46. Padumacchadaniya

When Vipassi, the Chief Person,
the World-Lord had reached nirvana,
taking a pink lotus in bloom
I placed it on the Buddha’s pyre.

And when it was placed on the pyre,
that lotus rose into the sky.
Making an awning in the sky
I held it there over the pyre.

In the ninety-one aeons since
I offered that flower to him,
I’ve come to know no bad rebirth:
that’s the fruit of Buddha-pūjā.

Forty-seven aeons ago
I was named Padumissara,
victorious on all four sides,
a wheel-turner with great power.

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

Thus indeed, Venerable Padumucchadaniya Thera spoke these verses.