At Sāvatthī. “Once upon a time, mendicants, a battle was fought between the gods and the titans. Then Vepacitti, lord of titans, addressed the titans, ‘My good fellows, if the titans defeat the gods in this battle, bind Sakka, the lord of gods, by his limbs and neck and bring him to my presence in the citadel of the titans.’ Meanwhile, Sakka, lord of gods, addressed the gods of the thirty-three, ‘My good fellows, if the gods defeat the titans in this battle, bind Vepacitti by his limbs and neck and bring him to my presence in the Hall of Clear Right of the gods.’ In that battle the gods won and the titans lost. So the gods of the thirty-three bound Vepacitti by his limbs and neck and brought him to Sakka’s presence in the Hall of Clear Right of the gods. And as Sakka was entering and leaving the hall, Vepacitti abused and insulted him with rude, harsh words. So Mātali the chariot handler addressed Sakka in verse:

‘O Maghavā, O Sakka, is it from fear or from weakness that you endure such harsh words in the presence of Vepacitti?’

‘It’s not out of fear or weakness that I’m patient with Vepacitti. For how can a sensible person like me get in a fight with a fool?’

‘Fools would vent even more if there’s no one to put a stop to them. So an attentive one should stop a fool with forceful punishment.’