[211] What the elders have approved —
who deserves to blame it?
Women, mighty beings indeed,
have arisen in the world:
sport is directed upon them,
delight is established in them;
seeds take root in them —
that is to say, beings are born.
What man, having come into contact
with a living being with his very hands,
could feel revulsion toward them?
You yourself, Sumukha, and no other,
engage in the affairs of women;
and now that danger has arisen for you today,
your wit is born of fright.
Everyone who has fallen into peril,
timid though he be, endures the fear;
but the wise, the great ones,
apply themselves to aims hard to accomplish.
It is for this very purpose that kings
desire a counselor who is brave:
in that the brave man wards off
the calamity that comes upon one's own person.
Let not the king's cooks
carve us up today in the great kitchen;
for so it is that the color of your feathers
has slain you, as its fruit slays the bamboo.
Though set free, you do not wish to fly away;
you have come to the bond of your own accord.
So then, fallen into peril this day,
grasp what is of benefit — and not the mouth.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.