[649] Now at that time some five hundred brahmins from various provinces were residing in Opāsāda on some business. Those brahmins heard: "It is said that the brahmin Caṅkī will go to see the ascetic Gotama." Then those brahmins approached the brahmin Caṅkī, and having approached, they said to the brahmin Caṅkī: "Is it true, as they say, that the worthy Caṅkī will go to see the ascetic Gotama?"
"It is so, sirs. I too shall go to see the ascetic Gotama."
"Let the worthy Caṅkī not go to see the ascetic Gotama. It is not fitting for the worthy Caṅkī to go to see the ascetic Gotama; rather, it is fitting for the ascetic Gotama to come to see the worthy Caṅkī. For the worthy Caṅkī is well born on both sides (ubhatosujāta), on the mother's side and on the father's side, of pure descent as far back as the seventh generation of paternal ancestors, unassailable and irreproachable with respect to birth. And since the worthy Caṅkī is well born on both sides, on the mother's side and on the father's side, of pure descent as far back as the seventh generation of paternal ancestors, unassailable and irreproachable with respect to birth, for this reason it is not fitting for the worthy Caṅkī to go to see the ascetic Gotama; rather, it is fitting for the ascetic Gotama to come to see the worthy Caṅkī.
"For the worthy Caṅkī is rich, of great wealth, of great possessions. For the worthy Caṅkī is a master of the three Vedas, together with the Nighaṇḍu and Keṭubha, together with the phonology and analysis of words, and with the Itihāsa as the fifth; he is skilled in the word-by-word text, versed in grammar, and fully accomplished in cosmology (lokāyata) and the marks of a great man. For the worthy Caṅkī is handsome, good to look upon, inspiring confidence, endowed with supreme beauty of complexion, of Brahmā-like complexion, of Brahmā-like presence, no small thing to behold. For the worthy Caṅkī is virtuous, of mature virtue, endowed with mature virtue. For the worthy Caṅkī is of fine speech, of fine utterance, endowed with urbane speech that is distinct, faultless, and makes the meaning intelligible. For the worthy Caṅkī is a teacher of the teachers of many; he teaches the hymns to three hundred brahmin students. For the worthy Caṅkī is honored, respected, esteemed, revered, and venerated by King Pasenadi of Kosala. For the worthy Caṅkī is honored, respected, esteemed, revered, and venerated by the brahmin Pokkharasāti. For the worthy Caṅkī presides over Opāsāda, teeming with living beings, abounding in grass, timber, and water, rich in grain, a royal property, given by King Pasenadi of Kosala as a royal grant, an endowment to a brahmin (brahmadeyya). And since the worthy Caṅkī presides over Opāsāda, teeming with living beings, abounding in grass, timber, and water, rich in grain, a royal property, given by King Pasenadi of Kosala as a royal grant, an endowment to a brahmin, for this reason too it is not fitting for the worthy Caṅkī to go to see the ascetic Gotama; rather, it is fitting for the ascetic Gotama to come to see the worthy Caṅkī."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.