
One word swapped, the rest pointed back
The question is identical in structure to SN 29.7 and SN 29.8, with only "moisture-born" (saṃsedaja) replacing the earlier birth mode — the source again simply instructs: tell all in full.
Third of four parallel discourses
With this discourse, three of the four birth modes have now been paired with hearsay-driven aspiration — egg-born in full at SN 29.7, womb-born compressed at SN 29.8, and moisture-born compressed here — leaving only spontaneously-born still to come at SN 29.10.
The same alternating pattern, confirmed twice over
This saṃyutta's four-part sets now show the identical full-compressed-compressed-full shape across both SN 29.3–6 and SN 29.7–10, a structural regularity worth watching for again should later portions of this saṃyutta introduce further four-part sets.
A genuine feature of transmission, not an omission
As with the other compressed stubs in this saṃyutta, this discourse is quoted here exactly as the source gives it rather than expanded into invented prose.
Key terms
saṃsedaja — moisture-born — the birth mode this stub substitutes for SN 29.7's egg-born dragons
vitthāretabbaṁ — "should be told in full" — this discourse's own closing editorial instruction
sutaṁ — "heard" — the trigger named in SN 29.7's own title, carried over here by cross-reference
peyyāla — the formal term for a passage the source itself elides, directing the reader elsewhere for its full wording
dvayakārī — one who does both kinds of deeds — the ordinary mixed conduct implied here, though not restated, from SN 29.7
The text
The discourse in full — genuinely this short in the source, including its closing editorial instruction. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. Seated to one side, that mendicant said to the Buddha: “Sir, what is the cause, what is the reason why someone, when their body breaks up, after death, is reborn in the company of the moisture-born dragons?” (Tell all in full.)
· · ·
Self-check quiz
6 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 6
Which birth mode of dragon does this discourse's opening question concern?
Correct: A. The one substantive change from SN 29.7's own opening question.
Question 2 of 6
How does the source handle the rest of this discourse's content?
Correct: A. Pointing back to SN 29.7's own hearsay-driven reasoning.
Question 3 of 6
Where does this discourse fall in the SN 29.7–10 four-part set?
Correct: A. With egg-born, womb-born, and now moisture-born covered, only spontaneously-born remains at SN 29.10.
Question 4 of 6
What structural regularity does this discourse help confirm?
Correct: A. A structural regularity worth watching for in any later four-part sets.
Question 5 of 6
Which discourse's own reasoning does this stub point back to?
Correct: A. SN 29.7's hearsay-driven reasoning, cross-referenced rather than restated.
Question 6 of 6
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Consistent with this saṃyutta's other discourses.
