The Legends of the Theras
Now listen to the legends of the Theras:
[1. Sāriputta]
Close to the Himalayan range,
[on] the mountain called Lambaka,1
my ashram is very well made,
a well-constructed hall of leaves. (1) [140]
There’s a river, with gentle banks,
well-fixed, delightful to the mind,
and strewn about with bright white sand,
not very far from my ashram. (2) [141]
Free of gravel [and] free of slopes,
excellent, without bad odors,
the river flows right past that place,
making my ashram beautiful. (3) [142]
Crocodiles2 and leviathans,3
alligators4 and tortoises;
the river flows right past that place,
making my ashram beautiful. (4) [143]
Sheatfish,5 pāvusa,6 valaja,7
reed-fish,8 red-fish9 and maggura10
are flowing [with the current]11 [there],
making my ashram beautiful. (5) [144]
Trees that blossom and trees that fruit
stand on both banks of that river,
overhanging it from both sides,
making my ashram beautiful. (6) [145]
Mango, sal12 and coral-bean tree,13
trumpet-flower,14 Chinese chaste tree,15
trees in flower with heavenly scents
are perfuming my ashram [then]. (7) [146]
Sandal, salalā,16 cheesewood17 too
ironwood,18 laurel19 and screw-pine20
trees in flower with heavenly scents
are perfuming my ashram [then]. (8) [147]
Hiptage21 vines and ashoka trees,22
bhaginimāla flowering,
sage-leaf alangium,23 and red
bimbijāl24 bloom in my ashram. (9) [148]
Ketaka,25 kandali26 flowers,
kebuka, and Arab jasmine27
are exuding heavenly scents
making my ashram beautiful. (10) [149]
Dinner-plate tree28 and kaṇika
silver greywood,29 many black trees30
are exuding heavenly scents,
making my ashram beautiful. (11) [150]
Laurel31 and mountain laurel32 trees,
and ebony,33 all blossoming,
are exuding heavenly scents
making my ashram beautiful. (12) [151]
Golden shower,34 winter cherry,35
kadam36 and Spanish cherry37 trees
are exuding heavenly scents
making my ashram beautiful. (13) [152]
Ālaka and isimugga,
banana,38 also citron39 trees
matured on the sweet-smelling water
are bearing forth their flowers [there]. (14) [153]
Some pink lotuses are blooming,
others are producing pollen,40
some pink lotuses are budding,
always flowering in the tank.41 (15) [154]
Pink lotuses germinate [there];42
the lotus roots43 are being cleansed.44
Singhāṭi45 leaves are strew about,
making that tank so beautiful. (16) [155]
Nayita shrubs, ambagandhi,
uttuli, bandhujīvaka46
all in bloom then in the tank [there]
are exuding heavenly scents. (17) [156]
Sheatfish,47 also pāvusa48 fish,
valaja,49 reed-fish50 [and] red-fish51
and saṅkula52 and maggura53
are living in that tank [there] then. (18) [157]
Crocodiles and alligators,
tantiggāha and rakkhasa,
ogaha54 and also pythons55
are living in that tank [there] then. (19) [158]
Pigeons56 and ravi-swans57 as well,
ruddy geese58 and nadīccharas,
cuckoos,59 parrots,60 and mynah birds61 too
are living on that lake [there then]. (20) [159]
In the forest wild jungle fowl,62
golden crabs,63 lake-swallows64 [too],
lapwings65 and Ceylon lorikeets,66
are living on that lake [there then]. (21) [160]
Swans67 [and] curlews68 and peacocks69 too,
cuckoos70 and jungle fowl71 as well,
small monkeys72 as well as pheasants73
are living on that lake [there then]. (22) [161]
Owls74 and poṭṭhasīsas75 [too],
numerous hawks,76 also osprey,77
and also mahākāḷa birds
are living on that lake [there then]. (23) [162]
Spotted deer78 and also wild boar,79
and numerous wolves80 and jackals,81
rohiccchcha-deer,82 suggapotas
are living on that lake [there then]. (24) [163]
Lions and tigers and leopards,
bears83 [and] wolves,84 kara bānā bears,85
and thrice-rutting86 mātaṅgas87 [too]
are living on that lake [there then]. (25) [164]
Centaurs88 and monkeys89 are there too
and folks who work in the forest,90
servant-boys91 as well as hunters,92
are living on that lake [there then]. (26) [165]
Wild mangosteen,93 Chirauli-nut,94
Mahuwa,95 kāsumāriya96
are bearing never-ending fruit
not very far from my ashram. (27) [166]
Margosa,97 salalā,98 yellow
cheesewoods99 with such excellent fruit
are constantly bearing those fruits
not very far from my ashram. (28) [167]
Myrobalan100 and gooseberry,101
mango, rose-apple,102 bahera,103
jujube,104 markingnut,105 bel106 —
they constantly are bearing fruit. (29) [168]
Bindweed,107 also titan arum,108
bilāni,109 takkaḷāni [bulbs]
jīvaka and sahaka110 [plants]
are abundant in my ashram. (30) [169]
That well-created tank is there
not very far from the ashram,
with clear water, cool for drinking,
well-fixed, delightful to the mind. (31) [170]
Covered with pink and blue lotus,
combined with white lotus flowers
and covered again with mandālaka111
it exudes a heavenly scent. (32) [171]
At that time I was then living
in that well-made, lovely ashram
in the woods blooming and fruiting
and thus endowed with everything. (33) [172]
I was ascetic Saruci
of noble-conduct, vow-taker,
a meditator, trance-lover,
strong112 in the five special knowledges.113 (34) [173]
Four and twenty thousand students
were waiting upon me back then.
They all were from the Brahmin caste,
of noble birth and glorious. (35) [174]
They’d reached perfection in my teachings
of grammar and vocabulary,
of synonyms and metrics too,
and reading signs, and history. (36) [175]
They were skilled as interpreters
of events and omens and signs
on the earth and ground, in the sky;
my students were very well-trained. (37) [176]
Satisfied they were, and prudent;
ate little food, had no desires.
Happy if receiving or not,
they always gathered around me. (38) [177]
Meditators, trance-lovers,
wise, attentive, with peaceful minds,
with wishes for [only] nothing,
they always gathered around me. (39) [178]
Masters of114 special knowledges,
delighting in their brahmin ways,115
able to fly through the sky, most wise,
they always gathered around me. (40) [179]
They kept the six sense-doors well-closed,
were lust-free, with guarded sense-organs,
[most] wise, and not tied down at home:116
no one came close to my students.117 (41) [180]
At night they always passed the time
[meditating] seated cross-legged
or walking back and forth in place;
no one came close to my students. (42) [181]
Not aroused in what’s arousing,
nor defiled in what’s defiling;
not fooling self in foolish things:
no one came close to my students. (43) [182]
They spent all [their] time studying
[all] the miraculous powers.
They could set the earth to quaking
with haughtiness none could approach. (44) [183]
When those students were playing sports
they sported in the altered states,
brought rose-apples from [distant] trees;118
no one came close to my students. (45) [184]
Some would travel to Goyāna,
others to Pubbavideha,
and some to Utturukuru:
no one came close to my students. (46) [185]
They’d send their requisites119 ahead
and then they’d proceed after [them];
the sky was totally covered
by twenty-four thousand [students]. (47) [186]
Some ate cooked food and some ate raw,
some ground with teeth, others with mortars.
