[83] 9. [The brahmin asked that devaputta:]
"Adorned, with polished earrings (maṭṭhakuṇḍalī),
wearing a garland, smeared with yellow sandalwood,
you raise up your arms and wail
in the midst of the wood — what is it that pains you?"
[The devaputta Maṭṭhakuṇḍalī replied:]
"The body of a chariot, made of gold and gleaming,
has appeared for me;
for it I can find no pair of wheels —
through that suffering (dukkha) I shall give up my life."
[The brahmin said:]
"Be it made of gold, made of gems,
made of ruby, or made of silver —
tell me, good young man,
and I shall have the pair of wheels procured for you."
That youth said to him:
"The moon and the sun are both seen here;
my chariot made of gold
will shine with that pair of wheels."
[The brahmin said:]
"A fool indeed you are, young man,
in that you long for what is not to be longed for.
I think that you will die;
for you will never gain the moon and the sun."
[The youth said:]
"Even their going and their coming are seen,
the radiant hue of both upon their course;
but one departed, dead, is seen no more:
which of us two, wailing here, is the greater fool?"
[The brahmin said:]
"You speak the truth, young man:
of us two wailing, I am the greater fool;
like a child crying for the moon,
I was longing for one departed, dead.
But truly, while I burned
like a fire sprinkled over with ghee,
you, as though dousing it with water,
have quenched all my anguish.
Drawn out indeed is my dart —
the sorrow that lay lodged in my heart —
you who, for me overwhelmed by sorrow,
have dispelled the grief for my son.
I, my dart drawn out,
am grown cool, quenched;
I sorrow not, I weep not,
having heard you, young man.
Are you a deity (devatā), or a gandhabba,
or Sakka Purindada?
Who are you, or whose son?
How may we know you?"
[The devaputta said:]
"He for whom you wail, for whom you weep —
your son, whom you yourself burned at the burning-ground (āḷāhana) —
I am he: having done a wholesome deed (kusala kamma),
I have attained the companionship of the Thirty (Tidasa)."
[The brahmin asked:]
"Little or much — I never saw
a gift being given by you in your own house,
nor any such uposatha observance:
by what deed have you gone to the deva-world (devaloka)?"
[The youth said:]
"Afflicted with illness, in pain, sick,
ailing in body was I in my own dwelling,
when I beheld the Buddha — free of dust,
who has crossed beyond doubt, the Well-Gone One (Sugata) of lofty wisdom.
Glad at heart, with a mind of confidence,
I made the añjali to the Tathāgata:
having done that wholesome deed,
I have attained the companionship of the Thirty."
[The brahmin said:]
"O wonderful indeed, O marvellous indeed,
that an act of añjali should have such a result as this!
I too, glad at heart, with a mind of confidence,
this very day go to the Buddha for refuge."
[The youth said:]
"This very day, with a mind of confidence,
go for refuge to the Buddha, to the Dhamma, and to the Saṅgha;
likewise undertake the five steps of training (sikkhāpada),
unbroken and unblemished:
refrain at once from the destruction of life,
shun taking what is not given in the world,
be no drinker of strong drink and speak no falsehood,
and be content with your own wife."
[The brahmin said:]
"You desire my welfare, O yakkha;
you desire my good, O deity.
I shall do as you say:
you are my teacher (ācariya).
I go for refuge to the Buddha,
and to the Dhamma unsurpassed,
and to the Saṅgha of the God among Men (naradeva)
I go for refuge.
I refrain at once from the destruction of life;
I shun taking what is not given in the world;
I am no drinker of strong drink and I speak no falsehood;
and I am content with my own wife."
The Maṭṭhakuṇḍalī Mansion (Maṭṭhakuṇḍalivimāna), the ninth, is ended.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.