[384] 2.
Become a human being, the Fully Awakened One (sambuddha),
self-tamed, concentrated (samāhita),
faring along the path of Brahmā (brahmapatha),
delighting in the calming of the mind (citta) —
him whom human beings revere,
the one gone beyond all dhammas,
him the devas too revere:
so have I heard from the Arahant —
him who has passed beyond all fetters (saṃyojana),
who has come from the jungle to Nibbāna,
who delights in renunciation from sensual pleasures,
like gold set free from the rock.
He truly, the nāga, shines forth surpassingly,
as Himavant beyond the other rocky mountains;
of all who bear the name of nāga,
he, truly so named, is unsurpassed.
I shall proclaim the nāga to you,
for he does no wrong:
gentleness and harmlessness
are two feet of the nāga;
mindfulness (sati) and clear comprehension (sampajañña)
are the nāga's other feet;
the great nāga has faith (saddhā) for his trunk,
and equanimity (upekkhā) for his white tusks;
mindfulness is his neck, his head is wisdom (paññā),
investigation (vīmaṃsā) his pondering of dhammas;
the Dhamma is the dwelling lodged within his belly,
seclusion (viveka) is his tail.
A meditator, delighting in the breath,
inwardly well concentrated —
walking, the nāga is concentrated;
standing, the nāga is concentrated;
lying down, the nāga is concentrated;
sitting too, he is concentrated;
everywhere the nāga is restrained:
this is the nāga's accomplishment (sampadā).
He eats what is blameless;
what is blameworthy he does not eat;
having obtained food and clothing,
he shuns storing it up;
having cut off every fetter and every bond,
whether fine or coarse,
wherever he may go,
he goes free of longing.
Just as a white lotus (puṇḍarīka),
born in the water, grows in the water,
yet is not soiled by the water,
pure-scented and delightful,
even so, born in the world,
the Buddha dwells in the world
and is not soiled by the world,
as the lotus is not by the water.
A great blazing fire,
deprived of fuel, is stilled;
and when its embers have subsided,
it is said to be "quenched" (nibbuta).
This simile, making the meaning known,
has been taught by the wise:
the great nāgas will recognize
the nāga taught by the nāga.
Rid of lust, rid of hatred,
rid of delusion, taintless (anāsava),
the nāga, abandoning the body,
will, taintless, attain final Nibbāna.
The Elder Udāyī.
Herein is the summary (uddāna):
Koṇḍañña and Udāyī —
those two elders of great spiritual power;
in the Book of the Sixteens
there are two-and-thirty verses.
The Book of the Sixteens (Soḷasakanipāta) is finished.
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Theragāthā — The Book of the Twenties (Vīsatinipāta)
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.