[20] To Padumuttara, the Blessed One,
the chief of the world, the Stable One (tādī),
I gave an excellent elephant (varanāga),
its tusks like chariot-poles, a splendid mount —
shaded by a white parasol,
together with its charm-master (āthabbaṇa) and its mahout.
Having had all of that appraised,
I had a monastery for the Saṅgha (saṅghārāma) built.
I had mansions (pāsāda) built —
fifty-four thousand of them;
and having made an offering like a mighty flood,
I presented it to the Great Seer (mahesi).
The Great Hero, the Self-Become One (Sayambhū),
the supreme person, expressed his appreciation;
gladdening all the people,
he taught the deathless state (amataṃ padaṃ).
The Buddha — the Leader supreme, [named for] the water-born [lotus] —
declared [the fruit of] that deed of mine;
seated amid the Saṅgha of bhikkhus,
he spoke these verses:
"This one has had mansions built —
fifty-four thousand of them.
I shall tell the result (vipāka);
listen to me as I speak.
Eighteen thousand
peaked mansions (kūṭāgāra) there will be,
arisen within a supreme celestial palace (byamha),
and all of them made wholly of gold.
Fifty times he will be lord of the devas,
exercising rulership over the devas;
and fifty-eight times
he will be a wheel-turning monarch (cakkavatti).
A hundred thousand aeons (kappa) hence,
one arisen in the family of Okkāka,
Gotama by name,
will be the Teacher in the world.
Passing away from the deva-world,
urged on by the bright root [of merit] (sukkamūla),
he will then be reborn
in a prosperous family of great wealth.
Afterwards he will go forth,
urged on by the bright root,
and he will be a disciple of the Teacher,
Raṭṭhapāla by name.
Resolute in striving (padhāna),
at peace, free from acquisitions (nirūpadhi),
having fully understood all taints (āsava),
he will attain Nibbāna, free of taints."
Rising up, I went forth from home,
abandoning the fortune of wealth;
no affection for wealth is found in me —
[no more] than for a gob of spittle.
My energy (vīriya) bears the burden like a yoked ox,
conveying me on to security from bondage (yogakkhema);
I bear my final body
in the dispensation of the Fully Self-Enlightened One.
The four analytic insights (paṭisambhidā),
and these eight liberations (vimokkha),
and the six superknowledges (chaḷabhiññā) have been realized:
the Buddha's dispensation has been fulfilled.
Thus indeed did the Venerable Elder Raṭṭhapāla speak these verses.
The Apadāna of the Elder Raṭṭhapāla is concluded.
The Ninth: the Apadāna of the Elder Sopāka (19)
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.