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Aṅgaṇikabhāradvāja

Aṅgaṇikabhāradvājattheragāthā

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Theragāthā 3.1Verses of the Senior Monks 3.1
  • 0.2TikanipātaThe Book of the Threes
  • 0.3PaṭhamavaggaChapter One

0.4AṅgaṇikabhāradvājattheragāthāAṅgaṇikabhāradvāja

1.1“Ayoni suddhimanvesaṁ,Seeking purity the wrong way,1.2aggiṁ paricariṁ vane;I served the sacred fire in a grove.1.3Suddhimaggaṁ ajānanto,Not knowing the path to purity,1.4akāsiṁ amaraṁ tapaṁ.I practiced endless mortification.

2.1Taṁ sukhena sukhaṁ laddhaṁ,I’ve gained this happiness by means of happiness:2.2passa dhammasudhammataṁ;behold the clear rightness of the teaching!2.3Tisso vijjā anuppattā,I’ve attained the three knowledges2.4kataṁ buddhassa sāsanaṁ.and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.

3.1Brahmabandhu pure āsiṁ,I used to be brahmin only by kin,13.2idāni khomhi brāhmaṇo;but now I really am a brahmin!3.3Tevijjo nhātako camhi,I am master of the three knowledges, <j>I’m a bathed initiate,3.4sottiyo camhi vedagū”ti.I’m a scholar and a knowledge master.

3.5… Aṅgaṇikabhāradvājo thero ….

Translator’s notes

  1. This expression (also at Thig 12.1:16.1, Thig 13.2:21.1) shows that brahmabandhu has the disparaging sense of “brahmin only by kin (but not by practice)”, a sense found in the Vedic literature as well (Aitareya Brāhmaṇa 35.1.4, 35.3.2; Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.1.1).

    ↩ thag3.1:3.1