Chiggala Sutta

1. Chiggala Sutta.-Once, at the Kūtagārasālā in Vesāli, Ananda saw Licchavi youths practising archery, shooting through even a small keyhole (chiggala) without a miss. He reported this to the Buddha, who remarked that those who penetrate the meaning of dukkha, etc., do a far more difficult thing (S.v.453f).

2. Chiggala Sutta.-It is more probable that a blind turtle, rising to the surface only once in a hundred years, should put his neck through a yoke (chiggala) with a single hole, floating about in the ocean, than that a fool who has gone to the Downfall should become a man again (S.v.455; cp. M.iii.169; Thig.500).

3. Chiggala Sutta.-Similar to 2. It is more probable that a turtle, etc. . . ., than that one should get birth in a human form, or that a Tathāgata should arise in the world, or that the Dhamma and Vinaya proclaimed by a Tathāgata should be shown in the world. See also Tālacchiggala Sutta (S.v.456).

Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, G P Malalasekera (1899-1973), which is available as printed version from