222. Ajinadāyaka

Tha-ap 224

Countless gentle wavelets across a pale sea and misty horizon.

Walt 2378 Thirty-one aeons in the past,
I made mats for the multitude.
I saw the Buddha, Stainless One,
Sacrificial Recipient. Verse 1

Walt 2379-2380I gave a leather garment to
Sikhi, the Kinsman of the World.
Through that karma, O Biped Lord,
O World’s Best, O Bull of Men,
experiencing happiness,
I destroyed my defilements.
I now possess my last body
in the Buddha’s dispensation. Verse 2-3

Walt 2381 In the thirty-one aeons since
I gave that deer-leather to him,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that is the fruit of deer-leather. Verse 4

Walt 2382 In the fifth aeon after that
there was a king, Sudāyaka,
a wheel-turning king of great strength,
possessor of the seven gems. Verse 5

Walt 2383 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 6

Thus indeed Venerable Ajinadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Ajinadāyaka Thera is finished.

Connections

Collection & context

TherāpadānaThe collection containing this text
The Pāli canonCanonical collection in which this edition is preserved
Theravāda traditionsTransmission and study context
The early Buddhist communityHistorical and traditional setting

About this edition

Translation by Jonathan S. Walters · SuttaCentral · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US

Noncommercial reuse with attribution and the same license. Original publication and digitization credits are preserved below.

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.

For more information, visit apadanatranslation.org

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Ayya Vimala.

Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader.

The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.