Some ate food that they ground on stone,
some only fruits that had fallen. (48) [187]
Some [bathed] getting into water,
[others] loved the pure evening [rain]
[while others] bathed sprinkling water:
no one came close to my students. (49) [188]
With nails and armpit hair grown long,
muck in [their] teeth, heads [soiled] with dirt
and perfumed [only] with precepts:120
no one came close to my students. (50) [189]
Those famed matted-haired ascetics
would assemble in the morning,
saying what they’d received, and not,
then set off [flying] through the air. (51) [190]
A mighty din would issue forth
from them as they were taking off.
The gods would be most delighted
by that sound of [their] deer-hide robes. (52) [191]
Traveling in all directions
those sages, flying through the sky
would go to any place they wished
by means of their own [vast] power. (53) [192]
They could set the earth to quaking;
all of them were sky-travelers.
Famed ascetics, hard to conquer,
they were steady like the ocean. (54) [193]
Some walked back and forth meditating
some sages did so while seated,
some of them lived on fallen-fruits;
no one came close to my students. (55) [194]
They dwelt always in states of love
and were kindly to all creatures.
None of them raised his own self up
and they felt hatred toward no one. (56) [195]
Fearless like the king of lions,
mighty like an elephant king,
hard to approach like a tiger
they would come into my presence. (57) [196]
Sorcerers121 and [their] deities,122
cobra-gods,123 music-nymphs,124 demons,125
fairies,126 titans127 [and] garuḷas
are living on that lake. (58) [197]
Those dread-locked requisite-bearers128
dressed in superb deer-leather [clothes],
all those sages, sky-travelers,
are living on that lake [there then]. (59) [198]
As is always appropriate
they respected one another.
From twenty-four thousand students
not the sound of a sneeze129 is heard. (60) [199]
One foot placed after the other130
making little sound, self-controlled,
all of them, after they’d come close
are worshipping me with their heads. (61) [200]
Thus surrounded by those students
peaceful, doing austerities,
I [then] dwelt in that ashram there
meditator, trance-lover. (62) [201]
My ashram was always perfumed
by those sages’ morality
and the scents of both blooming flowers
and the different fruits [that grew there]. (63) [202]
By night and day I never know
displeasure, nor does it come to me.
Giving my students instruction,
I am constantly filled with joy.131 (64) [203]
The blossoming of many flowers
and ripening132 of many fruits
are exuding heavenly scents
making my ashram beautiful. (65) [204]
Arising from meditation133
I’m zealous and intelligent.
Taking ascetics’ requisites
I proceeded into the woods. (66) [205]
I was well-trained to read the signs
surrounding births and portents [too].
At that time I’d [fully] mastered134
all the mantras in existence. (67) [206]
Anomadassi, Blessed One,
the World’s Best, the Bull Among Men,
the Buddha, seeking solitude
entered the Himalayas [then]. (68) [207]
Going into Himalaya
the Supreme, Compassionate Sage,
getting into lotus posture135
sat down, the Ultimate Person. (69) [208]
[Then] I saw that Sambuddha [there],
shining light, a mental delight,
bright like a blue water lily,136
blazing up like a fire-altar. (70) [209]
I saw the Leader of the World
like a regal sal tree in bloom;
blazing forth like a tree of lamps;
lightening flaring in a cloud-bank. (71) [210]
“This nāga is the Great Hero,
the Sage who ended suffering;”
after coming to see this one
all suffering was cast away. (72) [211]
After seeing that God of Gods
adorned with the auspicious marks
I thought, “is he Buddha or not?
Surely I’m seeing One with Eyes.” (73) [212]
One thousand wheel-marks are seen
on his unsurpassed [lovely] foot.
I, having seen those marks of his,
concluded he’s the Thus-Gone-One. (74) [213]
I brought in a broom for sweeping
and having done the sweeping then
I gathered eight blooming flowers
for pūjā to that Best Buddha. (75) [214]
After pūjā to that Buddha,
the Flood-Crosser, Undefiled One,
placing deer-hide on one shoulder
I worshipped the Chief of the World. (76) [215]
“The knowledge by which the Buddha
dwells without [any] defilements —
that knowledge I shall now proclaim;
[all of] you listen to my words! (77) [216]
May you lift this world up rightly
Self-Become One, Boundless Increase!137
Coming into the sight of you
they cross the rushing stream of doubt. (78) [217]
You’re the Teacher for those who breathe,
the Banner, the Flag and the Pole;
you are the Goal, the Solid Ground,
the Island,138 the Best of Bipeds. (79) [218]
It’s possible to measure the
ocean’s water by the gallon139
but not ever could one measure
your knowledge, O Omniscient One. (80) [219]
It’s possible to lift the earth
onto a comparable sphere
but not ever could one measure
your knowledge, O Omniscient One. (81) [220]
It’s possible to measure [all]
space with a rope or by the inch
but not ever could one measure
your knowledge, O Omniscient One. (82) [221]
One might exhaust the entire earth
and all the water in the sea
but similes that might arise
won’t befit the Buddha’s knowledge. (83) [222]
Whatever goes on in the minds
of this world’s creatures, with its gods,
O Eyeful One all those things too
are sunk in your knowledge-water. (84) [223]
The knowledge by which you attained
supreme complete Awakening:
with that knowledge, Omniscient One,
you crush rivals and heretics.” (85) [224]
Having praised with these [nine] verses,
the ascetic named Suruci
spreading out his deer-leather robe
sat down [right there] upon the earth. (86) [225]
“They say the king of mountains rose
to that height after being sunk
in the great ocean for as long
as eighty-four thousand aeons. (87) [226]
And Meru, having thus arisen,
being so long and so spread out,
bit by bit gets broken into
two million lakhs140 [of small pebbles]. (88) [227]
If one should investigate it,
counting the numbers of lakhs [there,]
[still] he could not ever measure
your knowledge, O Omniscient One. (89) [228]
Whichever water is encircled
by water holes141 however small
the beings who live in water
would all [find themselves] submerged there. (90) [229]
In just that way, O Great Hero,
these ordinary heretics
who jump into dogmas’ grasp
get deluded by what they touch. (91) [230]
These [heretics] pulled underwater
by your knowledge which is pure and
which is seen without obstruction
never move beyond your knowledge.” (92) [231]
At that time [he], the Blessed One,
Anomadassi, Greatly Famed,
arising from his meditation,
surveyed the [whole] world,142 that Victor. (93) [232]
Nisabha was a follower
of that Sage Anomadassi.
He was surrounded by a lakh
of peaceful-minded ones like him (94) [233]
who’d destroyed defilements, were pure,
and had the six special knowledges.
Discerning the Buddha’s wishes
he then approached that World-Leader. (95) [234]
Standing up in the air right there
they circumambulated him
and praising with ten fingers pressed
came down to the Buddha’s presence. (96) [235]
Anomadassi, Blessed One,
the World’s Best One, the Bull of Men,
sitting in the monks’ Assembly
[right then] made manifest a smile. (97) [236]
Varuṇa was the attendant
on the Omniscient One, Great Sage.
