[71] For, Vāseṭṭha, whoever among these four classes (vaṇṇa) is a bhikkhu — an arahant whose taints (āsava) are destroyed, who has lived the holy life to its completion, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, attained his own true goal, utterly destroyed the fetter of existence, and is rightly liberated through final knowledge — he is declared the foremost among them, by virtue of the Dhamma itself, and not contrary to the Dhamma. For the Dhamma, Vāseṭṭha, is supreme among this people, both in this very life and in the life to come. Moreover, Vāseṭṭha, this verse was spoken by the Brahmā Sanaṅkumāra:
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.