258. Paṇṇadāyaka

Tha-ap 260

A quiet mango grove opens toward soft light beyond the trees.

Walt 2526 On a Himalayan mountain,
I was a bark-clothed ascetic,
subsisting on unsalted leaves,
self-controlled in terms of my needs. Verse 1

Walt 2527 When my breakfast had been obtained,
Siddhattha Buddha approached me.
I gave that food to the Buddha,
feeling well-pleased by my own hands. Verse 2

Walt 2528 In the ninety-four aeons since
I gave him those leaves at that time,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of leaf-donations. Verse 3

Walt 2529 In the twenty-seventh aeon
there was a king, Yadatthiya,
a wheel-turning king with great strength,
possessor of the seven gems. Verse 4

Walt 2530 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances;
six special knowledges mastered:
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 5

Thus indeed Venerable Paṇṇadāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Paṇṇadāyaka 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.