[706] Seated to one side, the brahmin student (māṇava) Vāseṭṭha addressed the Blessed One in verses:
"Acknowledged by our teachers and avowed by ourselves,
we are both masters of the three Vedas (tevijjā):
I am the pupil of Pokkharasāti,
and this young man of Tārukkha.
In whatever the masters of the three Vedas have declared,
in that we are fully accomplished;
philologists and grammarians (padaka, byākaraṇa),
in recitation we are the equals of our teachers.
Between us, O Gotama, there is a dispute
concerning the assertion of birth (jātivāda):
'By birth one is a brahmin,' so says Bhāradvāja,
but I say it is by action (kamma) —
know it thus, O One with Vision (cakkhumā).
Since we are both unable
to bring one another to see,
we have come to ask the Blessed One,
renowned as 'the Fully Awakened One (sambuddha).'
Just as people, drawing near with joined palms,
worshipping, pay homage
to the moon that has passed beyond its waning,
so [do they honor] Gotama in the world.
We ask Gotama,
the Eye arisen in the world:
is one a brahmin by birth,
or does one become one by action?
Tell us who do not know,
so that we may know a brahmin."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.