[130] 10.
"Naked and of ugly appearance, emaciated, with the veins standing out,
with ribs protruding, so lean — who, pray, are you, good sirs?"
"We, venerable sir, are petas (peta), gone to a woeful state, belonging to the world of Yama;
having done evil kamma, we have gone from here to the world of the petas."
"What wrong, then, was done by body, by speech, or by mind?
Through the ripening of what kamma have you gone from here to the world of the petas?"
"Though there were blameless fords (tittha),¹ we gleaned a mere half-māsaka;
though there were gifts to be given (deyyadhamma), we made no island for ourselves.
Thirsty, we go up to a river — it turns out empty;
in the heat we go up to the shade — it turns to blazing sun.
A wind hued like fire blows scorching upon us;
this, venerable sir, we deserve, and other evil worse than that.
Hungry, greedy for food, we travel even for yojanas;
gaining nothing at all, we turn back — alas for our scant merit!
Famished and swooning, venerable sir, dashed upon the ground,
we collapse sprawled on our backs; we fall face down.
And fallen right there, dashed upon the ground,
we batter chest and head — alas for our scant merit!
This, venerable sir, we deserve, and other evil worse than that;
though there were gifts to be given, we made no island for ourselves.
Surely, having gone from here and obtained a human womb,
we shall be heedful of those who ask, endowed with virtue (sīla), and shall do abundant wholesome deeds (kusala)."
¹ The reading "anāvaṭesu" is also found.
The Gaṇapetavatthu, the tenth.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.