This discourse recurs at Snp 1.4 with a longer narrative. Vedic hymns include invocations to the “Lord of the Field” to bless the plowing and the crops (Rig Veda 4.57.4), but it is unorthodox to see a brahmin farmer.

The Southern Hills (dakkhiṇāgiri, “Deccan”) is the Vindhya Range that lies on the southern border of Magadha, leading southwest to Avanti. The Buddha and his disciples visited there so rarely that people complained (Kd 1:53.1.3). | Ekanāḷa (“one-stalk”) appears only here.

Atharvaveda 6.142.3 says that the “givers” of the grain shall be inexhaustible, perhaps suggesting a food distribution practice.

Vedic texts are full of this sort of correspondence, but I cannot find a close match to these. Perhaps this is to be expected, as the farmer is learning something new.

Yogakkhema (“sanctuary from the yoke”) is a metaphor for Nibbana that draws from the literal sense of khema as an oasis or sanctuary for men and beasts. After a hard day’s journey, a caravan would stop to rest, “unyoke” the draft animals, lay down the burden, and refresh themselves in the cool waters.