Uttarajjhayana 18

18.1

kaṃpille nayare rāyā udiṇṇabalavāhane |
nāmeṇaṃ saṃjae nāma migavvaṃ uvaniggae ||

In the city of Kāmpilya, a king with a vast army and chariots, / named Sañjaya, went out on a hunt.

18.2

hayānīe gayānīe rahānīe taheva ya |
pāyattānīe mahayā savvao parivārie ||

Surrounded on all sides by a troop of horses, a troop of elephants, / and likewise by a troop of chariots, and a vast troop of foot soldiers,

18.3

mie chubhittā hayagao kaṃpillujjāṇakesare |
bhīe saṃte mie tattha vahei rasamucchie ||

having driven the deer into the Keśara park of Kāmpilya, mounted on horseback, / he killed the terrified and exhausted deer there, infatuated by the taste [of meat].

18.4

aha kesarammi ujjāne anagāre tavodhane |
sajjhāyajjhāṇajuttaṃ dhammajjhāṇaṃ jjhiyāyaī ||

Now in that Keśara park, a homeless mendicant rich in austerity / was meditating on virtuous meditation, engaged in study and meditation.

18.5

apphovamaṃḍavammi jjhāyaī jjhaviyāsave |
tassāgae mie pāsaṃ vaheī se narāhive ||

In a bower of asphodel he meditated, having burnt away his influxes. / When the deer came near him, the ruler of men struck it down.

18.6

aha āsagao rāyā khippamāgamma so tahiṃ |
hae mie u pāsittā anagāraṃ tattha pāsaī ||

Then the king, mounted on his horse, swiftly came there, / and having seen the slain deer, he saw the homeless mendicant there.

18.7

aha rāyā tattha saṃbhaṃto anagāro manāhao |
mae u maṃdapunneṇaṃ rasagiddheṇa ghaṃtuṇā ||

Then the king was bewildered there [thinking]: "The homeless mendicant was nearly struck / by me, a slayer of poor merit, greedy for taste!"

18.8

āsaṃ visajjaittāṇaṃ anagārassa so nivo |
vinaeṇa vaṃdae pāe bhagavaṃ! ettha me khame ||

Having released his horse, the king with discipline / bowed at the feet of the homeless mendicant: "O Blessed One, forgive me for this!"

18.9

aha monena so bhagavaṃ anagāre jjhāṇamassie |
rāyāṇaṃ na paḍimaṃtei tao rāyā bhayadduo ||

Then the blessed one, the homeless mendicant resting in meditation with silence, / did not answer the king; then the king was struck with fear:

18.10

saṃjao ahamassīti bhagavaṃ! vāharāhi me |
kuddhe teeṇa anagāre ḍahejja narakoḍio ||

"I am Sañjaya, O Blessed One! Speak to me! / When angered, the homeless mendicant might burn up tens of millions of men with his fiery energy!"

18.11

abhao patthivā! tubbhaṃ abhayadāyā bhavāhi ya |
anicce jīvalogammi kiṃ hiṃsāe pasajjasi? ||

"Be free from fear, O ruler of the earth, and become a giver of fearlessness! / In this impermanent world of living beings, why do you delight in violence?

18.12

jayā savvaṃ pariccajja gaṃtavvamavasassa te |
anicce jīvalogammi kiṃ rajjammi pasajjasi? ||

When, abandoning everything, you must depart helpless, / in this impermanent world of living beings, why do you delight in kingship?

18.13

jīviyaṃ ceva rūvaṃ ca vijjusaṃpāyacaṃcalaṃ |
jattha taṃ mujjhasī rāyaṃ! peccatthaṃ nāvabujjhase ||

Both life and beauty are unsteady like a flash of lightning, / in which you are bewildered, O king, and do not understand the welfare of the hereafter.

'Transient like a stroke of lightning are life and beauty, which you love so much; you do not comprehend what will benefit you in the next life.

18.14

dārāṇi ya suyā ceva mittā ya taha baṃdhavā |
jīvaṃtamanujīvaṃti mayaṃ nānuvvayaṃti ya ||

Wives, sons, and likewise friends and kinsmen / live off a person while he lives, but do not follow him when dead.

