1… "I saw a man with body-hairs of needles moving through the air. sn.ii.258 Those needles entered his head and came out from his mouth; they entered his mouth and came out from his chest; they entered his chest and came out from his belly; they entered his belly and came out from his thighs; they entered his thighs and came out from his calves; they entered his calves and came out from his feet, while he uttered cries of pain … ."

"That being was a slanderer in this same Rājagaha…." [n.351] Spk: He was a slanderer who divided people from each other and brought them to ruin and misery by his insinuations. Therefore, as people were divided by him through his insinuations (tena sūcetvā manussā bhinnā), to experience the pain of being pierced by needles (sūcīhi bhedanadukkhaṁ paccanubhotuṁ), he took that kamma itself as the sign and became a needle-haired ghost (sūcilomapeta). (The aptness of the retribution is established by the similarity between the Pali word sūci, needle, and the verb sūceti, to insinuate, to indicate.)

1"Idhāhaṁ, āvuso, gijjhakūṭā pabbatā orohanto addasaṁ sūcilomaṁ purisaṁ vehāsaṁ gacchantaṁ. Tassa tā sūciyo sīse pavisitvā mukhato nikkhamanti; mukhe pavisitvā urato nikkhamanti; ure pavisitvā udarato nikkhamanti; udare pavisitvā ūrūhi nikkhamanti; ūrūsu pavisitvā jaṅghāhi nikkhamanti; jaṅghāsu pavisitvā pādehi nikkhamanti; so sudaṁ aṭṭassaraṁ karoti … pe …

eso, bhikkhave, satto imasmiṁyeva rājagahe sūcako ahosi … pe … .

Navamaṁ.