Tha Ap 162Kumudadāyaka

– Therāpadāna

– The Legends of the Theras

160. Kumudadāyaka

Walt 2043 Close to the Himalayan range,

there was a large, natural lake

covered with pink and blue lotuses,

with white lotuses strewn about. Verse 1

Walt 2044 At that time I was a bird there,

known by the name of Kakudha,

learned in merit/not merit,

moral and intelligent too . Verse 2

Walt 2045 Padumuttara, World-Knower,

Sacrificial Recipient,

the Great Sage wandered into the

vicinity of that great lake. Verse 3

Walt 2046 Taking a water-born lotus,

I gave it to the Great Sage then .

Discerning what I was thinking,

the Sage so Great accepted it . Verse 4

Walt 2047 After having given that gift,

incited by my wholesome roots,

for one hundred thousand aeons

I’ve come to know no bad rebirth. Verse 5

Walt 2048 In the sixteen-hundredth aeon

there were people, numbering eight,

all of whom were named Varuṇa,

wheel-turning kings with great power. Verse 6

Walt 2049 The four analytical modes,

and these eight deliverances,

six special knowledges mastered,

I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 7

Thus indeed Venerable Kumudadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Kumudadāyaka Thera is finished.

The Summary:

Bandhujīva, Tambapupphī,

Vīthī, Kakkārapupphiya,

Mandārava, and Kadambī,

Sulika, Nāgapupphiya,

Punnāga, and Komudī:

there are six and fifty verses

declared in this chapter, complete .

The Bandhujīvaka Chapter, the Sixteenth.

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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