[127] In the aeon one hundred thousand from this, there arose the Conqueror named Padumuttara — the sage, knower of all the world, the One with Vision.
An exhorter, an instructor, a deliverer of all living beings, skilled in teaching, the Buddha brought a great multitude of people across.
Sympathetic, compassionate, a seeker of the welfare of all living beings, he established all the sectarians (titthiya) who came to him in the five precepts (pañcasīla).
Thus was [his dispensation] free of disorder, empty of sectarians, and made beautiful by arahants (arahanta), self-mastered and steadfast (tādī).
That great sage rose fifty-eight cubits (ratana) in height; he was like a column of gold, bearing the thirty-two excellent marks.
The lifespan at that time extended for a hundred thousand years; remaining in the world for all that while, he brought a great multitude of people across.
At that time I was a brahmin of Haṃsavatī, gone to the far shore of the Vedas. Having approached him, the foremost of all the world, I listened to his teaching of the Dhamma.
Then that wise one appointed to the foremost place (etadagga) a disciple in whom the analytical knowledges (paṭisambhidā) were fully mastered — skilled in meaning, in the Dhamma, in language, and in perspicacity (paṭibhāna). Hearing that, gladdened, I then fed the excellent Conqueror together with his disciples for seven days.
Having clothed in cloths the Buddha, that ocean, together with his pupils, and having prostrated myself at his feet, I aspired to that position.
Then the Foremost in the World said: "Behold this supreme twice-born, bowed down at my feet, glowing like the heart of a lotus!
Through that faith (saddhā), through generosity, and through the hearing of the true Dhamma (saddhamma), this one aspires to the supreme position of a bhikkhu of the Buddha.
Having become happy everywhere, having wandered on through existence after existence, in the time to come you shall obtain this heart's desire.
A hundred thousand aeons from now, arisen in the Okkāka clan, there will be in the world a Teacher, Gotama by name.
An heir in his teachings, a true-born son formed of the Dhamma, Koṭṭhika by name, he will be a disciple of the Teacher."
Hearing that, gladdened, from then on for as long as I lived I attended upon the Conqueror with a mind of loving-kindness, being composed in wisdom.
Through the ripening of that kamma and through my resolute intentions, upon relinquishing the human body I went to Tāvatiṃsa.
Three hundred times I exercised kingship over the gods, and five hundred times I was a wheel-turning monarch (cakkavatti);
and [I held] extensive regional kingship, incalculable by counting. Everywhere I was happy — by the impetus of that kamma.
In but two states of existence do I transmigrate — divinity and humanity; I know no other destination: this is the fruit of what was well done.
In but two families am I born — the khattiya or the brahmin; I am not born into a low family: this is the fruit of what was well done.
When my final existence had arrived, I was a kinsman of Brahmā, born at last at Sāvatthī, into a brahmin family of great wealth.
My mother was named Candavatī, my father Assalāyana. When the Buddha trained my father for the sake of complete purity,
then, confident in the Sublime One (sugata), I went forth into homelessness. Moggallāna was my teacher; my preceptor was the son of Sārī [Sāriputta].
Even as my hair was being cut off, [wrong] view (diṭṭhi) was cut off, root and all; and while I was putting on the ochre robe, I attained arahantship.
My understanding of meaning, of the Dhamma, and of language, and my perspicacity, were fully differentiated; therefore the Foremost in the World placed me in the foremost place.
Questioned by Upatissa, I answered without faltering; therefore I am foremost in the analytical knowledges within the dispensation of the Fully Awakened One.
My defilements (kilesa) have been burned up; all states of existence have been extirpated; like an elephant that has burst its bonds, I dwell without taints (āsava).
Welcome indeed was my coming into the presence of the supreme Buddha! The three true knowledges (vijjā) have been attained; the Buddha's teaching has been done.
The four analytical knowledges, and also these eight liberations (vimokkha), and the six superknowledges (chaḷabhiññā) have been realized; the Buddha's teaching has been done.
It was thus that the Venerable Elder Mahākoṭṭhika spoke these verses.
The Apadāna of the Elder Mahākoṭṭhika is concluded.
The Eighth: the Apadāna of the Elder Uruvelakassapa (538)
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.