[2293]
"This is no pot of ghee, nor yet a pot of oil,
no pot of molasses, nor of honey;
the faults of this pot are not few —
hear now the many evils that lie within the pot.
Whoever drinks of it staggers and falls into a precipice,
into a pit, a cavern, a cesspool, or a filthy sewer,
and he will eat even much of what ought never to be eaten —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Having drunk of it, a man, no longer master of his own mind,
wanders about like an ox that roams for fodder;
destitute of any refuge, he sings and he dances —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Having drunk of it, naked as an unclothed ascetic,
a man will roam the streets and lanes of the village,
his mind bewildered, sleeping far beyond the hour —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Having drunk of it, he rises up trembling,
swaying his head and flailing his arms,
and he dances like a wooden puppet —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Having drunk of it, men lie until they are scorched by fire,
and are gnawed even by jackals;
they come to bondage, to slaying, and to the loss of their wealth —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Having drunk of it, a man will say what ought never to be said,
and will sit in the assembly with his garments fallen away;
besmeared, sunk in his own vomit, he comes to ruin —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Having drunk of it, a man is puffed up, his eyes grown turbid,
and he thinks, 'The whole earth is mine alone;
not even a king of the four quarters is my equal' —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Pride and arrogance and quarrels [are hers]; a slanderer is she,
a maker of ugliness, one who strips men naked and sets them fleeing;
she is the resort and the abode of the rogues of old —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Families in the world that stood rich and prosperous,
with wealth counted by many thousands,
have by her been made to have their inheritance cut off —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Grain and wealth, silver and gold,
field and cattle — where [men drink], they bring these to destruction;
she cuts off whatever wealth families possess —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Having drunk of it, a man, as one gone frenzied,
reviles his own father and his mother;
he would lay hands even on his mother-in-law, and on his daughter-in-law besides —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Having drunk of it, a woman, as one gone frenzied,
reviles her father-in-law and her husband;
she would take even a slave, even a serving-man [for her own] —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Having drunk of it, a man might strike down
an ascetic or a brahmin who stands firm in the Dhamma,
and on that account he would go to a state of loss (apāya) —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Having drunk of it, men practise misconduct
by body, by speech, and by mind,
and having practised misconduct they pass to hell (niraya) —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
That [falsehood] which men pleading could not formerly obtain from him,
though they gave up gold in plenty —
having drunk of it, he speaks the lie —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Having drunk of it, one sent upon an errand,
when some urgent business has arisen,
does not understand even the matter when he is told —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Even those whose minds know shame, when maddened by the intoxicant,
make a display of shamelessness;
even those who are wise talk overmuch —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Having drunk of it, men lie huddled in a single heap,
without food, in the painful bed upon the bare ground;
they come to a wretched complexion and to disgrace —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Having drunk of it, they lie with drooping shoulders,
like cattle felled by the hammer;
for the rush of strong drink (vāruṇī) is not such as a man may easily endure —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
That which men shun, as they would a serpent
of dreadful venom — that [drink], the very equal of poison in the world:
what man is fit to drink of it? —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Having drunk of it, the sons of Andhakaveṇḍa (Andhakaveṇḍaputtā),
while they diverted themselves upon the ocean shore,
set upon one another with pestles —
buy this pot, full of that [liquor]!
Having drunk of it, the gods of old (pubbadevā), grown heedless,
fell from the Tidiva heaven, deeming themselves eternal, with all their wiles (māyā);
knowing this strong drink to be such a thing, and worthless,
how, great king, should one drink it?
There is no curd in this pot, nor honey;
knowing it thus, buy it, O king!
For thus, Sabbamitta, have the contents of the pot
been declared to you by me according to their true nature."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.