Lokavagga · The World · Gāthā 175
Haṃsādiccapathe yanti, ākāse yanti iddhiyā; nīyanti dhīrā lokamhā, jetvā māraṃ savāhiniṃ.
Haṃsādiccapathe yanti, ākāse yanti iddhiyā; nīyanti dhīrā lokamhā, jetvā māraṃ savāhiniṃ.
Swans fly on the sun’s path, those with powers travel through space; the wise are led out of the world, having conquered Māra and his army.
Haṃsādiccapathe yanti — swans fly on the sun’s path: haṃsa (swan) and ādicca-patha (sun’s path). Swans flying toward the sun represent spiritual beings who rise toward luminosity. The sun’s path is the path of wisdom.
Ākāse yanti iddhiyā — those with powers travel through space: iddhi are the psychic powers that Buddhist tradition attributes to advanced practitioners. Traveling through space (ākāsa) is transcending ordinary limitations of perception.
Nīyanti dhīrā lokamhā — the wise are led out of the world: dhīra are the firm, the constant, the wise. The world (loka) here is the world of attachment and ignorance. Being “led out” is liberation.
Jetvā māraṃ savāhiniṃ — having conquered Māra and his army: victory over Māra (lord of illusion and death) with his entire army (vāhinī) is the culmination of the spiritual path. Māra’s army are the passions, fears, temptations that assail the practitioner.