18.15

nīharaṃti mayaṃ puttā piyaraṃ paramadukkhiyā |
piyaro vi tahā putte baṃdhū rāyaṃ! tavaṃ care ||

Extremely grieved, sons carry out their dead father, / and likewise fathers their dead sons; O king, kinsmen [should] practice austerity!

18.16

tao teṇajjie davve dāre ya parirakkhie |
kīlaṃtanne narā rāyaṃ! haṭṭhatuṭṭhamalaṃkiyā ||

Then with the wealth acquired by him and the wives protected [by him], / other men play, O king, joyful, content, and adorned.

18.17

tenāvi jaṃ kayaṃ kammaṃ suhaṃ vā jai vā duhaṃ |
kammuṇā tena saṃjutto gacchaī u paraṃ bhavaṃ ||

Whatever karma was performed by him, whether pleasant or painful, / bound with that karma, he indeed goes to the next existence."

18.18

soūṇa tassa so dhammaṃ anagārassa aṃtie |
mahayā saṃveganivveyaṃ samāvanno narāhivo ||

Having heard that Dharma in the presence of the homeless mendicant, / the ruler of men experienced great spiritual longing and detachment.

18.19

saṃjao caiuṃ rajjaṃ nikkhaṃto jinasāsane |
gaddabhālissa bhagavao anagārassa aṃtie ||

Renouncing his kingship, Sañjaya went forth into the teaching of the Jina, / in the presence of the blessed homeless mendicant Gardabhāli.

18.20

ciccā raṭṭhaṃ pavvaie khattie paribhāsai |
jahā te dīsaī rūvaṃ pasannaṃ te tahā mano ||

Having abandoned his kingdom and gone forth, the kṣatriya said: / "Just as your form appears, so is your mind serene.

18.21

kiṃnāme? kiṃgotte? kassaṭṭhāe va māhaṇe? |
kahaṃ paḍiyarasī buddhe? kahaṃ vinīe tti vuccasi? ||

What is your name? What is your lineage? For what purpose are you a brāhmaṇa? / How do you conduct yourself, O enlightened one? Why are you called disciplined?"

18.22

saṃjao nāma nāmeṇaṃ tahā gotteṇa goyame |
gaddabhālī mamāyariyā vijjācaraṇapāragā ||

"I am Sañjaya by name, and Gautama by lineage. / My ācārya is Gardabhāli, who has reached the further shore of knowledge and conduct."

18.23

kiriyaṃ akiriyaṃ vinayaṃ annāṇaṃ ca mahāmunī |
eehiṃ cauhiṃ ṭhāṇehiṃ meyanne kiṃ pabhāsaī? ||

"Action, non-action, discipline, and ignorance, O great sage— / on these four positions, what does the knower of distinctions say?"

18.24

ii pāukare buddhe nāyae parinivvuḍe |
vijjācaraṇasaṃpanne sacce saccaparakkame ||

Thus the enlightened one, Jñātṛputra, completely extinguished, / endowed with knowledge and conduct, true and of true prowess, declared:

18.25

paḍaṃti narae ghore je narā pāvakāriṇo |
divvaṃ ca gaiṃ gacchaṃti carittā dhammamāriyaṃ ||

"Men who commit evil fall into terrible hell, / and those who practice the noble Dharma go to a celestial state.

18.26

māyāvuiyameyaṃ tu musābhāsā niratthiyā |
saṃjamamāṇo vi ahaṃ vasāmi iriyāmi ya ||

This deceitful conduct and false speech is worthless. / Restraining myself, I dwell and walk.

18.27

savve te viiyā majjhaṃ micchādiṭṭhī anāriyā |
vijjamāṇe pare loe sammaṃ jāṇāmi appagaṃ ||

All those holding false views and un-Aryan persons are known to me. / Since the other world exists, I rightly know my own self.

18.28

ahamāsī mahāpāne juimaṃ varisasaovame |
jā sā pālī mahāpālī divvā varisasaovamā ||

I was [a god] in Mahāprāṇa, resplendent, with a lifespan of a hundred [palyopama] years, / where there is that boundary and great boundary, divine, of a hundred [palyopama] years.

