3-30-1 Supaṇṇavaggo | Samyutta

Chapter IX

30 Supaṇṇasamyutta
Connected Discourses on Supaṇṇas

1 Simple Version

At Sāvatthī.

Bhikkhus, there are these 4 modes of generation of Supaṇṇas. What 4?

1) Supaṇṇas born from eggs,
2) Supaṇṇas born from the womb,
3) Supaṇṇas born from moisture,
4) Supaṇṇas of spontaneous birth.

- These are the 4 modes of generation of Supaṇṇas.

2 They Carry Off

At Sāvatthī.

Bhikkhus, there are these 4 modes of generation of Supaṇṇas….

Therein, Bhikkhus, egg-born Supaṇṇas carry off only Nāgas that are egg-born, not those that are womb-born, moisture-born, or spontaneously born.

Womb-born Supaṇṇas carry off Nāgas that are egg-born and womb-born, but not those that are moisture-born or spontaneously born.

Moisture-born Supaṇṇas carry off Nāgas that are egg-born, womb-born, and moisture-born, but not those that are spontaneously born.

Spontaneously born Supaṇṇas carry off Nāgas that are egg-born, womb-born, moisture-born, and spontaneously born.

These, Bhikkhus, are the 4 modes of generation of Supaṇṇas.

3 Ambivalent (1)

At Sāvatthī….

Sitting to one side, that Bhikkhu said to the Blessed One:

Venerable sir, what is the cause and reason why someone here, with the breakup of the body, after death, is reborn in the company of egg-born Supaṇṇas?

 Here, Bhikkhu, someone acts ambivalently in body, speech, and mind:

He has heard: ‘Egg-born Supaṇṇas are long-lived, beautiful, and abound in happiness.’

He thinks: ‘Oh, with the breakup of the body, after death, may I be reborn in the company of egg-born Supaṇṇas!’

Then, with the breakup of the body, after death, he is reborn in the company of egg-born Supaṇṇas.

This, Bhikkhu, is the cause and reason why someone here, with the breakup of the body, after death, is reborn in the company of egg-born Supaṇṇas.

4–6 Ambivalent (2–4)

(The same is repeated for the other 3 types of Supaṇṇas.)

7–16 With the Support of Giving (1)

Sitting to one side, that Bhikkhu said to the Blessed One:

Venerable sir, what is the cause and reason why someone here, with the breakup of the body, after death, is reborn in the company of egg-born Supaṇṇas?

Here, Bhikkhu, someone acts ambivalently in body, speech, and mind:

He has heard: ‘Egg-born Supaṇṇas are long-lived, beautiful, and abound in happiness.’

He thinks: ‘Oh, with the breakup of the body, after death, may I be reborn in the company of egg-born Supaṇṇas!’

He gives food…. He gives drink…. He gives clothing…. He gives a vehicle…. He gives a garland…. He gives a fragrance…. He gives an unguent…. He gives a bed…. He gives a dwelling…. He gives a lamp.

Then, with the breakup of the body, after death, he is reborn in the company of egg-born Supaṇṇas.

This, Bhikkhu, is the cause and reason why someone here, with the breakup of the body, after death, is reborn in the company of egg-born Supaṇṇas.

17–46 With the Support of Giving (2–4)

(These 3 decades each repeat the preceding decade for the other 3 types of Supaṇṇas.)