Vv 9Lamp Mansion

– Khuddaka Nikāya

– The Snake Chapter

1.9 Lamp Mansion

Moggallana Bhante:

Devata, your beauty shines in all directions like the bright star named Osadhi.

What are the meritorious deeds you have done to gain this happiness?

Devata, the pure radiance of your body and limbs is stainless and shines in all directions.

What kind of meritorious action did you do when you were in the human world to have gained this beauty that shines in all directions, and to have earned all these wonderful things?

Narrator:

That devata, delighted at being questioned by Arahant Moggallana, gladly explained what she had done that resulted in such great happiness.

Devata:

In my previous life, I was a woman in the human world. One night, there was a certain area which was very dark. People desperately needed light there. I lighted that area with a lamp.

Now I know for certain, if someone provides lamps to light a dark area, that person is reborn in the heavenly mansion called Jotirasa. There are beautiful flowers there like white lotuses.

Because of this meritorious deed, I have been born as a very beautiful devata and enjoy all the wonderful things that delight my heart.

That is why the pure radiance of my body and limbs is stainless and shines in all directions.

Great Bhante, that is the meritorious action I did to have such a beautiful body that shines in all directions.

Translated by: Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thera

According to Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thera's translation from the Pali.

Stories of Heavenly Mansions from the Vimanatthu © 2018 Mahamegha Publications.

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