[75]
Having abandoned the five strands of sensual pleasure (pañca kāmaguṇā), lovely and delighting the mind,
and abandoning eighty koṭis [of wealth], I went forth into homelessness.
Having gone forth, I avoided evil action (kamma) by body;
having abandoned misconduct by speech, I dwelt upon a river bank.
As I dwelt all alone, the supreme Buddha approached me;
I did not know, "He is the Buddha," and I offered him a friendly welcome (paṭisanthāra).
Having offered him welcome, I asked his name and clan:
"Are you a deity, or a gandhabba, or else Sakka Purindada?
Or who are you, or whose son? Is it Mahābrahmā come here?
You light up all the quarters like the rising sun.
Thousand-spoked wheels appear upon your feet, dear sir;
who are you, or whose son? How may we know you?
Declare your name and clan; dispel my doubt."
"I am no deva, nor a gandhabba; I am not Sakka Purindada,
nor is the state of Brahmā mine: I am supreme above these.
Passed beyond their range, I have torn apart the bond of sensuality;
having burned up all the defilements (kilesa), I have attained the supreme awakening (sambodhi)."
Having heard his speech, I spoke these words:
"If you are the Buddha, the All-Knowing One, be seated, O great sage;
I will worship you — you are the maker of the end of suffering (dukkha)."
Having spread out an antelope hide (ajina), I gave it to the Teacher;
the Blessed One sat down there, like a lion in a mountain cave.
Quickly I climbed the mountain and took the fruit of a mango,
a blossom of the lovely sāl, and sandalwood of great price;
quickly gathering up all of it, I approached the Leader of the World;
having given the fruit to the Buddha, I made offering of the sāl blossom.
Having anointed him with the sandalwood, I paid homage to the Teacher,
with a mind (citta) serene with confidence, glad, and with abundant rapture (pīti).
Seated upon the antelope hide, Sumedha, the Leader of the World,
proclaimed my deed then, making me rejoice:
"By this gift of fruit, together with perfume and flowers, both,
for twenty-five hundred aeons (kappa) he will delight in the world of the devas.
With the intentions of his mind never lacking, he will be a wielder of power;
in the twenty-six hundredth aeon he will go to the human state.
He will become a wheel-turning monarch (cakkavatti) over the four quarters, of great might;
a city named Vekara, created by Visukamma,
will be all of gold, adorned with every kind of gem.
In this same manner he will fare on through the wombs of rebirth;
happy everywhere, whether in the state of devas or of men,
when his final existence (bhava) is reached, he will be a kinsman of Brahmā.
Departing from the house, he will become a homeless one;
his requisites coming without any intimation (aviññatti-paccaya), he will attain Nibbāna, free of taints (āsava)."
Having said this, the Fully Awakened One Sumedha, the Leader of the World,
while I gazed upon him, departed along the pathway of the wind.
By that deed well done, and by volition (cetanā) and aspirations,
on relinquishing the human body, I arose in Tusita.
Passing away from Tusita, I was reborn in a mother's womb;
in the womb wherein I dwelt, I had no lack of wealth.
While I was within my mother's womb, food and drink and nourishment
arose for my mother at my wish, just as was desired.
At five years from birth I went forth into homelessness;
when my hair had been shaved off, I attained arahantship (arahatta).
Searching out my former deed, I did not see it within a nearer span;
I recollected my deed of thirty thousand aeons ago.
Homage to you, O thoroughbred of men! Homage to you, O highest of men!
Having come to your teaching (sāsana), I have attained the unshaken state.
Thirty thousand aeons ago I worshipped the Fully Awakened One;
I know of no bad destination (duggati): this is the fruit of worshipping 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 analytical knowledges (paṭisambhidā) and these eight liberations (vimokkha) as well,
and the six superknowledges (chaḷabhiññā) have been realized; the Buddha's teaching has been done.
Thus indeed the Venerable Elder Candanamāliya spoke these verses.
The Apadāna of the Elder Candanamāliya is concluded.
The Sixth: The Apadāna of the Elder Dhātupūjaka (486)
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.