[243. Naḷinakesariya[1]]

I was a water bird[2] who dwelled
within a natural lake[3] [there].
Then I saw [him], the God of Gods,
[when] he was flying[4] through the sky. (1) [2470]

With a mind that was very clear
I plucked some pollen[5] with my beak
[and then] offered it to Tissa,
the Buddha, Kinsman of the World. (2) [2471]

In the ninety-two aeons since
I did pūjā [with] that flower,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā. (3) [2472]

In the seventy-third aeon
I was [one] named Satapatta,[6]
a wheel-turning king with great strength,
possessor of the seven gems. (4) [2473]

The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
[I have] done what the Buddha taught! (5) [2474]

Thus indeed Venerable Naḷinakesariya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Naḷinakesariya Thera is finished.

  1. “Lotus-Lake-er” ↩︎

  2. jalakukkuṭa = water-fowl, a duck or something similar. ↩︎

  3. This follows the BJTS gloss, which follows the cty. lit., “living in the center of a self-produced lake” ↩︎

  4. lit., “going” ↩︎

  5. kesariŋ = flower pollen (or filaments, “hairs”). BJTS understands this to be the pollen of a lotus blossom growing on the lake. ↩︎

  6. “Lotus Flower” ↩︎

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