1At Sāvatthī in Jeta's Grove. There the Blessed One said to the bhikkhus:

"Bhikkhus, in the past, when Sakka, lord of the devas, was a human being, he was a brahmin youth named Magha; therefore he is called Maghava. [n.636] Spk (to SN11.13) briefly relates how Sakka, in his existence as the brahmin youth Magha, went about performing deeds of merit at the head of a band of thirty-three friends. Having fulfilled his seven vows, he was reborn after death in the Tāvatiṁsa heaven along with his friends. Hence the name Tāvatiṁsa, "(heaven) of the thirty-three." See Dhp-a I 265–72; BL 1:315–19. Ja No. 31 tells the same story with the Bodhisatta—the future Buddha Gotama—in the role of Magha and reborn as Sakka.

2"Bhikkhus, in the past, when Sakka, lord of the devas, was a human being, he gave gifts in city after city; therefore he is called Purindada, the Urban Giver. [n.637] I read with Se and Ee1 & 2 pure pure dānaṁ adasi tasmā Purindado ti vuccati. Be has pure only once. MW (s.v. pur > puraṁ) gives puraṁda and puraṁdara as names of Indra; both mean "destroyer of strongholds." This explanation, and the following three, depend on puns almost impossible to reproduce in English.

3"Bhikkhus, in the past, when Sakka, lord of the devas, was a human being, he gave gifts considerately; therefore he is called Sakka. [n.638] (Sakkaccaṁ danaṁ adasi tasma Sakko ti vuccati.)

4"Bhikkhus, in the past, when Sakka, lord of the devas, was a human being, he gave a rest house; therefore he is called Vāsavā. [n.639] The story of the rest house (avasatha) is at Dhp-a I 269–70; BL 1:317–18.

5"Bhikkhus, Sakka, lord of the devas, thinks of a thousand matters in a moment; therefore he is called Sahassakkha, Thousand-eyed. [n.640] Sahassam pi atthanaṁ muhuttena cinteti tasma Sahassakkho ti vuccati. Spk: Standing upon a single word propounded in regard to a thousand people or a thousand statements, he decides, "This one has need of this, that one has need of that." Spk-pṭ: He has a thousand wisdom-eyes.

6"Bhikkhus, Sakka's wife is the asura maiden named Suja; therefore he is called Sujampati, Suja's husband. [n.641] The story of how Sakka won the hand of Suja, Vepacitti's daughter, is told at Dhp-a I 278–79 (see BL 1:323), and Ja I 206.

7"Bhikkhus, Sakka, lord of the devas, exercises supreme sovereignty and rulership over the Tāvatiṁsa devas; therefore he is called lord of the devas.

8"Bhikkhus, in the past, when Sakka, lord of the devas, was a human being, he adopted and undertook seven vows by the undertaking of which he achieved the status of Sakka … ."

1Sāvatthiyaṁ jetavane. Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū etadavoca:

"sakko, bhikkhave, devānamindo pubbe manussabhūto samāno magho nāma māṇavo ahosi, tasmā maghavāti vuccati.

2Sakko, bhikkhave, devānamindo pubbe manussabhūto samāno pure dānaṁ adāsi, tasmā purindadoti vuccati.

3Sakko, bhikkhave, devānamindo pubbe manussabhūto samāno sakkaccaṁ dānaṁ adāsi, tasmā sakkoti vuccati.

4Sakko, bhikkhave, devānamindo pubbe manussabhūto samāno āvasathaṁ adāsi, tasmā vāsavoti vuccati.

5Sakko, bhikkhave, devānamindo sahassampi atthānaṁ muhuttena cinteti, tasmā sahassakkhoti vuccati.

6Sakkassa, bhikkhave, devānamindassa sujā nāma asurakaññā pajāpati, tasmā sujampatīti vuccati.

7Sakko, bhikkhave, devānamindo devānaṁ tāvatiṁsānaṁ issariyādhipaccaṁ rajjaṁ kāreti, tasmā devānamindoti vuccati.

8Sakkassa, bhikkhave, devānamindassa pubbe manussabhūtassa satta vatapadāni samattāni samādinnāni ahesuṁ, yesaṁ samādinnattā sakko sakkattaṁ ajjhagā. Katamāni satta vatapadāni? Yāvajīvaṁ mātāpettibharo assaṁ, yāvajīvaṁ kule jeṭṭhāpacāyī assaṁ, yāvajīvaṁ saṇhavāco assaṁ, yāvajīvaṁ apisuṇavāco assaṁ, yāvajīvaṁ vigatamalamaccherena cetasā agāraṁ ajjhāvaseyyaṁ muttacāgo payatapāṇi vossaggarato yācayogo dānasaṁvibhāgarato, yāvajīvaṁ saccavāco assaṁ, yāvajīvaṁ akkodhano assaṁ – sacepi me kodho uppajjeyya, khippameva naṁ paṭivineyyanti. Sakkassa, bhikkhave, devānamindassa pubbe manussabhūtassa imāni satta vatapadāni samattāni samādinnāni ahesuṁ, yesaṁ samādinnattā sakko sakkattaṁ ajjhagāti.