[3] At that time I reflected upon birth, aging, and death (jāti, jarā, maraṇa);
departing alone, I went forth into homelessness.
Wandering on by stages, I came to the bank of the Gaṅgā;
there I saw a stretch of ground on the Gaṅgā's bank, complete in every way.
Building a hermitage there, I dwelt in my hermitage;
my walking path, well made, was thronged by flocks of birds of many kinds.
Creatures would come up to me, calling charmingly;
delighting together with them, I dwelt in the hermitage.
In the neighborhood of my hermitage a king of beasts, a goer on four feet,
came out from his lair and roared like a thunderbolt.
When the king of beasts had roared, gladness arose in me;
searching for the king of beasts, I saw the Leader of the World.
Having seen the Deva of Devas, Tissa, the supreme Leader of the World,
joyful, with a joyful mind, I worshipped him with ironwood blossoms (nāgakesara).
Like the rising sun, like a royal sāla tree in bloom,
shining like the morning star (osadhī) — so I praised the Leader of the World:
"O Omniscient One, by your knowledge (ñāṇa) you illumine me together with the devas;
having won your favor, beings are wholly released from birth.
"Through not seeing the omniscient Buddhas, the seers of all,
beings overwhelmed by lust and hatred fall into the Avīci hell.
"But owing to the sight of you, the omniscient Leader of the World,
all are released from existence (bhava); they touch the deathless state (amataṃ padaṃ).
"When Buddhas, possessed of vision, makers of light, arise,
they burn up the defilements (kilesa) and display the light."
Having extolled the Fully Awakened One, Tissa, the supreme Leader of the World,
joyful, with a joyful mind, I worshipped him with jasmine blossoms (tiṇasūla).
Knowing my intention, Tissa, the supreme Leader of the World,
seated upon his own seat, spoke these verses:
"He who, filled with confidence, with his own hands has covered me with flowers —
him shall I proclaim: listen to my words.
"Twenty-five times he will exercise rulership over the devas,
and seventy-five times he will become a wheel-turning monarch (cakkavatti).
"He will exercise extensive regional kingship, incalculable by reckoning —
such is the outflow of that deed, of the worship with flowers.
"The man who at evening and at morning covered me with flowers,
conjoined with his meritorious deed, will appear in the time to come.
"Whatever he wishes for among objects of desire, that very thing will appear;
having fulfilled his intention, he will attain Nibbāna, free of taints (āsava)."
Having burned up the defilements, clearly comprehending and mindful (sampajāno paṭissato),
seated on a single seat, he attained arahantship (arahatta).
Whether walking, lying down, sitting, or standing,
I then dwelt recollecting the supreme Buddha.
In robes and in almsfood, in requisites and in lodging,
there was for me no lack therein: this is the fruit of worship of the Buddha (buddhapūjā).
Now have I reached the deathless, the peaceful, the unsurpassed state;
having fully understood all the taints, I dwell free of taints.
In the ninety-second aeon (kappa) from now, since I worshipped the Buddha,
I know of no bad destination (duggati): this is the fruit of worship of the Buddha.
My defilements have been burned up; all existences have been extirpated;
like an elephant that has burst its bonds, I dwell free of 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 also these eight liberations (vimokkha),
and the six superknowledges (chaḷabhiññā) have been realized; the Buddha's teaching has been done.
Thus indeed did the Venerable Elder Tiṇasūlakachādaniya speak these verses.
The Apadāna of the Elder Tiṇasūlakachādaniya is concluded.
The fourth: the Apadāna of the Elder Madhumaṃsadāyaka (414).
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.