The twenty-seventh sutta of the Dīghanikāya (D.iii.80 f). It is a kind of Buddhist book of Genesis, dealing, among other things, with the evolution of the world, of man and of society. The pretensions of the brahmins to be the legitimate heirs of Brahma are examined and rejected; righteousness is declared to be above lineage. (For a summary of the sutta see Dial. i.105 f, cf. Madhura Sutta).

It was taught to Vāseṭṭha and Bhāradvāja at the Pubbārāma.

The larger portion of this sutta (from the beginning of the genesis part to the election of the first king) is found in the Mahāvastu (Mtu.i.338-48).