Putting [his] robe on one shoulder
he then queried the World-Leader: (98) [237]
“O Blessed One, what is the cause
of the Teacher’s [breaking a] smile?
It never is without a cause
that the Buddhas begin to smile.” (99) [238]
Anomadassi, Blessed One,
the World’s Best One, the Bull of Men,
seated in the monks’ Assembly
[then] spoke these verses [in reply]: (100) [239]
“This one who honors143 me with flowers
and also extols my knowledge,
I shall relate details of him;
[all of] you listen to my words.” (101) [240]
Knowing that Buddha would speak,144 the
gods all came together [there then].
Wishing to hear the great Teaching145
they [then] approached the Sambuddha. (102) [241]
Lesser gods in ten world-systems
who possessed enormous powers
wishing to hear the great Teaching
also approached the Sambuddha. (103) [242]
[He said], “The army, with four parts —
tusker, soldier, chariot, horse —
will ceaselessly wait on this one;
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā. (104) [243]
Sixty thousand instruments146 [and]
well-decorated kettle-drums147
will always pay respects to him;
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā. (105) [244]
Women numbering sixteen thousand,
decked out in all the ornaments,
with varied clothes and jewelry
and wearing earrings made of gems (106)
with long eyelashes, lovely smiles148
and slim waists, pleasant to look at,149
will ceaselessly wait on this one:
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā. (107) [246]
He’ll delight in the world of gods
for one hundred thousand aeons.
A thousand times he’s going to be
the wheel-turning king of a country. (108) [247]
A thousand times the king of gods,
he will exercise divine rule,
[and he will have] much local rule
innumerable by counting. (109) [248]
When he attains his final birth
he will go to the human state.
He will be borne out of the womb
of the brahmin woman Sāri. (110) [249]
Thenceforth this man will be known by
the name of his maternal clan:
his name will be Sāriputta;
he will have sharp intelligence. (111) [250]
Giving up eight hundred million150
he will renounce, with nothing left,151
and searching for the path to peace
this great man’s going to wander [far]. (112) [251]
Aeons beyond measure from now,
arising in Okkāka’s clan,
the one whose name is Gotama
will be the Teacher in the world. (113) [252]
Worthy heir to that one’s Dhamma,
Dhamma’s legitimate offspring,152
with the name of Sāriputta
he’ll be the foremost follower. (114) [253]
This river, the Bhāgīrathī,153
is fed by the Himalayas,
rushes into the mighty sea,
[then] satisfies the great ocean. (115) [254]
Just so this man, Sāriputta,
wise one among the Sāketas
attaining154 wisdom’s perfection
will satisfy155 [all] living beings. (116) [255]
Going from the Himalayas
to the sea, the mighty ocean,
whatever sand lies in between
cannot be fathomed by counting. (117) [256]
Without remainder he’ll be able
to fathom that by counting thus;
but there will be no upper limit
to Sāriputta’s [own] wisdom. (118) [257]
Counting by hundreds of thousands
one would exhaust the Ganges’s sands;
but there will be no upper limit
to Sāriputta’s [own] wisdom. (119) [258]
The waves upon the mighty ocean
cannot be fathomed by counting;
that too [he’ll do]! Sāriputta’s
wisdom will have no upper limit. (120) [259]
Satisfying156 the Sambuddha
Gotama, Bull of the Śākyas,157
he’ll attain wisdom’s perfection
and be the foremost follower. (121) [260]
Perfectly he’s going to follow
the Dhamma-wheel which [will be] turned
by the Śākyas’ Son, Neutral One,158
a Dhamma-shower raining forth. (122) [261]
Understanding all of that well,
Gotama, Bull of the Śākyas,
seated in the monks’ Assembly
will place him in the foremost place.” (123) [262]
O see the deed159 I did so well
for Teacher Anomadassi.
Having done what he required160
in every place I did excel. (124) [263]
Karma done immeasurable
[aeons hence] showed me [its] fruit here:
well-liberated, arrow-quick,161
I have destroyed my defilements. (125) [264]
Searching for the unconditioned
and unshaking state, nirvana,
sussing out all the heretics
I circled through existences.162 (126) [265]
Just as a man, plagued with disease
would investigate all the jungles
searching for medicinal herbs
to be released from his illness, (127) [266]
searching for the unconditioned
state of deathlessness, nirvana,
without a break,163 five hundred times
I went forth into sagely life.164 (128) [267]
Bearing a weight of matted hair165
I wore a deer-leather garment;
perfecting special knowledges
I went to the world of Brahma. (129) [268]
There’s nothing outside the wisdom
laid down in the dispensation.166
Whatever being’s intelligent
will discern the dispensation.167 (130) [269]
Then I thought, “this is the method
for that me, desiring the goal.”
Searching for the unconditioned
I wandered the difficult fords. (131) [270]
Just as a man, wanting its pith,
who chops and splits a banana tree
would not thereby attain that pith
but would be devoid of that pith, (132) [271]
so too the world’s heretics
with their varied views and big crowds
lack that which is unconditioned
like the banana tree lacks pith. (133) [272]
When I reached [my] last existence
I was a kinsman of Brahma.168
Throwing away a whole billion169
I went forth into homelessness.170 (134) [273]
The First Recitation Portion.
There was a learned mantra-knower
who had mastered the three Vedas,
a brahmin known as Sañjaya.
I dwelt in his vicinity. (135) [274]
O Great Hero, your follower,
the brahmin known as Assaji,
hard to approach, with mighty powers171
always went about for alms [there]. (136) [275]
I saw that one who was so wise,
a sage well used to quietude,
a peaceful-hearted elephant,
just like a lotus flower in bloom. (137) [276]
Having seen him I realized172
“this man will be a worthy one,
well-tamed, whose mind is purified,
a bull, most excellent, a hero. (138) [277]
Pleasing in his mode of conduct,
beautiful and well-self-controlled,
tamed in the ultimate taming,
a seer of deathlessness he’ll be. (139) [278]
Why then do I not question him
the happy one, about the goal?173
Questioned by me he will reply!”
Then I am asking [him] questions. (140) [279]
I proceeded to follow him
as he wandered about for alms;
I was honored with permission
to ask about the deathless state. (141) [280]
Approaching him along the road
I questioned him in this way [then]:
“Of which clan are you, O wise one?
Whose pupil are you, happy one?174 (142) [281]
Like a lion which is not frightened
he, questioned by me, answered thus:
“A Buddha’s risen in the world;
I am his student, a follower.” (143) [282]
“It would be excellent, wise one,
o famous one, O [Buddha’s] son,
if you’d please declare to me, sir,175
the sort of Teaching Buddha teaches.” (144) [283]
Questioned by me he [then] declared
the entire deep and subtle state
in which all suffering’s destroyed
and craving’s arrow is removed. (145) [284]
“The Thus-Gone-One did speak about
the basic causes of all things
and the ceasing of those causes;
that is what the Great Monk declares.” (146) [285]
When my question had been answered
I had attained the first path-fruit.176
Having heard the dispensation,177
I was free of stain and blemish. (147) [286]
After hearing the sage’s speech,
having seen the superb Teaching,
well-immersed in that Great Teaching
I uttered these verses [aloud]: (148) [287]
“Even if this Teaching goes only this far
you all should discern [its] grief-free state
as not seen in the past
performing many sacrifices.178 (149) [288]179
While seeking Dhamma [formerly]
I wandered the difficult fords.
