← ScriptureCreate account →
Theravāda — Pali Canon · Khuddaka Nikāya — The Minor Collection
Cp 29The Conduct of the Young Quail
Pāli / Sanskrit:Vaṭṭapotakacariya
📖263 words · ~1 min read
2
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Full translation (English)
– The Conduct Leading to Buddhahood
The Chapter With Yudhañjaya The Perfection of Truth (3rd)
The Baby Quail’s Conduct
“Then again when I wasa baby quail in Magadha,I was young, with wings unsprouted,just a scrap of meat in the nest.With food she brought in her beakmy mother nurtured me.I survived through her touch,for I had no physical strength.One year, in the hot season,the forest caught fire.It came towards us,a conflagration with a blackened trail.The fire roared and rumbledwith great crests of flame,gradually burningcloser to me.Alarmed and terrified at the fierce fire,my mother and fatherabandoned me in the nest,saving themselves.I beat my feet and wings,but I had no physical strength.When unable to leave,I thought this there:‘Those to whom I ought to run,scared and trembling with fear,have escaped, leaving me behind.How should I act today?There is the quality of virtue in the world,truth, purity, and mercy.By this truth I will makea supreme declaration of truth.’Inspired by the power of Dhamma,recollecting the former Victors,relying on the power of truth,I made a declaration of truth.‘I have wings that do not fly!I have feet that do not walk!Mother and father have fled!Jātaveda the fire: go back!’As I declared this truththe great crested flameswithdrew sixteen leagues,as if they had come to water.There is no-one to equal my truthfulness:this is my perfection of truth.”
Translation source: Bhikkhu Indacanda (SuttaCentral)License: VI © Bhikkhu Indacanda (qua SuttaCentral) · EN CC0-1.0 (Bhikkhu Sujato)
Translations belong to the translator/source credited above. The bilingual compilation, presentation, and AI translations compiled by Inti are © Inti Foundation. Please attribute when quoting; do not bulk-copy or use commercially without permission.