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Vipassī, monks, the Blessed One, Arahant, Perfectly Self-Awakened One, became fully awakened at the foot of a Pāṭalī tree. Vipassī, monks, the Blessed One, Arahant, Perfectly Self-Awakened One, had a pair of chief disciples named Khaṇḍa and Tissa, an excellent pair. Vipassī, monks, the Blessed One, Arahant, Perfectly Self-Awakened One, had three assemblies of disciples. One assembly of disciples was sixty-eight hundred thousand monks, one assembly of disciples was one hundred thousand monks, one assembly of disciples was eighty thousand monks. These three assemblies of disciples of Vipassī, monks, the Blessed One, Arahant, Perfectly Self-Awakened One, were all those whose taints were destroyed. Vipassī, monks, the Blessed One, Arahant, Perfectly Self-Awakened One, had a monk named Asoka as his attendant, his chief attendant. Vipassī, monks, the Blessed One, Arahant, Perfectly Self-Awakened One, had a king named Bandhumā was his father. Queen Bandhumatī was his mother, his genetrix. Bandhumatī was the capital city of King Bandhuma. The Natural Order of a Bodhisatta 17. ‘‘Then, bhikkhus, the Bodhisatta Vipassī, having passed away from the Tusita realm, mindful and fully aware, entered his mother’s womb. This is the natural order in this case. 18. ‘‘This is the natural order, bhikkhus, when the Bodhisatta, having passed away from the Tusita realm, enters his mother’s womb. Then, in the world with its devas, its Māras, its Brahmās, with its ascetics and brahmins, its devas and humans, an immeasurable, splendid radiance appears, surpassing the divine power of the devas. Even in those inter-world spaces, the abysses, the uncovered, darkness upon darkness, where even these moon and sun, so mighty, so powerful, cannot shine with their light, even there an immeasurable, splendid radiance appears, surpassing the divine power of the devas. And even the beings born there, they recognize each other by that radiance – ‘Indeed, sirs, there are other beings born here!’ And this ten-thousandfold world system trembles, quakes, and shakes violently. And an immeasurable, splendid radiance appears in the world, surpassing the divine power of the devas. This is the natural order in this case. 19. ‘‘This is the natural order, bhikkhus, when the Bodhisatta has entered his mother’s womb, four devaputtas from the four directions come to guard him – ‘May no human or non-human, or anyone at all, harm the Bodhisatta or the Bodhisatta’s mother!’ This is the natural order in this case. 20. ‘‘This is the natural order, bhikkhus, when the Bodhisatta has entered his mother’s womb, the Bodhisatta’s mother is naturally virtuous, abstaining from taking life, abstaining from taking what is not given, abstaining from sexual misconduct, abstaining from false speech, abstaining from fermented and distilled liquors which are the basis of heedlessness. This is the natural order in this case. 21. ‘‘This is the natural order, bhikkhus, when the Bodhisatta has entered his mother’s womb, the Bodhisatta’s mother has no desire for men a mind arises connected with sense pleasures, and the mother of the Bodhisatta is not to be transgressed by any man whose mind is inflamed with passion. This is the natural law in this case. 22. "This is the natural law, bhikkhus, when the Bodhisatta has entered his mother's womb, the mother of the Bodhisatta is endowed with the five strands of sense pleasure. She, endowed and furnished with the five strands of sense pleasure, attends to them. This is the natural law in this case. 23. "This is the natural law, bhikkhus, when the Bodhisatta has entered his mother's womb, no ailment whatsoever arises for the mother of the Bodhisatta. The mother of the Bodhisatta is happy, her body unwearied, and the mother of the Bodhisatta sees the Bodhisatta within her womb, complete with all limbs and minor parts, with unblemished faculties. Just as, bhikkhus, a beryl gem, beautiful, of good origin, eight-faceted, well-polished, clear, transparent, unclouded, perfect in all aspects. And in it a thread is strung, blue or yellow or red or white or pale. A sharp-eyed man, holding it in his hand, would examine it: 'This beryl gem is beautiful, of good origin, eight-faceted, well-polished, clear, transparent, unclouded, perfect in all aspects. And in it this thread is strung, blue or yellow or red or white or pale.' Even so, bhikkhus, when the Bodhisatta has entered his mother's womb, no ailment whatsoever arises for the mother of the Bodhisatta. The mother of the Bodhisatta is happy, her body unwearied, and the mother of the Bodhisatta sees the Bodhisatta within her womb, complete with all limbs and minor parts, with unblemished faculties. This is the natural law in this case. 24. "This is the natural law, bhikkhus, seven days after the Bodhisatta is born, the mother of the Bodhisatta passes away and is reborn in the Tusita realm. This is the natural law in this case. 25. "This is the natural law, bhikkhus, just as other women carry a foetus in their womb for nine or ten months and then give birth, not so does the mother of the Bodhisatta give birth to the Bodhisatta. The Bodhisatta's mother carries him for ten months. The Bodhisatta's mother carries him in her womb and gives birth. This is the nature of things. 