That meaning’s [now] obtained by me;
there is no time for neglecting.” (150) [289]
Greatly pleased by [monk] Assaji,
attaining to that tranquil state,
looking for my co-renouncer
I returned to the ashram [then]. (151) [290]
On seeing me from far away
my companion,180 who was well-trained,
who’d learned181 meditative postures,
[astonished], spoke these words [to me]: (152) [291]
“O sage your face and eyes are pleased
and you display a sagely mien.
How have you come to deathlessness,
everlasting state, nirvana?” (153) [292]
You come, conforming to what’s good,
it is as though you’ve been made calm.
And you’ve approached [me], O brahmin,
tamed in the ultimate taming.” (154) [293]
“I have attained the deathless state
where craving’s arrow is destroyed.
You too ought to attain [to that];
let’s go to the Teacher’s presence.” (155) [294]
My companion, who was well-trained,
assented saying “Excellent!”
Taking [his] hand into [my] hand
we went to the Teacher’s presence. (156) [295]
“We both of us will now go forth
in your presence, O Śākyas’ Son.
Having arrived at your teaching
we will live without defilements.” (157) [296]
Kolita’s top in magic powers;
I’m the one foremost in wisdom.
The two of us, living as one,
beautify the dispensation. (158) [297]
While my thought was still incomplete
I wandered the difficult fords.
Coming to your philosophy
my thought is now fully mature. (159) [298]
Having been planted in the earth,
trees blossom forth in [their] season.
They exude their heavenly scents
and delight all living beings. (160) [299]
In just this way, O Great Hero,
O Greatly Famed One, Śākyas’ Son,
being planted in your teaching
I want to bear flowers in season. (161) [300]
I seek the liberation-flower,
freedom from this circling rebirth.182
Finding that liberation-flower
I’ll delight all living beings. (162) [301]
Through this entire Buddha-field
except for the Great Sage himself,
in wisdom there is no rival
for [me], your son, O Eyeful One. (163) [302]
Well-instructed are your students;
the retinue is so well-trained.
Tamed in the ultimate taming
they always gather around you. (164) [303]
Meditators, trance-lovers,
wise, attentive, with minds at peace,
sages who have a sagely mien,
they always gather around you. (165) [304]
Wanting little,183 clever and wise,
eating little, with no desires,
happy if receiving or not,
they always gather around you. (166) [305]
Forest dwellers with wants removed,184
meditators in shabby robes185
who delight in being alone,186
they always gather around you. (167) [306]
Attainers of the eight path-fruits
[and] those who are still aspiring,187
searching for the ultimate goal
they always gather around you. (168) [307]
Stainless enterers of the stream
and some who are once-returners;
non-returners and arahants too,
they always gather around you. (169) [308]
Skilled in retaining mindfulness,188
fond of wisdom’s parts as focus,189
your followers all, and numerous,
they always gather around you. (170) [309]
Skilled in [all] the superpowers,
fond of calming-meditation,190
undertaking fit exertion191
they always gather around you. (171) [310]
Perfecting the three knowledges,
special knowledges, superpowers,
attaining wisdom’s perfection
they always gather around you. (172) [311]
Such indeed are they, Great Hero,
your students, who are so well-trained,
hard to approach, with mighty powers,
they always gather around you. (173) [312]
Surrounded by [all] those students
ascetics who have been taught well,
like a lion which is not frightened
you shine just like the king of stars.192 (174) [313]
Having been planted in the earth,
hardwood trees grow up [strong and tall].
They attain their full abundance
and [in season] display their fruit. (175) [314]
O Śākyas’ Son, O Great Famed One,
you’re analogous to the earth;
being fixed in your [great] teaching,
they [like the trees] grow deathless fruit. (176) [315]
The Indus, and the Sarasvatī
are rivers, like the CChandabhāgā,
the Ganges and the Yamuna
the Sarabhu and the Mahī too. (177) [316]
When those rivers [finish] flowing
the great ocean accepts them [all].
Abandoning their former names,
they’re all known as “the great ocean”. (178) [317]
Likewise these people, of four castes,
who’ve gone forth into your presence,
abandoning their former names
are all known as “the Buddha’s sons”. (179) [318]
Just as the moon which is unblemished
going across the space in the sky
casting its light upon the world
outshines the entire mass of stars, (180) [319]
so likewise you, O Great Hero,
surrounded by the gods and men,
going across the Buddha-field
are shining brightly all the time. (181) [320]
Waves which [first] arise from the depths
go no further than the seashore;
when they do come onto the shore,
they are crushed to bits193 and scattered. (182) [321]
Just so the world’s heretics
with their varied views and big crowds
wishing to possess the Teaching
never go further than the Sage. (183) [322]
If they [try] attaining to that
through debating, O Eyeful One,
having come into your presence
they get thoroughly crushed by you. (184) [323]
Just as many white lotuses194
and mandālaka blooms,195 water-born,
do get besmeared by the water
and also by the mud and clay, (185) [324]
so too indeed many creatures
who’re born and grow up in the world
are pained by [their] lust and anger
like the white lotus in the mud. (186) [325]
Just as a pink lotus,196 water-born,
growing up in the water’s midst
is not besmeared by the water
but rather that lotus is clean, (187) [326]
so too are you, O Great Hero,
though born within the world, Great Sage.
You are not besmeared by the world,
like the pink lotus by water. (188) [327]
Likewise, many lotus flowers
blossom in the month of April197
[but] do not last beyond that month;
that is the time for blossoming. (189) [328]
So too are you, O Śākyas’ Son
blooming in your liberation.
The dispensation’s not surpassed
like the water-born lotuses. (190) [329]
The king of sal trees all in bloom
exudes a heavenly perfume.
Surrounded by other sal trees
the king of sal trees is lovely. (191) [330]
So too are you, O Great Hero,
blooming with a Buddha’s wisdom.
Circled by the monks’ Assembly,
like the sal-king you are lovely. (192) [331]
Just as the Himalayan stone’s
medicine for living beings
and the lair of the lesser gods,
and nāgas and asurās too, (193) [332]
so too are you, O Great Hero,
medicine198 for living beings;
you’ve mastered the three knowledges,
special knowledges, great powers. (194) [333]
They are admonished, Great Hero,
by you, [but] with [great] compassion.
Delighting in love of Dhamma
they dwell in your dispensation. (195) [334]
Likewise a lion, king of beasts,
going about how he wishes,
surveying the four directions
[then] growls three times [his mighty roar]. (196) [335]
All the beasts are very frightened
because of that lion’s growling.
Thus just one beast, of noble birth
always frightens [all of the rest]. (197) [336]
Because of your growl, Great Hero,
the earth [herself] begins to quake.
Those fit for wisdom realize it,
scaring the partisans of Death.199 (198) [337]
The heretics are all afraid
of your voice, O Sage so Great.
That flock of crows is in a fluster
like the beasts with the lion-king.200 (199) [338]
Those with followers in the world
are known by the title “teachers”.
They teach to their community
doctrines passed down by tradition. (200) [339]
Not so do you, O Great Hero
preach your Teaching to living beings.
