21. Tathāgatavarga
The Chapter about the Realised One
(20 Verses)
[21.1]
[rh.q. + decl.]
Sarvābhibhūḥ Sarvavid eva cāsmi,
sarvaiś ca dharmaiḥ satataṁ na liptaḥ,
sarvaṁjahaḥ, sarvabhayād vimuktaḥ,
svayaṁ hy abhijñāya, kam uddiśeyam.
All-Conquering, All-Wise am I, always undefiled by all phenomena, having given up everything, freed from all danger, deeply knowing myself, who should I point out?
[21.2]
[rh.q. + decl.]
Kam uddiśeyaṁ tv asamo hy atulyaḥ?
Svayaṁ pravaktā, hy adhigamya Bodhim,
Tathāgato Devamanuṣyaśāstā,
sarvajñatāṁ prāpya, balair upetaḥ.
Who should I point out, being immeasurable, incomparable? Having attained Awakening, I proclaim myself, the Realised One, the teacher of Devas and humans, having attained omniscience, endowed with the strengths.
[21.3]
[decl.]
Ahaṁ hi lokeṣv, Arahann, ahaṁ lokeṣv anuttaraḥ,
sadevakeṣu lokeṣu, cāhaṁ Mārābhibhūr Jinaḥ.
Indeed, I am an Arhat in the worlds, I am supreme in the worlds, in the worlds together with its Devas, I am the Victor who overcame Māra.
[21.4]
[decl.]
Ācāryo me na vai kaś cit, sadṛśaś ca na vidyate,
eko ’smiṁ loke Saṁbuddhaḥ, prāptaḥ Saṁbodhim uttamām.
There is no one who is a teacher for me, no one equal to me is found, I alone am the Fully Awakened in the world, having attained the supreme Full Awakening.
[21.5]
[decl.]
Jinā hi mādṛśā jñeyā, ye prāptā hy āsravakṣayam,
jitā me pāpakā dharmās, tato ’ham Upagā Jinaḥ.
Surely Victors like me ought to be known, those who have attained the destruction of the pollutants, I am victorious over wicked thoughts, therefore, Upaga, I am the Victor.
[21.6]
[decl.]
Bārāṇasīṁ gamiṣyāmi, haniṣye ’mṛtadundubhim,
Dharmacakraṁ pravartayiṣye, lokeṣv aprativartitam.
I will go to Bārāṇasī, I will beat the drum of the Deathless. I will set the Dharma Wheel rolling, which cannot be turned back in the worlds.
[21.7]
[stm.]
Na hi santaḥ prakāśyante, viditvā lokaparyāyam,
ādeśayanto virajaḥ padaṁ śāntamanīṣiṇaḥ.
Truly, the good do not become known, having understood the way of the world, the peaceful and thoughtful ones are simply pointing out the dustless state.
[21.8]
[rh.q.]
Nadantīha mahāvīrāḥ Saddharmeṇa Tathāgatāḥ,
Dharmeṇa nadamānānāṁ, ke tv asūyed vijānakāḥ.
The great heroes, the Realised Ones, proclaim the True Dharma here, when proclaiming the Dharma, how could those who understand resent it?
[21.9]
[stm.]
Ye dhyānaprasṛtā dhīrā, naiṣkramyopaśame ratāḥ,
Devāpi spṛhayanty eṣāṁ, Buddhānāṁ śrīmatāṁ sadā.
Those steadfast ones, devoted to meditation, who have delight in the peace of renunciation, even the Devas envy them, the always glorious Buddhas.
[21.10]
[stm.]
Teṣāṁ Devā manuṣyāś ca Saṁbuddhānāṁ yaśasvinām,
spṛhayanty āśubuddhīnāṁ, śarīrāntimadhāriṇām.
Devas and humans envy those Fully Awakened Ones, those who are famous, those of swift intelligence, who bear their final body.
[21.11–21.12]
[stm.]
Ye cābhyatītāḥ Saṁbuddhā, ye ca Buddhā hy anāgatāḥ,
yaś cāpy etarhi Saṁbuddho, bahūnāṁ śokanāśakaḥ,
sarve Saddharmaguravo vyāhārṣu viharanti ca,
athāpi vihariṣyanti, eṣā Buddheṣu dharmatā.
Those who are Fully Awakened in the past, and those who will be Awakened in the future, and the one who is a Fully Awakened One at present, destroyer of grief for the many-folk, they all live having respect for the True Dharma in their speech, and so also will they live, this is a natural law in the Buddhas.
[21.13]
[adm.]
Tasmād ihātmakāmena, māhātmyam abhikāṅkṣatā,
Saddharmo gurukartavyaḥ, smaratā Buddhaśāsanam.
Therefore here, by one seeking greatness, through love of oneself, the True Dharma is to be respected, remembering the Buddhas’ dispensation.
[21.14]
[stm. + sim.]
Na śraddhāsyanti vai ye tu narā Buddhasya śāsanam,
vyasanaṁ te gamiṣyanti, vaṇijo Rākṣasīṣv iva.
Those people who will not have faith in the Buddha’s dispensation, will go to destruction, like the merchants amongst the Rakṣasīs.
[21.15]
[stm. + sim.]
Śraddhāsyanti tu ye nityaṁ narā Buddhasya śāsanam,
svastinā te gamiṣyanti, vālāhenaiva vāṇijāḥ.
But those people who will constantly have faith in the Buddha’s dispensation, they will go with safety, like the merchants with the cloud-horse.
[21.16]
[stm.]
Tathāgataṁ Buddham iha svayaṁbhuvaṁ,
dvau vai vitarkau bahulaṁ samudācarete:
Kṣemas tathaiva pravivekayuktas,
tamonudaṁ pāragataṁ maharṣim.
To the Realised One, the Buddha, the self-born here, the dispeller of darkness, the one who has crossed beyond, the great seer, two thoughts frequently occur: The thought of safety, and also what is connected with detachment.
[21.17]
[stm.]
Prāptaḥ sa cāryo vaśitām aśeṣāṁ,
viṣvottaraḥ sarvabhayād vimuktaḥ,
tṛṣṇāprahīṇo vimalo nirāśaś,
cālokayaṁ lokahitāya satvān.
That teacher who attained entire mastery, supreme over all, freed from all danger, who has abandoned craving, stainless, without longing, is illuminating beings for the benefit of the world.
[21.18]
[stm. + sim.]
Śaile yathā parvatamūrdhani sthito
yathaiva paśyej janatāṁ samantāt,
tathā hy asau Dharmamayaṁ sumedhāḥ
prāsādam āruhya, samantacakṣuḥ.
Śokābhibhūtāṁ janatām aśoko drākṣīd imāṁ jātijarābhibhūtām.
Just as one standing on a rocky mountain peak might see the people on all sides, so too the intelligent one, climbing the palace made of Dharma, is all-seeing. The griefless one saw this people overcome by grief, overcome by birth and old age.
Tathāgatavargaḥ, 21
The Chapter about the Realised One, the Twenty-First