[819]
Do not kill us, sire (deva); give us to Khaṇḍahāla as slaves:
even bound in chains, we would tend the elephants and the horses.
Do not kill us, sire; give us to Khaṇḍahāla as slaves:
even bound in chains, we would clear away the elephants' dung.
Do not kill us, sire; give us to Khaṇḍahāla as slaves:
even bound in chains, we would clear away the horses' dung.
Do not kill us, sire; give us as slaves to Khaṇḍahāla —
to whomever you may wish:
even banished from the realm, we will wander begging alms.
Sire, even poor women who long for sons entreat the gods,
yet some, though they have given up every device of their own, obtain no sons.
They make their wishes: 'May sons be born to us, and grandsons thereafter!'
And yet, sire, without cause you are having us slain for the sake of a sacrifice.
It is through supplication that people obtain a son;
dear father, do not have us killed —
do not offer up this sacrifice with sons obtained with such hardship.
It is through supplication that people obtain a son;
dear father, do not have us killed —
do not part us, sons obtained so pitiably, from our mother.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.