Understanding the truths yourself201
[you preach] all of Awakening.202 (201) [340]
Grasping desires and deep fantasies,203
strengths and weaknesses of senses,204
discerning who’s able, who’s not,
you thunder forth like a great cloud. (202) [341]
Right to the universe’s edge,
seated groups of followers are
thinking through their varied doctrines,
trying to resolve205 [all] their206 doubts. (203) [342]
Reading the minds of everyone,
skilled in analogies, O Sage,
discoursing on single questions
you resolve living beings’ doubts. (204) [343]
In this world the earth is filled with
people like those [I’ve] referred to.
All of them, hands reverently pressed,
should sing the World-Leader’s praises.207 (205) [344]
Singing praises for an entire aeon,
speaking of diverse qualities
they never could be fully measured;
the Thus-Gone-One has no measure. (206) [345]
Thus singing the Victor’s praises
with all the power that they have,
speaking for ten million aeons
this and that would remain unsaid. (207) [346]
If any being, god or man,
even if he’s [very] well-trained
tries to draw the full [ocean’s water]208
he would certainly come to grief.209 (208) [347]
[Now] fixed in your dispensation,
O Śākyas’ Son, O Great Famed One
having reached Wisdom’s Perfection
I’m living without defilements. (209) [348]
Defeating rival heretics
I further the dispensation.210
Today I’m the Dhamma’s general211
in the Buddha’s dispensation.212 (210) [349]
Karma done immeasurable
[aeons hence] showed me [its] fruit here:
well-liberated, arrow-quick,213
I have destroyed my defilements. (211) [350]
Whatever man who on his head
would carry a load, every day,
he’d be oppressed due to that load,
[and] that burden would be heavy. (212) [351]
I transmigrated through lifetimes214
being burnt up by the three fires,215
weighed down by the burden of being
as though I were lifting mountains. (213) [352]
My burden [now] has been laid down
and I’ve destroyed216 re-becoming.
I’ve done all things that should be done
in the Buddha’s dispensation.217 (214) [353]
Through this entire Buddha-field,
except the Śākyan Bull himself,
I’m supreme in terms of wisdom;
there is no one to rival me. (215) [354]
So well-trained in meditation218
excelling in the superpowers,
today my only desire is to
create a thousand magically.219 (216) [355]
Of me who dwelt there by and by
the Great Sage was the [great] Teacher.
He told me the dispensation;
cessation220 happened lying down. (217) [356]
My divine eye is purified
and I’m skilled in concentration.
Proper exertion is applied;
I love wisdom’s parts as focus. (218) [357]
Everything is done by me
which followers ought to attain.
Except the Leader of the World
there is no one to rival me. (219) [358]
Skilled in the attainments and discipline,
through altered states I got liberated fast.
Fond of wisdom’s parts as focus
I’ve excelled in the followers’ virtues. (220) [359]221
Attaining the followers’ virtues
I’m honored by the Best of Men.
[My] mind is always filled with faith
in fellow religious students. (221) [360]
Like a snake whose poison’s destroyed,222
like a bull whose horns are broken,
freed of my pride and arrogance
I approach with great reverence.223 (222) [361]
If my wisdom were a beautiful girl
she’d hook up with the rulers of earth.
This is the fruit of [my] having praised the
knowledge of Anomadassi Buddha.224 (223) [362]225
I help keep rolling perfectly
the Dhamma-wheel which was turned
by the Śākyas’ Son, Neutral One:
that’s the fruit of praising knowledge. (224) [363]
May I not ever, anywhere,
meet one whose thoughts are less than pure,
who’s lazy or lacks energy,
is unlearned or immoral. (225) [364]
Let only one who is learned,
wise, well-fixed in moral precepts
and settled into mental calm
come face-to-face in front of me.226 (226) [365]
I’m saying this to you, O monks,
gathered together begging here:
always be happy, with slight wants,
meditators, trance-lovers. (227) [366]
That one whom I saw first of all
was free of lust and stainless [too].
He’s my teacher, he’s the hero,
the follower named Assaji. (228) [367]
It’s on account of him that I
today am Dhamma’s general.
In every place, having excelled,
I’m living without defilements. (229) [368]
I bow my head in reverence
to whatever region he’s in,
that one who was my own teacher,
the follower named Assaji. (230) [369]
Having called to mind my karma,
Gotama, Bull of the Śākyas,
seated in the monks’ Assembly
placed [me] in the foremost place [then]. (231) [370]
My defilements are [now] burnt up;
all [new] existence is destroyed.
Like elephants with broken chains,227
I am living without constraint.228 [371]
Being in Best Buddha’s presence
was a very good thing229 for me.
The three knowledges are attained;
[I have] done what the Buddha taught! [372]
The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
[I have] done what the Buddha taught! (232) [373]
Thus indeed Venerable Sāriputta Thera spoke these verses.
The legend of Sāriputta Thera is finished.
perhaps fr. lambati, to hand down, “Pendulous”. #112, #345 {348} also take place on this mountain.↩
kumbhilā↩
makarā↩
suṃsumārā, lit., “crocodile,” the term used to translate kumbhīlā in the preceding foot; these are actually two different sorts of crocodile, but to avoid the inevitable redundancy in English I have chosen to translate the former “alligator,” a species not actually found in this region.↩
read pāṭhīna, Silurus Boalis, “a kind of shad” (RD); wikipedia gives “sheatfish,” related to catfish, includes all the siluridae. BJTS glosses peṭiyō↩
pāvusa, glossed as “large-mouth fish”, cf. pāgusa, patusa, BJTS glosses lūllu↩
reading valajā with BJTS, which treats it as a type of fish (Sinh. valayō), for PTS jalajā, lit., “water-born”, a generic word for “fish”.↩
muñja, more common as a kind of reed, also the name of a fish (BJTS glosses moddu), always in dvandva compound with rohita, “red-fish”↩
rohita, BJTS glosses reheru↩
reading maggurā with BJTS, which glosses the term as magurō, for PTS vaggula (= vagguli, bat? Or fr. vaggu, beautiful, hence “pretty fish”?)↩
patāyanti.↩
