In this present lucky aeon
Brahmā’s Kinsman, Greatly Famed One,
named Kassapa through his lineage,
Best Debater, Buddha arose.

Possessing Eighty Lesser Marks,
Bearing the Thirty-Two Great Marks,
Having a Fathom-Wide Aura,
Gone into a Net of Light-Rays,

as Comforting as is the moon,
Maker of Light just like the sun,
Quenching just as does a raincloud,
a Mine of Gems like the ocean,

Through morals like earth; through wisdom
like the sky; through meditation
like Himalaya; like the wind
he does not stick to anything.

At one time he, the Sage So Great,
Confident among Multitudes,
is explaining the Noble Truths,
and lifting up the populace.

I was then a millionaire’s son
in Benares, very famous.
Back then I was the master of
considerable wealth and grain.

While wandering about on foot,
I came up to the “Deer-Park” grove.
There I saw the such-like Buddha,
who was preaching the deathless state,
in distinct and delightful words,
with the sweet tone of a cuckoo,
with the noise of a swan or drum,
making the people understand.

Having seen that God Above Gods,
and hearing his honey-sweet words,
having abandoned no small wealth,
I went forth into homelessness.

Thus gone forth, in not a long time,
being a very learned monk,
I became a Dhamma-preacher,
having diverse intelligence.

Amidst large multitudes I then,
happy-hearted, repeatedly,
extolled the Buddha’s gold color,
skilled at extolling his beauty:

“This is Buddha, the Undefiled,
Unconfused One, With Doubt Cut Out,
he whose Karma is All Destroyed,
Freed in the End of Conditions.

This is Buddha, the Blessed One;
he’s the Unsurpassed, the Lion,
the Turner of the Brahma-wheel
for the world including the gods;

Tame, the Tamer, the Peaceful One,
the Appeaser, Blown Out, the Sage,
the Quencher and the Comforted,
the Comforter of the people;

The Hero, the God, the Wise One,
Wisdom, Compassionate, Master,
the Conqueror, and the Victor,
Not Being Reborn, Homeless One;

Lust-less One, Unshaking, Smart One,
Undeluded, Unequaled, Sage,
Yoke-Bearer, Bull, the Elephant,
Lion, Indra among gurus;

Passionless One, Stainless One, God,
God of Speakers, Fault-Renouncer,
Unobstructed and Free of Grief,
Unequaled, Restrained, the Pure One;

the Brahmin, the Monk and the Lord,
the Physician and the Surgeon,
Warrior, Buddha, Sacred Lore,
Unshaking, the Glad One, the Free;

Upholder, Ready, the Slayer,
the Doer, the Guide, Explainer,
the Gladdener, the Enjoyer,
the Cutter, the Hearer, the Praised;

Unobstructed and Extensive,
Unconfused One, Not Uncertain,
Lust-less, Unstained, the Companion,
Goer, the Speaker, Explainer;

the Crosser, the Meaning-Maker,
the Builder, also the Tearer,
Attainer, Bearer, Beloved,
Slayer, Energetic, Ascetic,

Even-Minded and Impartial,
Self-Dependent, Home of Kindness,
Wonderfully Peaceful, Honest,
Doer of the Deed, Seventh Sage;

Crossed Beyond Doubt, Free of Conceit,
the Boundless One, Beyond Compare,
Traveled the Roads of All Sayings,
Attained the Truth to Know, Victor.

Buddha’s palace brings deathlessness
in the best hardwood of beings;
the powerful have faith in the
Buddha, Teaching and Assembly.”

By means of virtues such as these,
I did my preaching of Dhamma,
praising amidst the multitudes
the Three Worlds’ Unsurpassed Refuge.

Falling from there, in Tusitā,
having enjoyed great happiness,
falling from there, among people,
I’m born with a very good scent.

My wind, the fragrance of my mouth,
likewise too my body odor,
and the scent of my sweat, always
surpasses all other perfumes.

My mouth-fragrance always is of
pink and blue lotus and jasmine.
And so too my body-odor,
always blowing very calmly.

All of you, minds concentrated,
listen to my words, I’ll extol
all of that most amazing fruit
for one who praised virtue’s value.

Having told the Buddha’s virtues
with kindness when people gather,
bound up with a honey-sweet sound,
I am happy in every place,

famous, happy, also held dear,
splendorous, lovely to look at,
a speaker, not disregarded,
free of faults and also most wise.

When life ends, nirvana’s easy
to reach for Buddha’s devotees.
I’m telling the cause of their ease;
listen to that now truthfully:

I saluted in due form the
Blessed One’s fame for peacefulness.
Because of that I am famous
when I am reborn here and there.

I am happy because I praised
the Buddha who ends suffering,
and peaceful, unconditioned Truth,
giving happiness to beings.

Declaring the Buddha’s virtue,
bound up with joy in the Buddha,
I made him dear to self and to
others; therefore I am held dear.

Overcoming evil rivals
in the rival-strewn people-flood,
praising virtue I lit up the
Leader; therefore I’m splendorous.

Telling the Sambuddha’s virtue,
I made him lovely to people,
as is the moon in the autumn;
therefore I’m lovely to look at.

With all my words I praised Buddha,
to the extent I was able;
therefore I speak eloquently,
and have diverse intelligence.

With the great Teaching I restrained
those fools who, afflicted with doubt,
treat the Sage So Great with contempt;
therefore I’m not disregarded.

Through the virtues of the Buddha,
I drove out beings’ defilements.
I am now free of defilements,
as a result of that karma.

A preacher who recalls Buddha,
I brought Buddha to listeners.
Therefore I’m endowed with wisdom,
contemplating subtle meanings.

All my defilements are destroyed;
I’ve crossed the ocean of being.
Like fire, I have no attachments;
I will realize nirvana.

Within just this present aeon
since I thus praised him, the Buddha,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of praising Buddhas.

My defilements are now burnt up;
all new existence is destroyed.
Like elephants with broken chains,
I am living without constraint.

Being in Best Buddha’s presence
was a very good thing for me.
The three knowledges are attained;
I have done what the Buddha taught!

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

Thus indeed Venerable Sugandha Thera spoke these verses.

The legend of Sugandha Thera is finished.

The Summary:

Tiṇada and Pecchada too,
Saraṇ’, Abbhañjanappada,
Pūpatī and Daṇḍadāyī,
and likewise tooNelapūjī,
Bodhisammajak’, Āmaṇḍa,
and tenth Sugandha, a brahmin.
Altogether counted here are
one hundred twenty-three verses.

The Tiṇadāyaka Chapter, the Fifty-Third