Vv 71Barley-Warden’s Mansion
Pāli / Sanskrit:Yavapālakavimānavatthu
A human who guarded a barley field explains how he became a deva.
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– STORIES OF HEAVENLY MANSIONS
– B. HEAVENLY MANSIONS OF MALE DEVAS
– THE PĀYĀSI CHAPTER
6.7
BJT 1087"This heavenly mansion is lofty, with pillars of maṇi-gems, extending sixteen leagues all around, with seven hundred magnificent towered dwellings having columns of beryl, spread and lined with gold, beautiful.
BJT 1088There you dwell, there you drink, and there you eat. And there are divine vīṇā lutes giving forth sweet sounds. There are eight groups, each of eight celestial nymphs, dwelling in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, magnificent, accomplished, of graceful form, dancing, singing, and performing entertainments.
BJT 1089You have attained the supernormal powers of the devas, endowed with great majesty. When you were a human being, what meritorious deed did you perform? On account of what do you possess such blazing majesty, and your complexion illumine the quarters in all directions?"
BJT 1090That young deva, delighted at being questioned by the venerable Moggallāna, being asked the question, explained of which kamma this was the fruit:
BJT 1091"I, when a human being in the human realm, was a guardian of barley. I saw a bhikkhu, one without defilement, pure, undisturbed.
BJT 1092Filled with faith, I with my own hands presented to him my share that I had received. Having offered a cream-cake, I rejoice in the Nandana Grove of the heavenly realm.
BJT 1093On account of that, I have such a complexion. On account of that, things are accomplished for me here. And on account of that, agreeable pleasures arise for me.
BJT 1094Venerable bhikkhu of great majesty, I declare to you the meritorious deed I performed when I was a human being. On account of that I possess such blazing majesty, and my complexion illumines the quarters in all directions."
The Mansion of the Barley-Warden.
Translated by Bhikkhu Indacanda, 2011. Based on the Buddha Jayanthi edition of the Pali canon, as corrected by Bhikkhu Indacanda. Full text, translation, and notes are available at the translator's website: http://tamtangpaliviet.net/.
Used by kind permission of the translator.
Prepared for SuttaCentral by Blake Walsh.
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