[398] Not far from the Himavant stands a mountain named Sobhita;
there a well-made hermitage was built for me by my own pupils.
Many pavilions were there, and sinduvāra trees in flower;
many wood-apple (kapiṭṭha) trees were there, campaka, nāga, and ketaka trees.
Many niguṇḍī trees were there, jujube and emblic myrobalan trees as well,
phārusaka trees and gourds, and puṇḍarīka in flower.
Aḷakka and beluva trees were there, plantains and citron trees;
many mahānāma trees were there, arjuna trees and piyaṅgu.
Kosumbha, salaḷa, and nīpa trees, banyans and kapiṭṭhana trees—
such was my hermitage; there I dwelt together with my pupils.
The Blessed One Anomadassī, the Self-Arisen One (sayambhū), Leader of the World,
seeking seclusion (paṭisallāna), came to my hermitage.
And when the great hero, Anomadassī of great fame, had arrived,
in an instant a wind-affliction arose for the Protector of the World.
Wandering in the forest, I saw the Leader of the World;
I approached the Fully Awakened One, the One with Vision, of great fame,
and seeing his posture (iriyāpatha), I took note then:
beyond doubt, illness had arisen for the Buddha.
Quickly I went back to the hermitage, into the presence of my pupils;
wishing to prepare medicine, I then addressed my pupils.
Heeding my word, my pupils, all of them respectful,
assembled together in one place, out of reverence for me, their teacher.
Quickly I climbed the mountain and prepared every medicine;
I made a potion for drinking and gave it to the best of Buddhas.
When the great hero, the omniscient Leader of the World, had partaken of it,
the wind-ailment of the Well-Gone One (Sugata), the great seer, quickly subsided.
Seeing his distress stilled, Anomadassī of great fame
sat down upon his own seat and spoke these verses:
"He who gave me medicine and allayed my illness—
him will I proclaim; listen to me as I speak.
For a hundred thousand aeons (kappa) he will delight in the world of the gods;
there, while instruments are played, this one will rejoice forever.
Having come to the human world, spurred on by his bright root [of merit],
a thousand times over he will be a king, a wheel-turning monarch (cakkavatti).
In the fifty-fifth aeon he will be a khattiya named Anomi,
victorious to the four ends [of the earth], lord of Jambudīpa,
endowed with the seven treasures, a wheel-turning monarch of great strength;
having made even the Tāvatiṃsa [gods] quake, he will wield his lordship.
Whether become a god or a human, he will be one of few afflictions;
shunning burning distress, he will cross beyond illness in the world.
An immeasurable number of aeons from now, one born in the Okkāka lineage,
Gotama by name, will be the Teacher in the world.
An heir in his teachings, a true-born son formed by the Dhamma,
having fully understood all taints (āsava), he will attain Nibbāna, free of taints.
Having burned up the defilements (kilesa), he will cross the stream of craving (taṇhā);
Bakkula will be his name; he will be a disciple of the Teacher.
Knowing all this directly, Gotama, bull of the Sakyans,
seated in the Saṅgha of bhikkhus, will place him in the foremost position (etadagga)."
The Blessed One Anomadassī, the Self-Arisen One, Leader of the World,
looking out for seclusion (viveka), came to my hermitage.
When the great hero, the omniscient Leader of the World, had come,
with a confident heart I satisfied him with every medicine, with my own hands.
That deed of mine, well done, was an excellent sowing of seed in a fertile field;
I simply cannot exhaust it—so well done was it for me then.
It was gain for me, a thing well gained, that I beheld the Leader;
through the remainder of that deed I have attained the unshakeable state.
Knowing all this directly, Gotama, bull of the Sakyans,
seated in the Saṅgha of bhikkhus, placed me in the foremost position.
The deed that I did then, an immeasurable number of aeons from now—
I know of no bad destination: this is the fruit of the medicine.
My defilements have been burned away; all existences have been extirpated;
all taints are utterly destroyed; now there is no renewed existence.
Welcome indeed was my coming into the presence of my Buddha:
the three true knowledges (vijjā) have been attained; the Buddha's teaching has been done.
The four analytic insights (paṭisambhidā), and these eight liberations (vimokkha),
the six superknowledges (abhiññā) have been realized; the Buddha's teaching has been done.
Thus indeed did the Venerable Bakkula the Elder speak these verses.
The Apadāna of the Elder Bakkula is concluded.
The Apadāna of the Elder Girimānanda, the Seventh (397)
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.