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The Story of Cundasukarika (Verse 15)

While residing at the Veluvana monastery in Rajagaha, the Buddha uttered Verse (15) of
this book, with reference to Cunda, the pork-butcher.

Once, in a village not far away from the Veluvana monastery, there lived a very cruel and
hard-hearted pork-butcher, by the name of Cunda. Cunda was a pork-butcher for over
fifty-five years; all this time he had not done a single meritorious deed. Before he died, he
was in such great pain and agony that he was grunting and squealing and kept on moving
about on his hands and knees like a pig for seven whole days. In fact, even before he died,
he was suffering as if he were in Niraya.* On the seventh day, the pork-butcher died and
was reborn in Avici Niraya. Thus, the evil-doer must always suffer for the evil deeds done
by him; he suffers in this world as well as in the next.

In this connection, the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:

Verse 15:Here he grieves, hereafter he grieves; the evil-doer grieves in both existences.
He grieves and he suffers anguish when he sees the depravity of his own deeds.

* Niraya or Naraka: a place of continuous torment sometimes compared with hell; but it is
different from hell because suffering in Niraya is not everlasting like suffering in hell.
Avici Niraya is the most fearful of all Nirayas.

Translated by Daw Mya Tin, M.A.,
Burma Pitaka Association, Rangoon, Burma 1986.