Dhaniya the cattleman: [1]

"The rice is cooked, my milking done. I live with my people along the banks of the Mahi; my hut is roofed, my fire lit: so if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain."

The Buddha:

"Free from anger, my stubbornness gone, [2] I live for one night along the banks of the Mahi; my hut's roof is open, my fire out: [3] so if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain."

Dhaniya:

"No mosquitoes or gadflies are to be found. The cows range in the marshy meadow where the grasses flourish. They could stand the rain if it came: so if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain."

The Buddha:

"A raft, well-made, has been lashed together. [4] Having crossed over, gone to the far shore, I've subdued the flood. No need for a raft is to be found: [5] so if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain."

Dhaniya:

"My wife is compliant, not careless, is charming, has lived with me long. I hear no evil about her at all: so if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain."

The Buddha:

"My mind is compliant, released, has long been nurtured, well tamed. No evil is to be found in me: so if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain."

Dhaniya:

"I support myself on my earnings. My sons live in harmony, free from disease. I hear no evil about them at all: so if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain."

The Buddha:

"I'm in no one's employ, [6] I wander the whole world on the reward [of my Awakening]. No need for earnings is to be found: so if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain."

Dhaniya:

"There are cows, young bulls, cows in calf, & breeding cows, & a great bull, the leader of the herd: so if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain."

The Buddha:

"There are no cows, no young bulls, no cows in calf or breeding cows, no great bull, the leader of the herd: [7] so if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain."

Dhaniya:

"The stakes are dug-in, immovable. The new muñja-grass halters, well-woven, not even young bulls could break: so if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain."

The Buddha:

"Having broken my bonds like a great bull, like a great elephant tearing a rotting vine, I never again will lie in the womb: so if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain." The great cloud rained down straightaway, filling the lowlands & high. Hearing the rain-god pour down, Dhaniya said: "How great our gain that we've gazed on the Blessed One! We go to him, the One with vision, for refuge. May you be our teacher, Great Sage. My wife & I are compliant. Let's follow the holy life under the One Well-gone. Gone to the far shore of aging & death, let's put an end to suffering & stress."

Mara: [8]

"Those with children delight because of their children. Those with cattle delight because of their cows. A person's delight comes from acquisitions, since a person with no acquisitions doesn't delight."

The Buddha:

"Those with children grieve because of their children. Those with cattle grieve because of their cows. A person's grief comes from acquisitions, since a person with no acquisitions doesn't grieve."

Notes

1 .: Dhaniya Gopa: Literally, one whose wealth is in cattle. According to the Commentary, his herd consisted of 30,000 head of cattle.
2 .: The first line in the Buddha's verse plays on words in the first line of Dhaniya's. "Free from anger" (akkodhano) plays on "rice is cooked" (pakkodano); and "stubbornness" (khilo) plays on "milk" (khiro).
3 .: "Open" means having a mind not covered or concealed by craving, defilement, or ignorance. This image is also used in Ud 5.5 and Sn 4.4 . "My fire out" refers to the fires of passion, aversion, & delusion; birth, aging, & death; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair. See SN 35.28 ; Iti 93 ; and The Mind Like Fire Unbound .
4 .: The raft stands for the noble eightfold path. See passages 113 and 114 in The Wings to Awakening.
5 .: As this verse doesn't seem to be a direct response to the preceding one, the Commentary suggests that we are missing part of the conversation here. An alternative possibility is that the Buddha is engaging in word play — the word "crossed over" (tinna) being a pun on Dhaniya's reference to grass (tina).
6 .: According to the Commentary, the Buddha is not in anyone else's employ nor even in his own employ — i.e., he is not in the employ of craving.
7 .: The Buddha may be speaking literally here — he has no cattle, so there is no way that a heavy rain could cause him harm — but he may also be speaking metaphorically. See SN 4.19 .
8 .: According to the Commentary, Mara suddenly comes on the scene to try — unsuccessfully — to prevent Dhaniya and his wife from going forth. His verses here, together with the Buddha's response, are also found at SN 4.8 .

See also: AN 3.34 ; AN 7.6 ; AN 7.7 ; Ud 2.10 .