reading sālā ccha (BJTS, cty) for kolakā (PTS); shorea robusta↩
tilaka, BJTS glosses as madaṭa cf. botanical dictionary = madaṭiya, a tree which yields false yellow sandalwood, and seeds that are used as beads and a jeweler’s weight of about 1.25 troy ounce, adenanthera pavonina, coral bean tree a.k.a. saga, sagaseed tree, red-bead tree, kolkriki↩
pāṭali, Sinh. paḷol, Bignonia suaveolens, sterospermum suaveolens (Bignon.), trumpet-flower tree, the Bodhi Tree of Vipassi Buddha.↩
sindhuvārita, Vitex negundo, a.k.a. horshoe vitex, five-leaved chaste tree↩
PTS salaḷā, BJTS salalā, BJTS Sinh.gloss = hora = “large timber tree yielding rezin and oil, Dipterocarpus zeylanicus (Dipterocarp.)” (Bot. dict.). RD says this is a tree with fragrant blossoms (which was the Bodhi Tree of Padumuttara Buddha, cf. above, #177, v. 1 [2133]). RD notes references to this tree atJ v.420; Bu ii.51= J i.13; Vv 355; VvA 162; Miln 338; M ii.184, and says it is Pinus Longiflis (now more commonly Pinus Longifolia), Indian pine, indigenous to northern India, Pakistan, Himalayas, bearing brilliant clustered flowers in blue and other colors, with edible seeds.↩
nīpa = Sinhala kolom, nauclea orientalis; “yelow cheesewood,” also called Leichhardt tree↩
nāga = Sinhala nā, ironwood, Mesua Ferrea Linn, Bodhi tree of Mangala, Sumana, Revata, Sobhita buddhas; national tree of Sri Lanka. It has brilliant, fragrant white flowers containing four petals each, as well as a red fruit eaten by birds.↩
punnāga = Sinhala domba, Alexandrian laurel, Calophyllum inophyllum↩
ketaka, Pandanus odoratissima, Sinhala väṭakē or väṭakeyiyā.↩
atimutta = atimuttaka? RD: a plant, Gaertnera Racemosa = hiptage, hiptage benghalensis, stout, high-climbing vine, now invasive species in Florida, scented pink-white flowers, medicinal uses. BJTS glosses Sinh. yohombu (Bot. Dict. = yohombu väla = yon tumba, an annual creeper, Trichodesma zeylanicum).↩
Jonesia Asoka, Saraca asoca↩
aṅkola, Alangium hexapetalum, a.k.a. sage-leaved alangium, Sinh. rukaṅguna↩
bimbijāla, the Bodhi tree of the previous Buddha, Dhammadassi Buddha, Sinh. rat karavū, momordica monadelpha↩
RD: name of a flower↩
= kandala, RD: a plant with white flowers↩
tiṇasūlika = “Arabian jasmine,” Sinhala bōlidda↩
kaṇṇikāra, kaṇikāra = Sinhala kinihiriya, Pterospermum acerifolium, produces a brilliant mass of yellow flowers; Engl. a.k.a. karnikar, bayur tree, maple-leaf bayur, caniyar (now archaic?), dinner-plate tree; Bodhi tree of Siddhattha Buddha.↩
asana, Pentaptera tomentosa, = a.k.a. crocodile-bark tree, Indian laurel, silver grey wood, white chuglam. The Bodhi tree of Tissa Buddha. BJTS glosses as piyā gasa = bakmī = Sarcocephalus cordatus (Rubi.)↩
añjani, = añjana-rukkha, black-colored tree, cf. añjana black ointment↩
punnāga = Sinhala domba, Alexandrian laurel, Calophyllum inophyllum↩
giripunnāga↩
koviḷāra, species of ebony, Bauhinia variegata↩
Uddālaka = Cassia fistula, Sinh. äsaḷa↩
kuṭaja, Nerium antidysenterica (used for diarrhea, as its name implies), aka arctic snow, winter cherry, Wrightia antidysenterica, Wrightia zeylanica, nerium zeylanica, Sinhala kelinda↩
kadamba (Sinh. koḷom) is Nauclea cordifolia = Neolamarckia cadamba, with orange-colored, fragrant blossoms↩
vakula, Mimusops elengi, = Spanish cherry, medlar, bullet-wood↩
kadali↩
mātulungiya↩
aññe jāyanti kesarī (fr. kesara, flower pollen). BJTS seems to take this as a type or stage of the lotus flower, “pollen lotuses” (kesara-padmayō)↩
here “tank” (taḷāka, Sinhala wäwa) is used interchangeably with “lake” (sara), and as the context well makes clear it should be imagined as a large, man-made reservoir rather than some sort of table-top fishbowl.↩
gabbhaŋ gaṇhanti, lit., “seizing the womb,” BJTS glosses hata gaṇit = aṭa gannawā, are germinating or springing forth↩
mūlāliyo, BJTS gloss nelumba-ala↩
taking niddhāvanti from dhāvati 2↩
= siṇghāṭa, singhara, Hindi siṅghāḍā, a kind of water plant, Sinh. gokaṭu, trapa bispinosa, “water caltrop” or “Water chestnut” or “buffalo nut,” “bat nut,” “devil pod,” “ling nut,” “lin kok,” “lin kio nut”↩
Sinhala banduvada, Latin pentapetes phoenicea↩
read pāṭhīna, Silurus Boalis, “a kind of shad” (RD); wikipedia gives “sheatfish,” related to catfish, includes all the siluridae. BJTS glosses peṭiyō↩
pāvusa, glossed as “large-mouth fish”, cf. pāgusa, patusa, BJTS glosses lūllu↩
reading valajā with BJTS, which treats it as a type of fish (Sinh. valayō), for PTS jalajā, lit., “water-born”, a generic word for “fish”.↩
muñja, more common as a kind of reed, also the name of a fish (BJTS glosses moddu), always in dvandva compound with rohita, “red-fish”↩
rohita, BJTS glosses reheru↩
BJTS reads saṅgulā and glosses aṅguluvō↩
BJTS reads maṅgurā and glosses magurō↩
fr. ogāhati, ogāhana, plunging? = watersnakes? BJTS reads oguha. In v. [4012], below, the same (?) term is spelt uggāhaka. Cf gaha, a demon, a “seizer”↩
ajagarā. RD says “a large snake…a Boa Constrictor”↩
parevatā↩
ravihaŋsā↩
cchakkavākā, BJTS Sinh. gloss sakvālihiṇiyō = cchakravākayā, an aquatic bird, brahminy goose, btahmany kite, haliastur indus↩
kokilā↩
suka°↩
reading °sālikā with BJTS for PTS °sāḷi ccha. Sāḷlka* (Skt. śārika) = Sinh. säḷalihiṇiyō, Indian mynah birds (Hindi maina, Skt. madana)↩
kukutthakā, Sinh. valikukuḷō↩
kulīrakā, BJTS kuḷ°, Sinh. ranvan kakuḷuvō↩
pokkharasātakā, Sinh. gloss piyum venehi (lotus-colored) vil-lihiṇiyō, lake-swallow or swift. PSI dict. gives: “a type of crane-ardea siberica”↩
dindibhā, Sinh. gloss kirallu, kiraḷā = red-wattled or yellow-wattled lapwing. PSI dictionary gives “bluejay”↩
sukapotā, Sinh. gloss = girāmalittō (= girāmaliccchchiyā), Ceylon lorikeet, loriculus indicus↩
haŋsā↩
koñcchā, Sinh. kosvā lihiṇiyō↩
mayurā↩
kokilā, Sinh. gloss kovulō↩
tambacūlaka, Sinh. gloss kukuḷō↩
reading pampakā with BJTS (PTS reads sampakā), Sinh. gloss huṇapupulō (Sorata = uṇahapuḷuvā), a small, tailless monkey. Its high-pitched cry famously (and frighteningly) resembles that of a cobra.↩
jīvajīva, Sinh-Eng dict: äṭikukuḷa↩
kosikā= kosiya, owl, Sinh. gloss bakmunuṇō↩
BJTS treats this as a type of bird↩
senakā = sena, Sinh. gloss = kaburässō↩
