1.1Evaṁ me sutaṁ—So I have heard.1.2ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.1.3Tena kho pana samayena āyasmā lakuṇḍakabhaddiyo sambahulānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ piṭṭhito piṭṭhito yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami.Then Venerable Bhaddiya the Dwarf, closely following several mendicants, approached the Buddha.

2.1Addasā kho bhagavā āyasmantaṁ lakuṇḍakabhaddiyaṁ dūratova sambahulānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ piṭṭhito piṭṭhito āgacchantaṁ dubbaṇṇaṁ duddasikaṁ okoṭimakaṁ yebhuyyena bhikkhūnaṁ paribhūtarūpaṁ.The Buddha saw Venerable Bhaddiya coming off in the distance—ugly, unsightly, deformed, and despised by most of the mendicants.2.2Disvāna bhikkhū āmantesi:The Buddha addressed the mendicants:

3.1“Passatha no tumhe, bhikkhave, etaṁ bhikkhuṁ dūratova sambahulānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ piṭṭhito piṭṭhito āgacchantaṁ dubbaṇṇaṁ duddasikaṁ okoṭimakaṁ yebhuyyena bhikkhūnaṁ paribhūtarūpan”ti?“Mendicants, do you see this monk coming—ugly, unsightly, deformed, and despised by most of the mendicants?”3.2“Evaṁ, bhante”ti.“Yes, sir.”

4.1“Eso, bhikkhave, bhikkhu mahiddhiko mahānubhāvo. Na ca sā samāpatti sulabharūpā yā tena bhikkhunā asamāpannapubbā.“That mendicant is very mighty and powerful. It’s not easy to find an attainment that he has not already attained.4.2Yassa catthāya kulaputtā sammadeva agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajanti, tadanuttaraṁ—brahmacariyapariyosānaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharatī”ti.And he has realized the supreme culmination of the spiritual path in this very life. He lives having achieved with his own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness.”

5.1Atha kho bhagavā etamatthaṁ viditvā tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ udānaṁ udānesi:Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment:

6.1“Nelaṅgo setapacchādo,∥“With faultless parts and white canopy,6.2ekāro vattatī ratho;the one-spoked chariot rolls on.6.3Anīghaṁ passa āyantaṁ,See it come, untroubled,6.4chinnasotaṁ abandhanan”ti.with stream cut, unbound.”

6.5Pañcamaṁ.