[406]
The Gaṅgā called Bhāgīrasī, springing from the Himavant,
flowed then past the gate of Haṃsavatī.
A park named Sobhita was well laid out upon the bank of the Gaṅgā;
there dwelt the Buddha Padumuttara, the Leader of the World.
As Inda amid the Thirty [gods], so, honoured by the people,
the Blessed One sat there, fearless as a maned lion.
In the city of Haṃsavatī I was a brahmin,
Chaḷaṅga by name — such was my name, O Great Sage.
Eighteen hundred pupils attended upon me then;
accompanied by those pupils, I came to the bank of the Gaṅgā.
There I saw ascetics, free from deceit, their evil washed away;
as I was crossing the Bhāgīrasī, at that moment I thought thus:
"Crossing at evening and at morning, these sons of the Buddha, of great fame,
weary themselves; their very bodies are worn down.
The Buddha is called the foremost of the world with its devas;
yet I have no deed done by way of offering, nothing that purifies the road of my destiny.
What if I were to have a bridge built across the Gaṅgā for the best of Buddhas?
Having had this bridge built, I shall cross over this existence (bhava)."
Having given a hundred thousand, I had the bridge built,
confident that the deed I had done would be abundant [in fruit] for me.
Having had that bridge built, I approached the Leader of the World;
raising my joined palms to my head, I spoke these words:
"At an outlay of a hundred thousand given, I have had this great bridge made
for your sake — accept it, O Great Sage!"
Padumuttara, the Knower of the World, the Receiver of Oblations,
seated amid the Saṅgha of bhikkhus, spoke these verses:
"He who, with a confident heart, had a bridge made for me with his own hands —
him I shall proclaim; listen to my words.
Though fallen from a chasm, or from a mountain, or from a tree,
even when he has passed away, he shall obtain a footing: this is the fruit of the gift of a bridge.
As the wind [cannot overcome] a banyan whose spreading roots have grown firm,
so enemies shall not overcome him: this is the fruit of the gift of a bridge.
Robbers shall not overpower him, khattiyas shall not despise him;
he shall pass beyond all his enemies: this is the fruit of the gift of a bridge.
When he has gone out into the open and is scorched by the harsh heat of the sun,
being conjoined with his meritorious deed, no [painful] feeling (vedanā) will there be.
In the deva world or among humans, an elephant-vehicle, well fashioned,
knowing his intention, will come into being at that very moment.
A thousand horses — wind-swift Sindhavas, swift steeds —
will attend him evening and morning: this is the fruit of the gift of a bridge.
Coming to the human state, this one will be happy;
here too, even as a human, an elephant-vehicle will be his.
A hundred thousand aeons (kappa) hence, one arisen in the Okkāka clan,
Gotama by name, will be the Teacher in the world.
An heir in his teachings, a true-born son formed by the Dhamma,
he will fully understand all the taints (āsava) and attain Nibbāna, free from taints."
Ah, how well done was my deed toward him named for the supreme lotus (Jalajuttama)!
Having done my service there, I have attained the destruction of the taints.
I am resolute in striving, calmed, free from acquisitions (upadhi);
like an elephant that has burst its bonds, I dwell without taints.
My defilements (kilesa) have been burned away; all existences have been extirpated;
like an elephant that has burst its bonds, I dwell without taints.
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) as well,
and the six superknowledges (abhiññā) have been realized; the Buddha's teaching has been done.
Thus indeed the Venerable Elder Dhotaka spoke these verses.
The Apadāna of the Elder Dhotaka is concluded.
The Apadāna of the Elder Upasīva, the fifth (405)
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.