THE GREAT CHRONICLE OF BUDDHAS
474
extraordinary person! The soles of His feet are ruby-red and distinguished by
the characteristic marks; noble characteristic marks adorn the slender heels
and His pair of feet bear impressions of white umbrellas and golden yellow
yak-fans. That exalted reverential person receiving alms, surrounded by
twenty thousand
arahats
, like the full moon amidst stars and planets, was
your father when He was a layman.
3) SakyakumÈravaro sukhumÈlo
lakkhanacittikapunnasarÊro
lokahitÈtya gato naravÊro
esa hi tuyha pitÈ narasÊho
My bosom son, RÈhula, He is a gentle noble prince, a descendant of the
unbroken, peerless Sakya lineage, one who has a full handsome body with
noble major and minor characteristic marks; one who has been born into this
world for the welfare of the three spheres of existence, one whose industry
excels that of all others, an extraordinary person and noblest of men. That
exalted reverential person, receiving alms in the company of twenty thousand
arahats
, like the full moon amidst stars and planets, was your father when He
was a layman.
4) Œyatayuttasuta saÓÉdhitasoto
gopakhumo abhinÊlasunetto
IndadhanuabhinÊlabhamuko
esa hi tuyha pitÈ narasÊho
My sweet son, RÈhula, possessing a pair of handsome ears of proportionate
size, soft eye-lashes like that of a new-born calf, a pair of eyes dark like the
onyx, and dark brown eyebrows shaped like the curve of Sakka's bow. That
exalted reverential person, receiving alms in the company of twenty thousand
arahats
, like the full moon amidst stars and planets, was your father when He
was a layman.
5) Punnasasa~kanibho mukhavanno
devanarÈna piyo naranÈgo
mattagajindavilÈsitagÈmi
esa hi tuyha pitÈ narasÊho.
My darling RÈhula, the serene face of that exalted
bhikkhu
resembles a moon
in full bloom on the fifteenth day (of the month), who is worthy of deep
veneration and true affection by all beings in the three worlds of devas,
humans and BrahmÈs, who may be likened to a great and powerful bull
elephant with the elegant gait of an elephant king in must. That exalted
reverential person, receiving alms in the company of twenty thousand
arahats
, like the full moon amidst stars and planets, was your father when He
was a layman.
6) SiniddhagambhÊramaÒj|sagoso
hi~gulabandhukaratthasujiwho
vÊsati vÊsati setasundanto
esa hi tuyha pitÈ narasÊho.
My darling, dear RÈhula, one with a voice, deep, harmonious and
exceedingly sweet, a tongue vermillion-red like the colour of the Rosa
Sinensis, two rows of clean white teeth, each consisting of twenty, the
noblest of men and an extraordinary person. That exalted reverential person,
receiving alms in the company of twenty thousand
arahats
, like the full