26. This is the nature of things, monks: Just as other women give birth sitting or lying down, not so does the Bodhisatta's mother give birth to the Bodhisatta. Standing, the Bodhisatta's mother gives birth to the Bodhisatta. This is the nature of things. 27. This is the nature of things, monks: When the Bodhisatta emerges from his mother's womb, gods first receive him, afterwards humans. This is the nature of things. 28. This is the nature of things, monks: When the Bodhisatta emerges from his mother's womb, before the Bodhisatta reaches the earth, four divine sons receive him and place him before his mother, saying: 'Be joyful, queen; a son of great power has been born to you.' This is the nature of things. 29. This is the nature of things, monks: When the Bodhisatta emerges from his mother's womb, he emerges pure, unsoiled by water, unsoiled by phlegm, unsoiled by blood, unsoiled by any impurity, pure, clean. Just as, monks, a jewel placed on Kasi cloth, neither does the jewel soil the Kasi cloth, nor does the Kasi cloth soil the jewel. For what reason? Because both are pure. Even so, monks, when the Bodhisatta emerges from his mother's womb, he emerges pure, unsoiled, unsoiled by water, unsoiled by phlegm, unsoiled by blood, unsoiled by any impurity, pure, clean. This is the nature of things. 30. This is the nature of things, monks: When the Bodhisatta emerges from his mother's womb, two streams of water appear from the sky— one cold, one warm— with which they perform the water ritual for the Bodhisatta and his mother. This is the nature of things. 31. This is the nature of things, monks: The newly born Bodhisatta stands firmly on his feet, facing north. He walks with seven strides, with a white parasol held over him, and he looks in all directions. He utters the bull-like speech: ‘I am the chief of the world, I am the eldest of the world, I am the foremost of the world. This is my last birth, there is no more rebirth now.’ This is the custom in this case. 32. ‘‘This is the custom, monks: When the Bodhisatta emerges from his mother’s womb, then in the world with its devas, with its Māras, with its Brahmās, with its recluses and brahmins, with its devas and humans, an immeasurable, splendid radiance appears, surpassing the divine power of the devas. Even in those inter-worldly spaces, the abysses, the uncovered, the dark, the pitch-dark gloom, where these moons and suns, so mighty, so powerful, do not shine with their light, even there an immeasurable, splendid radiance appears, surpassing the divine power of the devas. And even the beings born there, they recognize each other by that radiance: ‘Indeed, sirs, there are other beings born here!’ And this ten-thousandfold world system trembles, quakes, and violently shakes, and an immeasurable, splendid radiance appears in the world, surpassing the divine power of the devas. This is the custom in this case. The Thirty-Two Marks of a Great Man 33. ‘‘Now, monks, when Prince Vipassī was born, they reported to King Bandhumā: ‘Your son, O King, is born; may the King see him.’ Then, monks, King Bandhumā saw Prince Vipassī. Having seen him, he summoned the brahmin diviners and said to them: ‘Sirs, brahmin diviners, see the prince.’ Then, monks, the brahmin diviners saw Prince Vipassī. Having seen him, they said to King Bandhumā: ‘Be delighted, O King, a son of great power has been born to you. It is a gain for you, great king, it is well obtained for you, great king, that such a son has been born in your family. For this prince, O King, is endowed with the thirty-two marks of a great man. With which endowed, for a great man, two destinies there are, no other. If he dwells in a home, he becomes a Wheel-turning king, righteous, a king of righteousness, conqueror of the four quarters, having attained stability in the country, endowed with the seven treasures. These seven treasures are his: namely, the wheel treasure, the elephant treasure, the horse treasure, the gem treasure, the woman treasure, the householder treasure, and the leader treasure, the seventh. Moreover, he has more than a thousand sons, brave, heroic in form, crushers of enemy armies. He, this earth, bounded by the ocean, conquers without rod, without weapon, by righteousness, and dwells therein. But if he goes forth from home to homelessness, he becomes an Arahant, a Fully Self-Awakened One, one who has removed the veil from the world. 34. "By which, O king, is this prince endowed with the thirty-two marks of a great man, with which endowed, for a great man, two destinies there are, no other. If he dwells in a home, he becomes a Wheel-turning king, righteous, a king of righteousness,