[447] "'The world is swept away (upanīyati), it is unstable' — so the worthy Raṭṭhapāla has said. Now, worthy Raṭṭhapāla, how should the meaning of this statement be seen?"
"What do you think, great king? When you were twenty or twenty-five years of age, were you accomplished with the elephant, accomplished with the horse, accomplished with the chariot, accomplished with the bow, accomplished with the sword — strong in thigh, strong in arm, capable, and experienced in battle?"
"I was, worthy Raṭṭhapāla. When I was twenty or twenty-five years of age, I was accomplished with the elephant, accomplished with the horse, accomplished with the chariot, accomplished with the bow, accomplished with the sword — strong in thigh, strong in arm, capable, and experienced in battle. Sometimes, worthy Raṭṭhapāla, I fancy I possessed supernormal power (iddhi): I do not see anyone who was my equal in strength."
"What do you think, great king? Are you even now just as strong in thigh, strong in arm, capable, and experienced in battle?"
"Not so, worthy Raṭṭhapāla. Now I am old, aged, elderly, advanced in years, come to the last stage of life; my age runs to eighty years. Sometimes, worthy Raṭṭhapāla, thinking 'I shall place my foot here,' I place my foot elsewhere."
"It was with reference to this, great king, that the Blessed One who knows and sees, the Arahant, the Fully Self-Awakened One, said: 'The world is swept away, it is unstable.' And having known, seen, and heard this, I went forth from the home life into homelessness."
"It is wonderful, worthy Raṭṭhapāla! It is marvelous, worthy Raṭṭhapāla, how well spoken this is by the Blessed One who knows and sees, the Arahant, the Fully Self-Awakened One: 'The world is swept away, it is unstable.' For indeed, worthy Raṭṭhapāla, the world is swept away, it is unstable. In this royal family, worthy Raṭṭhapāla, there are troops of elephants, troops of horses, troops of chariots, and troops of infantry, which will serve to defend us in times of danger."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.