[2434] "It is the fault, O great brahmin, of King Brahmadatta:
his unprotected countryfolk are crushed by unlawful levies.
[Siam edition variant apparatus: ¹ Yu.: daḷhaṃ. ² Ma.: pasupālaṃ. ³ Sī.: pasupālañca hiṃsati; Yu.: pasu phālañca hiṃsati. ⁴ Yu.: garahato. ⁵ Ma.: aṭanakā. ⁶ Sī., Yu.: pabbhameyya.]
For by night the robbers devour them,
and by day the 'beaked' tax-gatherers (tuṇḍiyā) devour them;
in the realm of a crooked king there are many unrighteous people.
How is it that our young, still drinking milk, are slain for the sake of sword-sheaths?"
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.