242. Nāgakesariya

Tha-ap 244

An ivory magnolia bud beginning to open.

Walt 2465 Gathering both ends of a bow,
I entered into the forest.
I saw a small lake gathered there,
very clean and full of flowers. Verse 1

Walt 2466 Plucking one with both of my hands
and saluting on my forehead,
I then offered it to Tissa,
the Buddha, Kinsman of the World. Verse 2

Walt 2467 In the ninety-two aeons since
I did pūjā with that flower,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā. Verse 3

Walt 2468 In the seventy-seventh aeon,
I was named Pamokkharaṇa,
a wheel-turning king with great strength,
possessor of the seven gems. Verse 4

Walt 2469 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 5

Thus indeed Venerable Nāgakesariya Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Nāgakesariya 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.