thig.5.12 Therigatha

Canda: The Beggar

Before, I had fallen on evil times:
no husband, no children,
no relatives, friends,
no way to obtain clothing & food.

So, taking a staff & bowl in hand,
begging for alms from house to house,
feverish from the cold & heat,
I wandered for seven full years.

Then seeing a nun
obtaining food & drink,
I approached her & said:
"Let me go forth into homelessness."

She, Patacara, from sympathy,
let me go forth;
then, exhorting me,
urged me on to the highest goal.

Hearing her words,
I did her bidding.
Her exhortation was not in vain.
I'm a three-knowledge woman,
fermentation-free.

- Translator: Thanissaro Bhikkhu

- Editor: Ayya Kathrin Vimalañāṇī

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Candā

I used to be in a sorry state.
As a childless widow,
bereft of friends or relatives,
I got neither food nor clothes.
I took a bowl and a staff
and went begging from family to family.
For seven years I wandered,
burned by heat and cold.
Then I saw a nun
receiving food and drink.
Approaching her, I said:
“Send me forth to homelessness.”
Out of compassion for me,
Paṭācārā gave me the going forth.
Then, having advised me,
she urged me on to the ultimate goal.
After hearing her words,
I did her bidding.
The lady’s advice was not in vain:
master of the three knowledges, I am free of defilements.
The Book of the Fives is finished.