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tha-ap.213 Thera Apadana

Hatthidāyaka

I gifted a fine elephant,
with tusks like plough-poles, fully grown,
to Siddhattha, the Blessed One,
Lord of Bipeds, the Neutral One.

I grasp the ultimate meaning,
the unsurpassed pathway to peace.
I gave a very costly gift
to the Well-Wisher of All Worlds.

In the ninety-four aeons since
I gave him that gift at that time,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
the fruit of giving elephants.

In the seventy-eighth aeon
there were sixteen of royal caste,
named Samantapāsādika,
wheel-turning monarchs with great strength.

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

Thus indeed Venerable Hatthidāyaka Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Hatthidāyaka Thera is finished.

- Translator: Jonathan S. Walters

- Editor: Ayya Vimala