[779] Then the deity (devatā) who dwelt in that forest thicket — compassionate toward the Venerable Nāgadatta, desiring his good, and wishing to stir the Venerable Nāgadatta to a sense of urgency (saṃvega) — approached the Venerable Nāgadatta; and having approached, addressed the Venerable Nāgadatta in verses:
"Entering at the due time, Nāgadatta, yet returning in the daytime — one who goes about beyond the proper hours,
mixed up with householders, sharing pleasure and pain alike with them;
I fear for Nāgadatta — so very impudent, bound fast to families:
may you never come under the power of the mighty King of Death (maccurājā), the Ender (antaka)!"¹
Then the Venerable Nāgadatta, stirred by that deity, attained a sense of urgency.
¹ [Variant readings:] Burmese edition: *vasaṃ upesi*; European (PTS) edition: *vasameyyā ti*.
The Kulagharaṇī Sutta, the Eighth
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.