18.29

se cue baṃbhalogāo mānussaṃ bhavamāgae |
appaṇo ya paresiṃ ca āuṃ jāṇe jahā tahā ||

Having fallen from the Brahmaloka heaven, I have come to a human existence. / I know as it truly is the lifespan of myself and of others.

18.30

nānā ruiṃ ca chaṃdaṃ ca parivajjejja saṃjae |
anaṭṭhā je ya savvatthā ii vijjāmanusaṃcare ||

The self-restrained one should avoid various tastes and desires, / and whatever is purposeless in all respects; thus one should walk in accordance with knowledge.

18.31

paḍikkamāmi pasiṇāṇaṃ paramaṃtehiṃ vā puṇo |
aho uṭṭhie ahorāyaṃ ii vijjā tavaṃ care ||

I ask for forgiveness regarding questions, or again through supreme mantras. / Being energetic day and night, thus with knowledge one should practice austerity.

18.32

jaṃ ca me pucchasī kāle sammaṃ suddheṇa ceyasā |
tāiṃ pāukare buddhe taṃ nāṇaṃ jinasāsane ||

And what you ask me at the right time, rightly and with a pure mind, / that knowledge the enlightened protector revealed in the teaching of the Jina:

"And what you of a pure mind asked me just now, that has been revealed by the enlightened one; such knowledge makes part of the creed of the Ginas.

18.33

kiriyaṃ ca royae dhīre akiriyaṃ parivajjae |
diṭṭhīe diṭṭhisaṃpanne dhammaṃ cara suduccaraṃ ||

The steadfast one should approve of [righteous] action and avoid non-action. / Endowed with right view in insight, practice the Dharma that is very difficult to practice."

18.34

eyaṃ puṇṇapayaṃ soccā atthadhammovasohiyaṃ |
bharaho vi bhārahaṃ vāsaṃ ceccā kāmāi pavvae ||

Having heard this auspicious word, adorned with meaning and Dharma, / Bharata too, abandoning the country of Bhārata and sensual pleasures, went forth.

18.35

sagaro vi sāgaraṃtaṃ bharahavāsaṃ narāhivo |
issariyaṃ kevalaṃ hiccā dayāe parinivvuḍe ||

King Sagara too, abandoning the country of Bharata up to the ocean / and all sovereignty, attained complete extinction through compassion.

18.36

caittā bhārahaṃ vāsaṃ cakkavaṭṭī mahiḍḍhio |
pavvajjamabbhuvagao maghavaṃ nāma mahājaso ||

Abandoning the country of Bhārata, the cakravartin of great psychic power / named Maghavan, of great fame, undertook renunciation.

18.37

saṇaṃkumāro manussiṃdo cakkavaṭṭī mahiḍḍhio |
puttaṃ rajje ṭhavittāṇaṃ so vi rāyā tavaṃ care ||

Sanatkumāra, lord of men, the cakravartin of great psychic power, / having established his son in the kingdom, that king also practiced austerity.

18.38

caittā bhārahaṃ vāsaṃ cakkavaṭṭī mahiḍḍhio |
saṃtī saṃtikare loe patto gaimanuttaraṃ ||

Abandoning the country of Bhārata, the cakravartin of great psychic power, / Śānti, who brought peace to the world, reached the unsurpassed state.

18.39

ikkhāgarāyavasabho kuṃthū nāma narāhivo |
vikkhāyakittī dhiimaṃ mokkhaṃ gao anuttaraṃ ||

The bull among Ikṣvāku kings, the ruler of men named Kunthu, / of renowned fame and resolute, attained unsurpassed liberation.

18.40

sāgaraṃtaṃ jahittāṇaṃ bharahaṃ vāsaṃ narīsaro |
aro ya arayaṃ patto patto gaimanuttaraṃ ||

Having abandoned the country of Bharata bounded by the ocean, the lord of men / Ara attained the dustless state and reached the unsurpassed state.

18.41

caittā bhārahaṃ vāsaṃ cakkavaṭṭī narāhio |
caittā uttame bhoe mahāpaume tavaṃ care ||

Abandoning the country of Bhārata, the cakravartin, ruler of men, / Mahāpadma, having abandoned supreme pleasures, practiced austerity.

