[611] When Keṇiya the matted-hair ascetic (jaṭila) was seated to one side, the Blessed One expressed his appreciation (anumodanā) with these verses:
Sacrifices have the fire oblation (aggihutta) as their chief;
the Sāvitrī is the chief of the Vedic metres;
the king is the chief of human beings;
the ocean is the chief of rivers;
the moon is the chief of the constellations;
the sun is the chief of all that blazes;
for those who, desiring merit, offer sacrifice,
the Saṅgha truly is the chief.
Then the Blessed One, having expressed his appreciation to Keṇiya the matted-hair ascetic with these verses, rose from his seat and departed. Then the Venerable Sela, together with his assembly, dwelling withdrawn, diligent, ardent, and resolute, before long realized for himself through direct knowledge (abhiññā), in this very life, that unsurpassed consummation of the holy life (brahmacariya) for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the household life into homelessness; and having entered upon it, he dwelt therein. He knew directly: "Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done; there is nothing further for this state of being." And the Venerable Sela, together with his assembly, became one among the arahants.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.