[19] I approached Padumuttara, the Blessed One, the eldest in the world, the bull among men — him, the supreme among men, seated² beneath an overhanging cliff.
Seeing a kaṇikāra³ in bloom, I then cut it at the stalk and, adorning a parasol with it, I raised it aloft in offering to the Buddha.
[Siam Raṭṭha edition footnotes: ¹ (to a word in the preceding text) Po. reads "ajja rakkhe mahāmuni"; M. and Yu. read "…rakkhi…". ² M. reads "nisīdantaṃ" ("as he was sitting down"). ³ M. reads "kaṇikārapupphaṃ" ("a kaṇikāra flower").]
And I gave almsfood (piṇḍapāta), the choicest food, excellent fare; there I fed eight ascetics (samaṇa), with the Buddha as the ninth.
The Great Hero, the Self-Arisen One (sayambhū), the supreme person, expressed his appreciation: "By this gift of a parasol and by this bestowal of the choicest food,
through that confidence of mind you shall experience prosperity: thirty times¹ he will exercise kingship over the devas as lord of the devas;
and twenty-one times he will be a wheel-turning monarch (cakkavatti); [he will exercise] extensive kingship over regions, incalculable by count.
He whom they call 'Sumedha,' of vast wisdom, sagacious — a hundred thousand aeons from now, arisen in the clan of Okkāka, Gotama by clan-name — this one² will become a Buddha.
While the teaching is shining forth, he will come to the human state; Upasena by name,³ he will be a disciple of the Teacher."
My last [existence] is now proceeding;⁴ all states of existence have been utterly uprooted; having conquered Māra together with his mount, I bear my final body.
The four analytic insights (paṭisambhidā), and also these eight liberations (vimokkha), and the six superknowledges (abhiññā) have been realized; the Buddha's teaching has been fulfilled.
It was thus, indeed, that the Venerable Upasena Vaṅgantaputta, the Elder, spoke these verses.
The Apadāna of the Elder Upasena Vaṅgantaputta is concluded.
The Third Recitation Section (bhāṇavāra) is finished.
[Siam Raṭṭha edition footnotes: ¹ M. reads "chattiṃsakkhattuṃ" ("thirty-six times"). ² M. reads "satthā loke bhavissati" ("he will be the Teacher in the world"). ³ M. here adds "tassa dhammesu dāyādo, oraso dhammanimmito" ("an heir in his teachings, a legitimate son, formed by the Dhamma"). ⁴ M. here adds "samantapāsādikattā aggaṭṭhāne ṭhapessati" ("because he inspires confidence in every respect, [the Teacher] will establish him in the foremost place").]
The Eighth: The Apadāna of the Elder Raṭṭhapāla (18)
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.