About Ambaṭṭha (Pride Humbled). Pokkharasāti, a famous Brahmin teacher, sends his student Ambaṭṭha (supposedly fully trained in Brahmin lore) to find out if the 'ascetic Gotama' is the great man he is alleged to be (and if, therefore, he bears the 'thirty-two marks of a Great Man'), Ambaṭṭha, proud of his Brahmin birth, behaves stupidly and arrogantly towards the Buddha, and thereupon learns a thing or two about his own ancestry, besides being made to realise that the Khattiyas (the warrior-noble caste) are superior to the Brahmins. Humbled, he returns to Pokkharasāti, who is furious at his conduct, hastens to see the Buddha, learns that he does indeed bear the thirty-two marks, and becomes a convert.
- (Summary by) Walshe, Maurice, “The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya”
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