[202] Now at that time several hundred brahmins were residing in Khāṇumata, thinking, "We shall partake of the great sacrifice of the brahmin Kūṭadanta." Those brahmins heard: "It is said that the brahmin Kūṭadanta is going to see the ascetic Gotama." Then those brahmins approached the brahmin Kūṭadanta, and having approached, they said this to the brahmin Kūṭadanta: "Is it true, as it is said, that the worthy Kūṭadanta will go to see the ascetic Gotama?"
"So it is my intention, sirs: I too shall go to see the ascetic Gotama."
"Let the worthy Kūṭadanta not go to see the ascetic Gotama. It is not fitting for the worthy Kūṭadanta to go to see the ascetic Gotama. If the worthy Kūṭadanta goes to see the ascetic Gotama, the fame of the worthy Kūṭadanta will diminish and the fame of the ascetic Gotama will increase. Since the fame of the worthy Kūṭadanta will diminish and the fame of the ascetic Gotama will increase, for this reason it is not fitting for the worthy Kūṭadanta to go to see the ascetic Gotama; rather, it is the ascetic Gotama who ought to come to see the worthy Kūṭadanta.
"For the worthy Kūṭadanta is well born on both sides, on the mother's side and on the father's side, of pure descent, unimpeachable and irreproachable with respect to birth back to the seventh generation of forefathers. Since the worthy Kūṭadanta is well born on both sides, on the mother's side and on the father's side, of pure descent, unimpeachable and irreproachable with respect to birth back to the seventh generation of forefathers, for this reason it is not fitting for the worthy Kūṭadanta to go to see the ascetic Gotama; rather, it is the ascetic Gotama who ought to come to see the worthy Kūṭadanta.
"For the worthy Kūṭadanta is rich, of great wealth, of great possessions, with abundant valuables and requisites, with abundant gold and silver. For the worthy Kūṭadanta is a reciter, a bearer of the hymns, a master of the three Vedas together with the vocabularies and the ritual, together with the phonology and word-analysis, with the legends as the fifth; skilled in the verses, a grammarian, fully versed in cosmology and in the marks of a great man. For the worthy Kūṭadanta is handsome, good to behold, gracious, endowed with supreme beauty of complexion, of Brahmā-like complexion, of Brahmā-like radiance, of no mean presence to behold. For the worthy Kūṭadanta is virtuous, of mature virtue, endowed with mature virtue. For the worthy Kūṭadanta is of fine speech, of fine enunciation, endowed with urbane speech that is fluent, faultless, and conveys the meaning clearly. For the worthy Kūṭadanta is a teacher of the teachers of many; he teaches the hymns to three hundred brahmin students, and many brahmin students come from various quarters and various countries to the presence of the worthy Kūṭadanta, seeking the hymns, wishing to learn the hymns. For the worthy Kūṭadanta is aged, elderly, of great age, far gone in years, arrived at the last stage of life, whereas the ascetic Gotama is young and newly gone forth. For the worthy Kūṭadanta is honored, respected, esteemed, venerated, and shown deference by Seniya Bimbisāra, King of Magadha. For the worthy Kūṭadanta is honored, respected, esteemed, venerated, and shown deference by the brahmin Pokkharasāti. For the worthy Kūṭadanta dwells over Khāṇumata, teeming with living beings, abounding in grass, timber, and water, rich in grain, a royal property, given by Seniya Bimbisāra, King of Magadha, as a royal endowment, a brahmin endowment (brahmadeyya). Since the worthy Kūṭadanta dwells over Khāṇumata, teeming with living beings, abounding in grass, timber, and water, rich in grain, a royal property, given by Seniya Bimbisāra, King of Magadha, as a royal endowment, a brahmin endowment, for this reason it is not fitting for the worthy Kūṭadanta to go to see the ascetic Gotama; rather, it is the ascetic Gotama who ought to come to see the worthy Kūṭadanta."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.