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Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 31.3

A Giver of Fragrant Roots

Mūlagandhadātāsutta — Gandhabbavagga

Setting
Sāvatthī
Speakers
A mendicant questions the Buddha, who answers by describing an unnamed aspirant's own reasoning
Form
A question-and-answer dialogue adding a specific act of giving to SN 31.2's own hearsay-and-wish frame
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
★★☆☆☆ — a plain causal chain, easy to follow

Why this discourse

This discourse introduces the first of two entirely different giving registers this saṃyutta explores: rather than SN 29's and SN 30's own standard ten-item list (food, drink, clothing, and so on), the aspirant here gives gifts of fragrant roots specifically — the exact substance the root-dwelling gods themselves inhabit — a matching-substance logic genuinely distinct from anything seen in Nāgasaṃyutta or Supaṇṇasaṃyutta. This same matching-substance formula will be applied to the remaining nine dwelling-places at SN 31.4–12.

Reading guide

A gift that matches the destination itself

"They give gifts of fragrant roots" — unlike SN 29's and SN 30's own generic ten-item list, this gift is the exact substance the sought-after gods themselves dwell in, a matching-substance logic genuinely new to this saṃyutta.

This discourse's own title, naming the giver directly

Mūlagandhadātā ("a giver of fragrant roots") names the aspirant's own specific act directly in its title, rather than the conduct-type as at SN 31.2's Sucarita ("good conduct") — the first of this saṃyutta's titles to name a gift-item specifically.

Adding specificity to SN 31.2's own general frame

Where SN 31.2 aimed only at "the gods of the centaur realm" generally, this discourse specifies both a particular dwelling-place (root-dwelling gods) and a particular gift (fragrant roots) that matches it — the first of ten such pairings this saṃyutta will work through.

Opening a nine-discourse compressed companion set

This discourse alone treats root-dwelling gods in full; SN 31.4–12 will apply the identical matching-substance formula to the remaining nine dwelling-places (heartwood through scents) in a single merged file.

Key terms

mūlagandha — fragrant roots — both the dwelling-place sought and the specific gift given, matched to each other
dātā — "giver" — this discourse's own title-word, naming the aspirant by their specific act
sucaritaṁ — good conduct — carried over from SN 31.2, still the baseline conduct attributed to this aspirant
sutaṁ — "heard" — the specific trigger for the aspirant's wish, as at SN 31.2
dāna — giving — the specific added element this discourse contributes beyond SN 31.2's own bare hearsay-and-wish frame

The text

The complete discourse: the mendicant's question and the aspirant's own reported reasoning, including the specific gift given. 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 gods who live in fragrant roots?” “Mendicant, it’s when someone does good things by way of body, speech, and mind. And they’ve heard: ‘The gods who live in fragrant roots are long-lived, beautiful, and very happy.’ They think: ‘If only, when my body breaks up, after death, I would be reborn in the company of the gods who live in fragrant roots!’ They give gifts of fragrant roots. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in the company of the gods who live in fragrant roots. This is the cause, this is the reason why someone, when their body breaks up, after death, is reborn in the company of the gods who live in fragrant roots.”

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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
What specific gift does this discourse's aspirant give?
Correct: A. A matching-substance logic genuinely distinct from SN 29's and SN 30's own generic ten-item list.
Question 2 of 6
How does this discourse's gift relate to the destination sought?
Correct: A. The exact substance the sought-after gods themselves dwell in.
Question 3 of 6
What does this discourse's own title, Mūlagandhadātā, mean?
Correct: A. Naming the aspirant's own specific act directly, the first title in this saṃyutta to do so.
Question 4 of 6
How does this discourse add to SN 31.2's own general frame?
Correct: A. The first of ten such dwelling-and-gift pairings this saṃyutta will work through.
Question 5 of 6
What compressed companion set does this discourse open?
Correct: A. Heartwood through scents, compressed into a single merged file.
Question 6 of 6
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Consistent with this saṃyutta's other discourses.
Answered 0 of 6 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 31.2 · Good Conduct