Purohitaputtajentattheragāthā

Theragāthā 6.9

Verses of the Senior Monks 6.9

Chakkanipāta

The Book of the Sixes

Paṭhamavagga

Chapter One

Purohitaputtajentattheragāthā

Jenta, the High Priest’s Son

“Jātimadena mattohaṁ,

I was drunk with the pride of birth

bhogaissariyena ca;

and wealth and authority.

Saṇṭhānavaṇṇarūpena,

I wandered about intoxicated

madamatto acārihaṁ.

with my own gorgeous body.

Nāttano samakaṁ kañci,

No one was my equal or my better—

atirekaṁ ca maññisaṁ;

or so I thought.

Atimānahato bālo,

I was such an arrogant fool,

patthaddho ussitaddhajo.

stuck up, waving my own flag.

Mātaraṁ pitarañcāpi,

I never paid homage to anyone:

aññepi garusammate;

not even my mother or father,

Na kañci abhivādesiṁ,

nor others esteemed as respectable.

mānatthaddho anādaro.

I was stiff with pride, lacking regard for others.

Disvā vināyakaṁ aggaṁ,

When I saw the foremost leader,

sārathīnaṁ varuttamaṁ;

the most excellent of charioteers,

Tapantamiva ādiccaṁ,

shining like the sun

bhikkhusaṅghapurakkhataṁ.

at the fore of the mendicant Saṅgha,

Mānaṁ madañca chaḍḍetvā,

I discarded conceit and vanity,

vippasannena cetasā;

and, with a clear and confident heart,

Sirasā abhivādesiṁ,

I bowed down with my head

sabbasattānamuttamaṁ.

to the supreme among all beings.

Atimāno ca omāno,

The conceit of superiority
and the conceit of inferiority

pahīnā susamūhatā;

have been given up and eradicated.

Asmimāno samucchinno,

The conceit “I am” is cut off,

sabbe mānavidhā hatā”ti.

and every kind of conceit is destroyed.

… Jento purohitaputto thero ….