[235] Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sakyans, at Kapilavatthu in the Great Wood (Mahāvana), together with a great Saṅgha of bhikkhus, with five hundred bhikkhus, all of them arahants. And the deities from ten world-systems (lokadhātu) had for the most part assembled to see the Blessed One and the Saṅgha of bhikkhus.
Then it occurred to four deities of the company of the Pure Abodes (suddhāvāsakāyikā devā): "This Blessed One is dwelling among the Sakyans, at Kapilavatthu in the Great Wood, together with a great Saṅgha of bhikkhus, with five hundred bhikkhus, all of them arahants; and the deities from ten world-systems have for the most part assembled to see the Blessed One and the Saṅgha of bhikkhus. Suppose we too were to approach the Blessed One and, having approached, each speak a verse in the presence of the Blessed One." Then, just as a strong man might extend his bent arm or bend his extended arm, even so those deities vanished from among the gods of the Pure Abodes and appeared before the Blessed One. Then those deities paid homage to the Blessed One and stood to one side. Standing to one side, one deity spoke this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.