[756] "Well then, great king, I shall question you in return on this very point; answer it as seems fit to you. What do you think, great king: do you have any accountant, calculator, or reckoner who is able to count the sand of the Ganges thus: 'There are so many grains of sand,' or 'there are so many hundreds of grains of sand,' or 'there are so many thousands of grains of sand,' or 'there are so many hundreds of thousands of grains of sand'?"
"Certainly not, venerable lady."
"But do you have any accountant, calculator, or reckoner who is able to measure the water in the great ocean thus: 'There are so many measures (āḷhaka) of water,' or 'there are so many hundreds of measures of water,' or 'there are so many thousands of measures of water,' or 'there are so many hundreds of thousands of measures of water'?"
"Certainly not, venerable lady."
"Why is that?"
"Venerable lady, the great ocean is deep, immeasurable, hard to fathom."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.