[10]
"You who stand, O devatā, with surpassing complexion,
illuminating all the directions like the morning star (osadhī) —
through what is such complexion yours? Through what does this succeed for you here,
and through what do there arise for you enjoyments, whatever are dear to the heart?
I ask you, devī of great majesty:
when you were a human being, what merit (puñña) did you make?
Through what is your majesty thus ablaze,
and your complexion radiant throughout all the directions?"
#1 Po. reads: yamahaṃ akāsiṃ ["which I made"].
That devatā, delighted at being questioned by Moggallāna,
explained, when asked the question, of what deed (kamma) this is the fruit:
"When I was a human being among humans,
in a former birth, in the human world,
I saw the Buddha, free from dust, serene, unclouded;
coming upon him, I gave a gift (dāna), though without prior design (akāmā) — an offering (dakkhiṇā) of sesame —
to the Buddha, worthy of offerings, confident, with my own hands.
Through that such complexion is mine; through that this succeeds for me here,
and there arise for me enjoyments, whatever are dear to the heart.
I declare to you, bhikkhu of great majesty,
the merit I made when I was a human being:
through that my majesty is thus ablaze,
and my complexion shines throughout all the directions."
The Tiladakkhiṇavimāna ("Mansion of the Sesame Offering"), the tenth.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.