Overwhelmed with grief for my son —
naked, demented,
my hair dishevelled
my mind deranged —
I went about here & there,

living along the side of the road,
in cemeteries & heaps of trash,
for three full years,
afflicted with hunger & thirst.

Then I saw
the One Well-gone,
gone to the city of Mithila:
tamer of those untamed,
Self-Awakened,
with nothing to fear
from anything, anywhere.

Regaining my mind,
paying him homage,
I sat myself down.
He, Gotama, from sympathy
taught me the Dhamma.

Hearing his Dhamma,
I went forth into homelessness.
Applying myself to the Teacher's words,
I realized the state of auspicious bliss.

All griefs have been cut off,
abandoned,
brought to this end,
for I've comprehended
the grounds from which griefs
come into play.