At one time Venerable Ānanda was staying in the land of the Kosalans in a certain forest grove.

Now at that time Ānanda was spending too much time informing the lay people. Then the deity haunting that forest had sympathy for Ānanda, wanting what’s best for him. So they approached him wanting to stir him up, and recited these verses:

“You’ve left for the jungle, the root of a tree, 
with extinguishment in your heart. 
Practice absorption, Gotama, don’t be negligent! 
What is this hullabaloo to you?”

Impelled by that deity, Venerable Ānanda was struck with a sense of urgency.