The Buddha tells a householder, who is mourning for his son, that dear ones always bring sorrow and tribulation. The man, however, disagreed with this view and did not scruple to say so wherever he went.

Pasenadi taunted Mallikā with this, and she sent Nāḷijaṅgha to the Buddha to ask if these were his words. The Buddha convinced him by means of various examples that the statement was true, and when this was reported to Mallikā, she was able to prove to Pasenadi that the Buddha’s teaching was in accordance with the facts. M.ii.106 ff.