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#### Aṅguttara Nikāya
VIII. Aṭṭhaka Nipāta
II: Mahā Vagga

#### The Book of the Gradual Sayings
The Book of the Eights
II. The Great Chapter

#### Suttas 17-18

#### Purisa-Bandhana Suttaṁ and Itthi-Bandhana Suttaṁ

Translated from the Pali by E.M. Hare.

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[196] [135]

#### Sutta 17

#### Purisa-Bandhana Suttaṁ

# A Woman's Toils

[17.1][olds][bodh] Thus have I heard:

Once the Exalted One was dwelling near Sāvatthī,
at Jeta Grove,
in Anāthapiṇḍika's Park.

There the Exalted One addressed the monks, saying:

"Monks."

"Yes, lord," they replied, and the Exalted One said:

"Monks, a woman enslaves a man in eight ways.

What eight?

A woman enslaves a man by appearance,
by laughter,
by speech,
by song,
by tears,
by attire,
by garlands from the forest[1]
and by touch.

Monks, in these eight ways a woman enslaves a man,
and beings caught by these
are verily caught as though in a snare.'

§

#### Sutta 18

#### Itthi-Bandhana suttaṁ

# A Man's Hold

[18.1][olds][bodh] Thus have I heard:

Once the Exalted One was dwelling near Sāvatthī,
at Jeta Grove,
in Anāthapiṇḍika's Park.

There the Exalted One addressed the monks, saying:

"Monks."

"Yes, lord," they replied, and the Exalted One said:

[ed1]'Monks, a man enslaves a woman in eight ways.

What eight?

A man enslaves a woman by appearance,
by laughter,
by speech,
by song,
by tears,
by attire,
by garlands from the forest
and by touch.

Monks, in these eight ways a man enslaves a woman,
and beings caught by these
are verily caught as though in a snare.'

Bhaṅga. Numerous slang terms for cannibis are common words for other similar things: 'weed', 'tea', 'herb', so here the reverse may apply. Today 'bhanga' would not be understood as "flowers": 'wild cannibis blooms' = "forest flowers". On the other hand there is a considerable body of anecdotal evidence that cannibis flowers are and have always been used to enhanse sexual pleasure. PED: "Bhanga1 (nt.) [cp. Sanskrit bhanga, which occurs already Atharva-veda XI. 6. 15 (see Zimmer. Altind. Leben 68), also Av. baṁha, Polish pienka hemp. On its possible etymology connection with Vedic shaṇa (Ath. Veda II. 4. 5) = Pāli saṇa and sāṇa hemp ( = Gr. κάνναβις, Ger. hanf, E. hemp) see Walde, Latin Wtb. s. v. cannabis] hemp..."

— p.p.

[1] Vana-bhaṅgena. Comy. By presents of flowers and fruit, etc., from forests. See below, p. 291, n. 2, on bhaṅga.

[ed1] Hare abbreviates with the note: (Repeat sutta 17, with changes for a man.) Here the sutta is reconstructed per his instructions. This however completely misses the double meanings of the words used for which see the Olds translation.

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