sutta » kn » thig » Therīgāthā 6.1

Pañcasatamattātherīgāthā

Verses of the Five Hundred Elders Paṭācārā, Who Had a Following of Five Hundred

“Yassa maggaṁ na jānāsi,
“You do not know how
“One whose path you do not know,

āgatassa gatassa vā;
a being comes and goes,
not whence they came nor where they went;

Taṁ kuto cāgataṁ sattaṁ,
or whence that being came,
though they came from who knows where,

‘mama putto’ti rodasi.
yet you weep, ‘oh, my child!’
you mourn that being, crying, ‘Oh my son!’

Maggañca khossa jānāsi,
If you really knew how
But one whose path you do know,

āgatassa gatassa vā;
one comes and goes,
whence they came or where they went;

Na naṁ samanusocesi,
you would not mourn,
that one you do not lament—

evaṁdhammā hi pāṇino.
for you would understand that this is the nature of a being.
such is the nature of living creatures.

Ayācito tatāgacchi,
Uninvited they come,
Unasked he came,

nānuññāto ito gato;
without permission they leave.
he left without leave.

Kutoci nūna āgantvā,
Whence did they come?
He must have come from somewhere,

vasitvā katipāhakaṁ;
How long will they stay?
and stayed who knows how many days.

Itopi aññena gato,
Departing from one place,
He left from here by one road,

tatopaññena gacchati.
they go to another.
he will go from there by another.

Peto manussarūpena,
One who has died in the form of a human being,
Departing with the form of a human,

saṁsaranto gamissati;
will be reborn again and again.
he will go on transmigrating.

Yathāgato tathā gato,
As one comes, so one goes;
As he came, so he went:

kā tattha paridevanā”.
why lament since that is so?”
why cry over that?”

“Abbahī vata me sallaṁ,
“At last, you pulled out the thorn,
“Oh! For you have plucked the arrow from me,

duddasaṁ hadayassitaṁ;
difficult to see, stuck in my heart.
so hard to see, stuck in the heart.

Yā me sokaparetāya,
I was overcome with grief after the loss of my child,
You’ve swept away the grief for my son,

puttasokaṁ byapānudi.
but now that grief has been dispelled.
in which I once was mired.

Sājja abbūḷhasallāhaṁ,
Today the thorn has been pulled out,
Today I’ve plucked the arrow,

Nicchātā parinibbutā;
I am free of craving, fully quenched.
I’m hungerless, extinguished.

Buddhaṁ dhammañca saṅghañca,
I go to the Sage for refuge
I go for refuge to that sage, the Buddha,

Upemi saraṇaṁ muniṁ”.
in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha.”
to his teaching, and to the Sangha.”

Itthaṁ sudaṁ pañcasatamattā therī bhikkhuniyo … pe….
In this way Five Hundred Elder Bhikkhunīs spoke…
That is how Paṭācārā, who had a following of five hundred, declared her enlightenment.