[441] Through unreasoned attention (ayonisomanasikāra), afflicted by sensual lust (kāmarāga),
formerly I was restless, without mastery over my mind (citta).
Obsessed by defilements (kilesa), conforming to the perception of pleasure,
I did not obtain peace of mind, gone under the sway of a mind of lust.
Thin, sallow, and wan, I fared on for seven years;
deeply miserable, I found no happiness by day or by night.
Then, taking a rope, I went into the depths of the forest:
"Better for me to hang myself here than that I should take up the low life again."
Having made a strong noose and tied it to the branch of a tree,
I cast the noose about my neck — and then my mind was released.
Sīhā.
[Apparatus of variant readings, as printed: 1. M.: chaḷabhiññā. 2. Yu.: bālālapanaṃ. 3. M., Yu.: voḍḍiya. 4. Yu.: vidaṃsentī. 5. M.: aṭṭitā; Yu.: additā. 6. M.: subhasaññā …. — Notes 1–4 mark words in the preceding item; notes 5–6 concern "addhitā" ("afflicted") and "sukhasaññā-" ("perception of pleasure") above. M. = Burmese edition; Yu. = European (PTS) edition.]
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.