Tripiṭaka 1. Arahantavagga
1. The Perfected Ones
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ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā rājagahe viharati veḷuvane kalandakanivāpe.
At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground.
Tena kho pana samayena aññatarassa bhāradvājagottassa brāhmaṇassa dhanañjānī nāma brāhmaṇī abhippasannā hoti buddhe ca dhamme ca saṅghe ca.
Now at that time the wife of a certain brahmin of the Bhāradvāja clan, a brahmin lady named Dhanañjānī, was devoted to the Buddha, the teaching, and the Saṅgha.
Atha kho dhanañjānī brāhmaṇī bhāradvājagottassa brāhmaṇassa bhattaṁ upasaṁharantī upakkhalitvā tikkhattuṁ udānaṁ udānesi:
Once, while she was bringing her husband his meal, she tripped and expressed this heartfelt sentiment three times:
“Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa.
“Homage to him, the blessed one, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha!
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa.
Homage to him, the blessed one, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha!
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassā”ti.
Homage to him, the blessed one, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha!”
Evaṁ vutte, bhāradvājagotto brāhmaṇo dhanañjāniṁ brāhmaṇiṁ etadavoca:
When she said this, the brahmin said to Dhanañjānī:
“evamevaṁ panāyaṁ vasalī yasmiṁ vā tasmiṁ vā tassa muṇḍakassa samaṇassa vaṇṇaṁ bhāsati.
“That’d be right. For the slightest thing this lowlife woman spouts out praise for that bald ascetic.
Idāni tyāhaṁ, vasali, tassa satthuno vādaṁ āropessāmī”ti.
Right now, lowlife woman, I’m going to refute your teacher’s doctrine!”
“Na khvāhaṁ taṁ, brāhmaṇa, passāmi sadevake loke samārake sabrahmake sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiyā pajāya sadevamanussāya, yo tassa bhagavato vādaṁ āropeyya arahato sammāsambuddhassa.
“Brahmin, I don’t see anyone in this world—with its gods, Māras, and Divinities, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, its gods and humans—who can refute the doctrine of the Blessed One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha.
Api ca tvaṁ, brāhmaṇa, gaccha, gantvā vijānissasī”ti.
But anyway, you should go. When you’ve gone you’ll understand.”
Atha kho bhāradvājagotto brāhmaṇo kupito anattamano yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavatā saddhiṁ sammodi.
Then the brahmin of the Bhāradvāja clan, angry and upset, went to the Buddha and exchanged greetings with him.
Sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi.
When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side,
Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho bhāradvājagotto brāhmaṇo bhagavantaṁ gāthāya ajjhabhāsi:
and addressed the Buddha in verse:
Evaṁ vutte, bhāradvājagotto brāhmaṇo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:
When he said this, the brahmin said to the Buddha,
Seyyathāpi, bho gotama, nikkujjitaṁ vā ukkujjeyya, paṭicchannaṁ vā vivareyya, mūḷhassa vā maggaṁ ācikkheyya, andhakāre vā telapajjotaṁ dhāreyya: ‘cakkhumanto rūpāni dakkhantī’ti; evamevaṁ bhotā gotamena anekapariyāyena dhammo pakāsito.
As if he were righting the overturned, or revealing the hidden, or pointing out the path to the lost, or lighting a lamp in the dark so people with clear eyes can see what’s there, worthy Gotama has made the teaching clear in many ways.
Esāhaṁ, bhante, bhagavantaṁ gotamaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi dhammañca bhikkhusaṅghañca.
I go for refuge to the worthy Gotama, to the teaching, and to the mendicant Saṅgha.
Labheyyāhaṁ bhoto gotamassa santike pabbajjaṁ, labheyyaṁ upasampadan”ti.
May I receive the going forth, the ordination in the worthy Gotama’s presence?”
Alattha kho bhāradvājagotto brāhmaṇo bhagavato santike pabbajjaṁ, alattha upasampadaṁ.
And the brahmin received the going forth, the ordination in the Buddha’s presence.
Acirūpasampanno kho panāyasmā bhāradvājo eko vūpakaṭṭho appamatto ātāpī pahitatto viharanto nacirasseva—yassatthāya kulaputtā sammadeva agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajanti tadanuttaraṁ—brahmacariyapariyosānaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja vihāsi.
Not long after his ordination, Venerable Bhāradvāja, living alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute, soon realized the supreme end of the spiritual path in this very life. He lived having achieved with his own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness.
“Khīṇā jāti, vusitaṁ brahmacariyaṁ, kataṁ karaṇīyaṁ, nāparaṁ itthattāyā”ti abbhaññāsi.
He understood: “Rebirth is ended; the spiritual journey has been completed; what had to be done has been done; there is nothing further for this place.”
Aññataro ca panāyasmā bhāradvājo arahataṁ ahosīti.
And Venerable Bhāradvāja became one of the perfected.