[621] "Yes, venerable sir," the headman Asibandhakaputta replied to Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta. Rising from his seat, he paid homage to Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta, circumambulated him keeping him to his right, and approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. Seated to one side, the headman Asibandhakaputta said this to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, does not the Blessed One in many ways praise sympathy for families, praise the protection of families, praise compassion for families?"
"So it is, headman. The Tathāgata in many ways praises sympathy for families, praises the protection of families, praises compassion for families."
"Then why, venerable sir, is the Blessed One wandering on tour with a great Saṅgha of bhikkhus at Nāḷandā at a time of famine, when subsistence is hard, when the crops are blighted white with disease and food is distributed by ticket? The Blessed One is practising for the annihilation of families; the Blessed One is practising for the ruin of families; the Blessed One is practising for the destruction of families."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.