[827] Then, as the householder Anāthapiṇḍika was going out of the city, the light vanished and darkness appeared; fear, trepidation, and horripilation arose in him. And he wished to turn back from there.
Then the yakkha Sivaka, remaining invisible, made his voice heard:
"A hundred elephants, a hundred horses,
a hundred mule-drawn chariots,
a hundred thousand maidens
adorned with jewelled earrings —
these are not worth a sixteenth part
of a single step forward.
Go forward, householder! Go forward, householder!
Going forward is better for you,
not turning back."
Then for the householder Anāthapiṇḍika the darkness vanished and light appeared, and the fear, trepidation, and horripilation that had arisen subsided.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.