Thig 13.1 - Thig 13:1 Ambapālī
Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
Source: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Thig/thig13_1.html
License: CC-BY-NC-4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Copyright: Copyright 2014 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Revised edition 2017
License notice: Copyright 2014 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Revised edition 2017 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported. To see a copy of this license visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. “Commercial” shall mean any sale, whether for commercial or non-profit purposes or entities. Questions about this book may be addressed to Metta Forest Monastery Valley Center, CA 92082-1409 U.S.A. Additional resources More Dhamma talks, books and translations by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu are available to download in digital audio and various ebook formats at dhammatalks.org. Printed copy A paperback copy of this book is available free of charge. To request one, write to: Book Request, Metta Forest Monastery, PO Box 1409, Valley Center, CA 92082 USA.
Attribution: From Handful of Leaves, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu; https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/Ebooks/SuttaPitaka_251113.epub. Copyright 2014 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Revised edition 2017 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported. To see a copy of this license visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. “Commercial” shall mean any sale, whether for commercial or non-profit purposes or entities. Questions about this book may be addressed to Metta Forest Monastery Valley Center, CA 92082-1409 U.S.A. Additional resources More Dhamma talks, books and translations by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu are available to download in digital audio and various ebook formats at dhammatalks.org. Printed copy A paperback copy of this book is available free of charge. To request one, write to: Book Request, Metta Forest Monastery, PO Box 1409, Valley Center, CA 92082 USA.
Publisher references (not part of the sutta): See also: DN 16; Thag 1:118
Changes: Presentation only: original HTML markup reflowed into plain text; wording, numbering and source repetitions retained. No repetitions expanded.
Completeness: ABBREVIATED. Every source-unit character is preserved, including introductions, notes and verse structure. Thanissaro's collection-level note explicitly states that repetitions were cut: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/about.html. This is evidence about the translation method, not an assertion that every individual unit contains an omission; no repetitions reconstructed.

Thig 13:1 Ambapālī

Black was my hair
—the color of bees—
& curled at the tips;
    with age, it looked like coarse hemp.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Fragrant, like a perfumed basket
filled with flowers: my coiffure.
    With age it smelled musty,
    like animal fur.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Thick & lush, like a well-tended grove,
made splendid, the tips elaborate
with comb & pin.
    With age, it grew thin
    & bald here & there.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Adorned with gold & delicate pins,1
it was splendid, ornamented with braids.
    Now, with age,
    that head has gone bald.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Curved, as if well-drawn by an artist,
my brows were once splendid.
    With age, they droop down in folds.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Radiant, brilliant like jewels,
my eyes: elongated, black—deep black.
    With age, they’re no longer splendid.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Like a delicate peak, my nose
was splendid in the prime of my youth.
    With age, it’s like a long pepper.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Like bracelets—well-fashioned, well-finished—
my ears were once splendid.
    With age, they droop down in folds.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Like plantain buds in their color,
my teeth were once splendid.
    With age, they’re broken & yellowed.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Like that of a cuckoo in the dense jungle,
flitting through deep forest thickets:
sweet was the tone of my voice.
    With age, it cracks here & there.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Smooth2—like a conch shell well-polished—
my neck was once splendid.
    With age, it’s broken down, bent.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Like rounded door-bars—both of them—
my arms were once splendid.
    With age, they’re like dried up pāṭalī trees.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Adorned with gold & delicate rings,
my hands were once splendid.
    With age, they’re like onions & tubers.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Swelling, round, firm, & high,
both my breasts were once splendid.
    In the drought of old age, they dangle
    like empty old water bags.3
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Like a sheet of gold, well-burnished,
my body was splendid.
    Now it’s covered with very fine wrinkles.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Smooth in their lines, like an elephant’s trunk,
both my thighs were once splendid.
    With age, they’re like knotted bamboo.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Adorned with gold & delicate anklets,
my calves were once splendid.
    With age, they’re like sesame sticks.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

As if they were stuffed with soft cotton,
both my feet were once splendid.
    With age, they’re shriveled & cracked.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Such was this physical heap,
now: decrepit, the home of pains, many pains.
    A house with its plaster all fallen off.
The Truth-speaker’s word
        doesn’t change.

Notes

1. Reading saṇha-kaṇḍaka.

2. Reading saṇha-kamburiva with the Burmese and Sinhalese editions.

3. Reading thevikīva with the Burmese and Sinhalese editions.