183. Koṭumbariya (THA-AP185)

Happy, and with a happy heart,
I approached the Best among Men,
shining like a dinner-plate tree,
sitting down amidst the mountains,
like the ocean without measure,
extending as far as the earth,
worshipped by the gods’ assembly,
of the best race of bulls of men.

I once offered to the Buddha
Sikhi, the Kinsman of the World,
a piece of cloth which I had filled
with seven flowers I had plucked.

In the thirty-one aeons since
I did pūjā with that flower,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā.

In the twentieth aeon hence
I was a greatly powerful
wheel-turning monarch with great strength,
known by the name Mahāṇela.

The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught!

Thus indeed Venerable Koṭumbariya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Koṭumbariya Thera is finished.

Translated by Jonathan S. Walters.

Whitman College, 2017

Legends of the Buddhist Saints (Apadāna) is released under the Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share Alike license.

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