18.42

egacchattaṃ pasāhittā mahiṃ mānanisūraṇo |
hariseno manussiṃdo patto gaimanuttaraṃ ||

Having brought the earth under a single umbrella, destroying pride, / Hariṣeṇa, lord of men, reached the unsurpassed state.

"Having brought the (whole) earth under his sceptre, king Harishêna, who humbled the pride (of other kings), reached perfection.

18.43

annio rāyasahassehiṃ supariccāī damaṃ care |
jayanāmo jinakkhāyaṃ patto gaimanuttaraṃ ||

Accompanied by thousands of kings, the great renouncer practiced self-control; / he named Jaya [practiced] what was declared by the Jina and reached the unsurpassed state.

18.44

dasaṇṇarajjaṃ muiyaṃ caittāṇaṃ munī care |
dasaṇṇabhaddo nikkhaṃto sakkhaṃ sakkeṇa coio ||

Having abandoned the joyful kingdom of Daśārṇa, the sage practiced [austerity]; / Daśārṇabhadra went forth, being directly urged by Śakra.

18.45

namī namei appāṇaṃ sakkhaṃ sakkeṇa coio |
caiūṇa gehaṃ vaidehī sāmanne pajjuvaṭṭhio ||

Nami bowed his own self, being directly urged by Śakra; / having abandoned his home, the ruler of Videha established himself in mendicancy.

18.46

karakaṃḍū kaliṃgesu paṃcālesu ya dummuho |
namī rāyā videhesu gaṃdhāresu ya naggaī ||

Karakanḍu in Kaliṅga, and Durmukha in Pañcāla, / King Nami in Videha, and Nagnajit in Gandhāra—

18.47

ee nariṃdavasabhā nikkhaṃtā jinasāsane |
putte rajje ṭhavittāṇaṃ sāmanne pajjuvaṭṭhiyā ||

these bulls among kings went forth into the teaching of the Jina; / having established their sons in the kingdom, they established themselves in mendicancy.

18.48

sovīrarāyavasabho ceccā rajjaṃ munī care |
uddāyaṇo pavvaio patto gaimanuttaraṃ ||

The bull among the kings of Sauvīra, having abandoned his kingdom, wandered as a sage; / Udāyana, having gone forth, reached the unsurpassed state.

18.49

taheva kāsīrāyā seo saccaparakkame |
kāmabhoge pariccajja pahaṇe kammamahāvaṇaṃ ||

Likewise the king of Kāśi, Śveta, of true prowess, / having renounced sensual pleasures, struck down the great forest of karma.

18.50

taheva vijao rāyā anaṭṭhākitti pavvae |
rajjaṃ tu guṇasamiddhaṃ payahittu mahājaso ||

Likewise King Vijaya, of unfading fame, went forth, / having abandoned his kingdom rich in virtues, he of great renown.

18.51

tahevuggaṃ tavaṃ kiccā avvakkhitteṇa ceyasā |
mahābalo rāyarisī addāya sirasā siraṃ ||

Likewise, having practiced severe austerity with an undistracted mind, / the royal sage Mahābala shaved his head with his own hand.

18.52

kahaṃ dhīro aheūhiṃ ummatto vva mahiṃ care? |
ee visesamādāya sūrā daḍhaparakkamā ||

How could a steadfast person wander the earth without cause, like a madman? / Taking up these distinctions, [they became] heroes of firm prowess.

"Why should a wise man, for bad reasons, bring affliction upon himself? He who has become free from all ties and sins, will reach perfection."
Thus I say.

18.53

accaṃtaniyāṇakhamā saccā me bhāsiyā vaī |
atariṃsu taraṃtege tarissaṃti anāgayā ||

True is the speech spoken by me, enduring endless worldly longing: / [Souls] have crossed over, some are crossing over, [and others] will cross over in the future.

18.54

kahaṃ dhīre aheūhiṃ attāṇaṃ pariyāvase? |
savvasaṃgavinimmukke siddhe havai nīrae || –tti bemi ||

How could a steadfast one dwell in himself through wrong reasons? / Fully freed from all attachment, he becomes a perfected soul, free from dust. — Thus I say.