[68] 1. THUS HAVE I HEARD.1093 On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Rājagaha, at Isigili—the Gullet of the Seers. There he addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus.”—“Venerable sir,” they replied. The Blessed One said this:
 
2. “You see, bhikkhus, do you not, that mountain Vebhāra?”1094—“Yes, venerable sir.”
 
“There used to be another name, another designation, for that mountain Vebhāra. You see, bhikkhus, do you not, that mountain Paṇḍava?”—“Yes, venerable sir.”
 
“There used to be another name, another designation, for that mountain Paṇḍava. You see, bhikkhus, do you not, that mountain Vepulla?”—“Yes, venerable sir.”
 
“There used to be another name, another designation, for that mountain Vepulla. You see, bhikkhus, do you not, that mountain Gijjhakuṭa—the Vulture Peak?”—“Yes, venerable sir.”
 
“There used to be another name, another designation, for that mountain Gijjhakuṭa—the Vulture Peak. You see, bhikkhus, do you not, that mountain Isigili—the Gullet of the Seers?”—“Yes, venerable sir.”
 
3. “There used to be this same name, this same designation, for this mountain Isigili—the Gullet of the Seers. For in former times five hundred paccekabuddhas1095 dwelt long on this mountain, the Gullet of the Seers. They were seen entering into this hill; once gone in, they were no longer seen. People who saw this said: ‘This mountain swallows up these seers.’1096 And so it was that this came to be named ‘The Gullet of the Seers.’ I shall tell you, bhikkhus, the names of the paccekabuddhas, I shall relate to you the names of the paccekabuddhas, I shall teach you [69] the names of the paccekabuddhas. Listen and attend closely to what I shall say.”—“Yes, venerable sir,” the bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:
 
4. “Bhikkhus, the paccekabuddha Ariṭṭha dwelt long on this mountain Isigili. The paccekabuddha Upariṭṭha dwelt long on this mountain Isigili. The paccekabuddha Tagarasikhin1097... Yasassin…Sudassana…Piyadassin…Gandhāra…Piṇḍola… Up̄sabha...Nītha...Tatha...Sutav̄...Bh̄vitatta dwelt long on this mountain Isigili.
 
 

5. “These saintly beings, desireless, rid of suffering,
Who each achieved awakening by himself—

Hear me relate the names of these, the greatest

Of men, who have plucked out the dart [of pain].
 
 

 
Ariṭṭha, Upariṭṭha, Tagarasikhin, Yasassin,

Sudassana, and Piyadassin the enlightened,

Gandhāra, Piṇḍola, Upāsabha as well,

Nītha, Tatha, Sutavā, Bhāvitatta. [70]
 
 
6. “Sumbha, Subha, Methula, and Aṭṭhama,
7. “These and also other great and mighty
Paccekabuddhas no more led to being—

Honour these sages who, having gone beyond all ties,

Have attained final Nibbāna, past all measure.”
 
 
 

 
1093 In Sri Lanka this sutta is regularly recited as a protective discourse and is included in the medieval compilation, Mahā Pirit Pota, “The Great Book of Protection.”
 
1094 This and the following are mountains surrounding Rājagaha.
 
1095 A paccekabuddha is one who attains enlightenment and liberation on his own, without relying on the Dhamma taught by the Buddha, but is not capable of teaching the Dhamma to others and establishing the Dispensation. Paccekabuddhas arise only at a time when no Dispensation of a Buddha exists in the world. For a fuller study of the subject see Ria Kloppenborg, The Paccekabuddha: A Buddhist Ascetic.
 
1096 Ayaṁ pabbato ime isı̄ gilati: a word play is involved here. The gili in Isigili is certainly a dialectical variant of giri, hill, but the text connects it to the verb gilati, to swallow, and to gala, throat, gullet.
 
1097 Tagarasikhin is referred to at Ud 5:4/50 and SN 3:20/i.92.
 
1098 Ñm remarks in Ms that without the aid of the commentary it is extremely difficult to distinguish the proper names of the paccekabuddhas from their descriptive epithets.