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342. {345.} Nalāgārika

Tha-ap 347

A small rain pool reflecting pale clouds on an open grassy plain.

Walt 3104 Close to the Himalayan range,
there’s a mountain named Hārita.
The Self-Become One, Nārada,
dwelt at the roots of a tree then. Verse 1

Walt 3105 Having fashioned a house of reeds,
I covered it with grass as thatch,
and clearing a walkway I then
gave them to the Self-Become One. Verse 2

Walt 3106 In the fourteenth aeon ago
I delighted in the gods’ world,
and seventy-four times did I
exercise rule over the gods. Verse 3

Walt 3107 And seventy-seven times I
was then a wheel-turning monarch.
There was also much local rule,
innumerable by counting. Verse 4

Walt 3108 My dwelling-place was very tall,
rising up like Indra’s post.
One thousand-pillared, unsurpassed,
a mansion full of radiance. Verse 5

Walt 3109 Enjoying both accomplishments,
incited by my wholesome roots,
I went forth in the religion
of Gotama, the Blessed One. Verse 6

Walt 3110 Being one bent on exertion,
calmed, devoid of grounds for rebirth,
like elephants with broken chains,
I am living without constraint. Verse 7

Walt 3111 The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
I have done what the Buddha taught! Verse 8

Thus indeed Venerable Nalāgārika Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Nalāgārika Thera is finished.

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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.