kurarā, Sinh. gloss ukussō PSI dict. = kaburässō↩
pasada, Sinh. gloss titmuvō, pl. of titmuvā, spotted deer, axis maculatus↩
varahā, Sinh. gloss vallūrō↩
vakā, Sinh. gloss vṛkayō, cognate with “wolf”↩
bheraṇḍakā, Sinh. gloss sivallu, pl. of sivalā, hivalā↩
rohiccchchā, RD says “a kind of deer, J.vi.537, fr. rohita, red, hence “red deer” (?); Sinh. gloss rērumuvō, pl. of rērumuvā, = “duck” or “teal” deer.↩
acchcha°, Sinh. gloss valassu↩
koka, etymological cousin of vāka, vṛka, above, see RD↩
taracchchā, Sinh. gloss kara bānā (‘submissive” “bent over”) valassu, Note BJTS omits the second mention of “wolves” so may be taking koka in compound with taracchchā (i.e., kokataracchchā), in specifying this particular type of bear (cf. Sorata, kara baāna valasā, s.v.)↩
i.e., showing their rut in their eyes, ears, and genitals. See cty, p. 288.↩
I.e., elephant. Cty (p. 311; 288): born in the mātaṅga clan of elephants↩
kiṇṇara, Sinh. gloss kindurō↩
vānarā, Sinh. gloss vandurō↩
vanakammikā↩
cchetā, Sinh. gloss dāsayō (“slaves”) seems to read ccheta as ccheṭa, ccheṭaka, servant, boy; I follow the gloss in giving the word (otherwise “mind,” “thought”) a translation, though RD and PSI dict give no indication that ccheta is an alternate spelling for ccheṭa↩
luddakā, Sinh. gloss väddō, aborigines of Sri Lanka (Veddas)↩
tinduka = timbiri, diospyros embryopteris, a.k.a. Indian persimmon↩
piyal = buchanania latifolia↩
madhuka reading madhuk’ ekā; madhuka = mī gasa, bassia latifolia↩
BJTS glosses as Sinh. ät demaṭa, Bot. Dict: “a small timber tree that bears yellow flowers, Gmelina arborea (Verb.)↩
PTS kosumbhā, BJTS kosambā, also spelt kosambhā, - (acc. to BJTS Sinh. gloss on [3762]) Sinh. kohomba, neem or margosa tree, Azadirachta indica, though Cone says “a kind of shrub or plant”↩
PTS salaḷā, BJTS salalā, BJTS Sinh.gloss = hora = “large timber tree yielding rezin and oil, Dipterocarpus zeylanicus (Dipterocarp.)” (Bot. dict.)↩
nīpa = Sinhala kolom, nauclea orientalis; also called Leichhardt tree↩
harīṭaka = Sinhala araḷu, yellow myrobalan, terminalia chebula↩
āmalaka = Sinhala nelli, phyllanthus emblica, emblic myrobalan, Indian gooseberry↩
fruit of the eugenia, damba, jambu↩
= Sinhala buḷu, beleric myrobalan, bastard myrobalan, Terminalia bellirica↩
kola, Sinh. ḍebara phala, Ziziphus Mauritania, Zyziphus Jujuba, Indian jujube or Chinese apple.↩
bhallātakā, bhallī, badulla = semecarpus anacardium, Sinh. badulu↩
bellā, billā = fruit of Aegle marmelos, Sinh. beli geḍiya, bael, bel, Bengal quince; bilva or vilva tree, = beluvā↩
kalamba, RD draws attention to Skt. kalambika, kalambuka = convulvulus repens, bindweed, but there are other possibilities including a tree menispermum calumba (but its fruits are poisonous/only used in controlled medical usages, unlikely?) and (following BJTS Sinh. gloss here) Anthocephalus Cadamba (Rub.), Sinh. kalamba↩
BJTS reads aluva. RD: fr. Skt. ālu, āluka: a bulbous plant, Radix Globosa Esculenta or Amorphophallus (Kern), Arum CChampanulatum (Hardy), cognate with alium, good possibility is amorphophallus titanum, “titan arum”↩
BJTS reads biḷālī°↩
BJTS reads sutaka↩
RD says this is a water-plant, a kind of lotus, referencing J iv.539; vi.47, 279, 564. Here BJTS Sinh. gloss is taḍāgayangen, “from the moss,” following its reading of [170] “well fixed [in the mosses]”. Bot. Dict. taḍāga = sevela. At [4231], [4233], [4313], [6332] the (or a) BJTS gloss is helmällen, heḷmäli = edible white water-lily, Nymphaea Lotus. At [4007] BJTS glosses it as madāra tree [mountain-ebony, Bauhinia purpurea (Legum.)] and says the blossoms fell into the water from overhanging trees. BJTS gloss at [324] is “a water-born plant named Mandālā”.↩
reading balapatto with BJTS for PTS phalapatto (“obtaining results”)↩
while arahants have six special knowledges, only the first five (psychic power over matter, clairaudience, clairvoyance, recollection of one’s own former births, knowledge of others’ rebirth) are possible for non-Buddhist sages; the sixth is certainty of one’s own nirvana.↩
lit., “attained excellence in”↩
lit., “delighting in their paternal pastures” (pettike gocare ratā), which cty understands in terms of the food they received↩
asaṃsaṭṭha, lit., “not joined,” “unmixed”. I follow the cty in this translation.↩
lit., “my students were difficult to approach”↩
this follows the cty — “having gone they bring the fruit from a jambu a hundred yojanas off in the Himalayas.”↩
khārī↩
sīlagandhena = with the scent of moral discipline or disciplinary precepts.↩
vjjādharā, “knowledge-bearers”↩
devatā↩
nāgā↩
gandhabbā↩
rakkhasā = rākṣasā↩
kumbhaṇḍā↩
dānavā↩
that is, ascetics, who carry around all their possessions, limited to the basic necessities they require, in shoulder yokes. Cty: khāribhāran ti : udañcchanakamaṇḍalu-ādikam tāpasaparikkharabhāram.↩
reading khipita with BJTS (and some PTS alt) for PTS khitta, “thrown down,” hard to see how it fits here↩
pāde pādam nikkhipantā, lit., “placing the foot on the foot”↩
lit., “constantly am receiving joy”, or “receiving laughter” or “smiles”. Perhaps, “I constantly receive their smiles”↩
reading vipaccchchatan (BJTS) for paccchchatan (PTS).↩
lit.,arising out of samādhi↩
lit.,I am carrying, bearing↩
lit., “crouching with his legs crossed”↩
indīvara, Cassia fistula↩
amita+udaya?↩
or “lamp,” dīpo↩
lit., “to be measured according to āḷhakas [a measure of grain]”.↩
one lakh = 100,000, hence the number of pieces is two trillion↩
reading sukhama-cch-chiddena jālena for sukhuma-cchchikena jālena, with the Cty.↩
Disaṃ olokayī, lit., “looked out in the directions”↩
pūjesi↩
lit., “recognizing [that there would be] speech of the Buddha”↩
saddhamma↩
turiya, musical instruments↩
bheri↩
hasulā = ? Cf. RD hasula, s.v., which following Kern treats this as a corrupted reading of bhamuka, “eyebrows” or “thick eyebrows”, often found in combination with the term for “long eyelashes” (aḷārapamha).↩
RD gives “good hips,” referring to this text. I don’t see the warrant, and take the term susaññā from saññā, sense, perception, as does BJTS Sinhala gloss↩
