The Khandha Paritta

The Khandha Paritta is a discourse the Buddha spoke after a monk was bitten by a snake and died — he taught that had the monk radiated loving-kindness to all four families of royal nāgas, the snake would not have harmed him. He therefore gave this discourse to the monks as protection against venomous creatures.

In Thai custom this discourse is often chanted together with the sprinkling of holy water, to guard against snakes, centipedes, scorpions, and reptiles in general. It falls into 2 parts: the radiating of loving-kindness to the royal nāgas and all creatures · the praise of the boundless virtue and the dismissing of non-human beings.

Full Recitation Text

A continuous recitation of both parts, from the radiating of loving-kindness to the four nāga families and all creatures through to the praise of the boundless virtue — ready to chant straight through.

Translation and Explanation

The following is the translation and explanation of the meaning, part by part. The original Pali of each part has its own copy button. This discourse falls into 2 parts: the radiating of loving-kindness to the royal nāgas and all creatures → the praise of the boundless virtue and the dismissing of non-human beings.

Part 1 — Radiating Loving-Kindness to the Royal Nāgas and All Creatures

This part is a "specific loving-kindness" that groups creatures into 2 sets.

1. The first set: the four families of royal nāgas — in Buddhist belief, the royal nāgas who rule the world of reptiles number 4 families, according to their color and lineage.

• Virūpakkha (gold-yellow) — the great family, ruling the western direction

• Erāpatha (green) — the family that were once monks but, lacking virtue, were reborn as royal nāgas

• Chabyāputta (multicolored, brightly patterned)

• Kaṇhāgotamaka (black) — the family once of the Gotama lineage

Naming all 4 families carries the sense of "encompassing all the royal nāgas" — so that no family is left out of the loving-kindness.

1. The second set: creatures grouped by the number of feet — an encompassing of the creatures that may be a threat.

• Apāda (footless) — snakes, earthworms, fish

• Dipāda (two-footed) — humans, birds

• Catuppada (four-footed) — mammals

• Bahuppada (many-footed) — centipedes, scorpions, insects

Grouping by "counting feet" is an ancient way of classification that encompasses the whole animal world without remainder. The closing phrase "sabbe sattā ... mā kiñci pāpam-āgamā" = "may all beings behold what is good, may no evil come to anyone" — a closing benediction that extends the loving-kindness from reptiles alone to all beings whatsoever.

Part 2 — Praising the Boundless Virtue + Dismissing Non-Human Beings

This closing part uses the device of "comparing the boundless with the bounded" to generate protective power.

1. The boundless side (appamāṇa) — the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha have virtue that is limitless, without bound — showing that the power of the Triple Gem is vast and without end.

1. The bounded side (pamāṇavantāni) — 6 kinds of crawling creature.

• Ahi (snake)

• Vicchika (scorpion)

• Satapadī (centipede — literally "the hundred-footed one")

• Uṇṇānābhī (spider — "the one whose thread comes from the navel")

• Sarabū (gecko, lizard)

• Mūsika (mouse)

The deeper meaning: when that which is "bounded" meets that which is "boundless," the bounded side is no match at all — showing that the virtue of the Triple Gem will surely protect the one who chants from these creatures.

1. The command for non-human beings to withdraw — "paṭikkamantu bhūtāni" (may the spirits depart) — a "command" to the non-human beings who might come to harm, to withdraw, by the power of the Triple Gem.

1. Namo sattannaṃ sammāsambuddhānaṃ = homage to the seven Perfectly Enlightened Buddhas — meaning the seven Buddhas of the past (Vipassī–Sikhī–Vessabhū–Kakusandha–Koṇāgamana–Kassapa–Gotama) counted back from Gotama Buddha. Closing with the seven Buddhas carries the sense of "gathering the virtue of many Buddhas into an armor of protection" — the same mechanism as in the Sambuddhe already spoken of, but within a more concise scope.

Appendix — The Structure of the Khandha Paritta

The Khandha Paritta falls into 2 parts, as follows:

• Part 1 — Radiating loving-kindness to the royal nāgas and all creatures: radiating loving-kindness to the four nāga families + creatures grouped by the number of feet, that they do no harm to one another.

• Part 2 — Praising the boundless virtue + dismissing non-human beings: comparing the boundless Triple Gem with the bounded venomous creatures, commanding the non-human beings to withdraw, and paying homage to the seven Buddhas.