236. Vaṇṇakāraka (THA-AP238)

In Aruṇavatī city
I was a dyer at that time.
With various colors I dyed
the cloth items on the stupa.

In the thirty-one aeons since
I dyed with colors at that time,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth;
that’s the fruit of giving colors.

In the twenty-third aeon hence
I was one named Candupama,
a wheel-turning king with great strength,
possessor of the seven gems.

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

Thus indeed Venerable Vaṇṇakāraka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Vaṇṇakāraka 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.

This is the first-ever complete translation of Apadāna into a Western language.

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Prepared for SuttaCentral by Ayya Vimala.