lit., 80 koṭis = 80 x 10,000,000 or 800,000,000 [pieces of money]↩
pabbajissati ‘kiñcchano↩
oraso dhammanimmito↩
this is the BJTS spelling; PTS gives Bhāgīrasī↩
., “going to”.↩
tappayissati <tappetu↩
ārādhayitvā = satisfied, pleased, accomplished↩
or °chief: Śākyapungavaṃ↩
tādinā = tādi, an arahant who is “such” in matters both disagreeable and agreeable. He takes things as they are, thus I sometimes translate the term ”Such-Like” or “Such-Like One” as well as “Neutral One”.↩
kāraŋ↩
kāram katvā↩
or perhaps “I’m released, quick like an arrow;”↩
saṃsārim bhave↩
avokiṇṇam/avyākiṇṇam (cty = avichinnaṃ, nirantaraṃ)↩
pabbajjim isipabbajjaṃ↩
jaṭābhārabharito (PTS), jaṭābhārena bharito (BJTS)↩
jinasāsanaṃ, lit., “the Victor’s dispensation”↩
jinasāsanaṃ, lit., “the Victor’s dispensation”↩
brahmabandhu, i.e., a brahmin↩
100 koṭis = 100 x 10,000,000 = 1,000,000,000. Cf. v. [251], above: Sāriputta was even richer than Anomadassi Buddha predicted he would be.↩
pabbajim anāgāriyaṃ.↩
ugga-tejo = “possessing mighty (fierce, hot) tejas (power, heat)”↩
me cchittam uppajj; lit., “my mind arose,” “my idea was born”.↩
lit., “about the ultimate goal”.↩
PTS reads marisa, not in the dictionaries, not glossed in the cty. BJTS read mārisa, hence this translation. Usually used of those in heaven. In the vocative, paralleling “dhira”.↩
āvuso, BJTS glosses nidukānan vahansa (“you [respectful] without suffering”)↩
paṭhamaṃ phalam-ajjhagaṃ, i.e., became a Sotāpanna or Stream-enterer, a person who will achieve nirvana after seven more births, and will not in the meantime fall into any bad birth-states. This interpretation follows the BJTS SInhala gloss. Another plausible reading, which would make better sense of the accusative form of paṭhama (otherwise, why not paṭhamaphalam-ajjhagaṃ?), is “first, I attained the fruit”↩
jinasāsanaŋ, lit, “the Victor’s dispensation”↩
bahukehi kappana-hutehi. ↩
PTS and BJTS both read the verse in a meter unlike the more elaborate meter of the opening verses and the (gāthā) that characterizes the bulk of Apadāna. Those exhibit a consistent 11-11-11-11 or 8-8-8-8 number of syllables per foot, respectively. The present verse seems to be 11-9-6-9, and I have translated accordingly.↩
= Kolita, Mahāmoggallāna.↩
lit., “who was endowed with” or “to whom there was much”↩
bhavasamsāramocchanaṃ↩
reading appicchchā for apicchchā, following BJTS↩
dhuta-ratā↩
lūkha-civarā↩
viveka, seclusion, detachment, meditation, being apart, loneliness↩
see cty p. 233. Paṭipanna = attained four fruits of the path, in the eighth fruit (phalaṭṭhā) established arahantship; sekhā-phala = the lower (or as John Strong [1983]: would have it, slower) three fruits (sotāpanna, sakadāgami, anāgami)↩
satipaṭṭhānakusalā↩
bojjhangā-bhāvanā-ratā, lit., “fond of meditating on the constituents of wisdom.” The constituents of wisdom are usually enumerated as seven: mindfulness, investigation of the law, energy, rapture, repose, concentration and equanimity.↩
samādhi-bhāvanā-ratā.↩
sammappadhānam anuyuktā.↩
the moon.↩
sañcchuṇṇā↩
kumuda↩
RD says this is a water-plant, a kind of lotus, referencing J iv.539; vi.47, 279, 564. Here BJTS gloss is “a water-born plant named Mandālā”. At [171] BJTS Sinh. gloss is taḍāgayangen, “from the moss,” following its reading of [170] “well fixed [in the mosses]”. Bot. Dict. taḍāga = sevela. At [4231], [4233], [4313], [6332] the (or a) BJTS gloss is helmällen, heḷmäli = edible white water-lily, Nymphaea Lotus. At [4007] BJTS glosses it as madāra tree [mountain-ebony, Bauhinia purpurea (Legum.)] and says the blossoms fell into the water from overhanging trees.↩
paduma↩
actually March-April, Bak Māsa in the Sinhala calendar, rammaka māsa in Pali↩
lit., “like medicine”↩
māra-kāyikā — those in Mara’s troupe.↩
lit., “with the king of beasts”.↩
reading sāmaṃ (BJTS) for samaŋ (PTS).↩
lit., “the complete party of Awakening” (here reading pakkhiyaṃ [BJTS] for pakkhikaŋ [PTS]).↩
āsaya = likes, wants + anusaya = defilements deep in the mind which have not been acted upon↩
reading balābalaṃ (BJTS, cty) for phalāphalaŋ (“the fruits and the fruitlessness,” PTS).↩
lit., “for the sake of resolving”↩
taking taṃ as tesaṃ, with the cty↩
here I follow the cty, which glosses kittayun as gunaṃ katheyyuṃ.↩
I follow the cty here.↩
lit., “he would receive nothing but destruction”↩
jinasāsanaŋ, lit., “the Victor’s dispensation.” Jina, “Victor” (or “Conqueror”) is appropriately paired here with the “defeat” of riva↩
Dhamma-senāpati, lit., “the chief of the army of Dhamma,” or perhaps “Dhamma’s commander in chief.” Pronounce as “gen’ral” to keep the meter when chanting.↩
“army” might make the analogy work better, but the Pāli is sakyaputtassa sāsane, lit., “in the dispensation of the Son of the Śākyas.” Yet the analogy appears more appropriate in light of the more basic meaning of “dispensation” (sāsane), namely “commandment” or “order” (as of a king).↩
or perhaps “I’m released, quick like an arrow;”↩
lit., “existences”↩
the cty here explains these as the fires of rāga (lust), dosa (anger) and moha (ignorance, folly)↩
cty glosses ugghāṭitā as viddhaṃsitā.↩
sakyaputtassa sāsane, lit., “in the dispensation of the Son of the Śākyas”↩
samādhimhi.↩
reading sahassam (BJTS, PTS alt) for sahāyam (“friend,” “companion,” PTS). BJTS Sinhala gloss understands this to mean creating a thousand forms by means of iddhi — the self-multiplication miracle found throughout these texts.↩
lit., “my cessation”.↩
this verse is in a different meter (?), apparently 10-11-7-10, so I translate accordingly.↩
reading uddhaṭa (BJTS, cty) for uddhata (PTS).↩
lit., “I approach the group with great reverence.”↩
lit., “Blessed One”.↩
here too a more elaborate meter, 10-9-10-10↩
lit., “stand on/before my head.”↩
lit., “like an elephant having broken [its] chains.” I take some poetic license and adopt the plural in order to make the phrase work metrically, here and in all subsequent instances of this verse, which recurs quite regularly throughout the Apadāna.↩
vhārāmi anāsavo, lit., “I am dwelling without outflows;” āsavas are “constraints” to the achievement of nirvana.↩
Lt. “was well come to me”↩