Prātimokṣa verses of the seven buddhas

Niya, Kharoṣṭhī ∙ CKD 510

BML edition (version 1, June 2026)

Based on Boyer et al. 1920–29, Lin 1995, and Baums 2015 (gandhari.org). Chāyā and translation represent the Central Asian Sarvāstivāda version (Schmidt 1989: 73–74) and are taken from Salomon 2023: 316–317.

Images: IDP

§ 1

v. 1 ⟨vivaśi⟩ r1 kṣ̄āmti paramo tavo dilikṣ̄a ◊
nirvanaṃ paramo vataṃti budha ◊
na ya parvaïda[e] parogāti ◊
śramaṃno hoati paropiṃtsāṃmanā 1 ◊

v. 1 kṣāntiḥ paramaṃ tapas tapas titikṣā
nirvāṇaṃ paramaṃ vadanti buddhāḥ |
na hi pravrajitaḥ paropatāpī
śramaṇo bhavati parān viheṭhayānaḥ || 1

v. 1(Vipaśyin): Patience is the highest asceticism; forbearance is asceticism; the Buddhas say that nirvāṇa is supreme. For one who troubles others is not a [true] renunciant, [nor] is one who harms others a monk.

v. 2 śikhi cakṣ̄uva viṣamaṃ tritvā ◊
vijamāna parakrama {{o ta}}r2{{[va]}} ◊
paṃḍito jivalog̱[e] tu
pāpāni parivraciya 2 ◊

v. 2 cakṣuṣmān viṣamānīva
vidyamāne parākrame |
paṇḍito jīvaloke ’smin
pāpāni parivarjayet || 2

v. 2Sikhin: As a man with eyes to see would avoid obstacles as far as he has the power [to do so, so] would a wise man avoid evils in this world of the living.

v. 3 ⟨veṣaü⟩ anovati aṃño namadi aṃnovagati
pratimokhe sa[vaṃ]ra
mādraṃñayia e bhutasya
paṃda stanasaṃno
r3 ajacide ayu(e)
eta budhana śaśana 3 ◊

v. 3 nopavādī nopaghātī
prātimokṣe ca saṃvaraḥ |
mātrajñatā ca bhakteṣu
prāntaṃ ca śayanāsanam |
adhicitte samāyoga
etad buddhasya śāsanam || 3

v. 3(Viśvabhū): Not speaking ill, not hurting, and control in the prātimokṣa; moderation in meals and a remote place to sleep and sit; [and] dedication to meditation: this is the Buddha’s teaching.

v. 4 arhaṃte kakrots[a]ṃtiyacanaya [yatha avi] bhrav̱aṃro ◊ puṣpu
varnagaṃdha aheḍi[a] ◊
paredi rasaṃ ātaya ◊
ema grame muni car4re ◊
na paleṣu vilomaya
na pareṣu kritakrita ◊
atvano saṃmekṣ̄i[a]
samani vi[ṣa]mani i 4 ◊

v. 4 yathāpi bhramaraḥ puṣpād
varṇagandhau aheṭhayan
paraiti rasam ādāya
tathā grāmāṃ [sic] muniś caret || 4
na pareṣāṃ vilomāni
na pareṣāṃ kṛtākṛtam |
ātmanas tu samīkṣeta
samāni viṣamāni ca || 5

v. 4Krakucchanda: As the bee takes nectar from a flower without harming its beauty or fragrance and [then] goes on its way, so should a sage depart from a village. Not what has been done wrongly done by others, nor what others have done or not done, but rather one’s own rights and wrongs are what one should one ponder.

v. 5 budhasya konag̱amunisya ajacetas̱a a[pra]mājag̱a
r5 muṃnina muni{na}pradeśa śikṣ̄atu ◊
śivaṃ bhavaṃti datino
[va]pa[śa]ta⟨sa⟩ saṃta saṃtima[leya] 4 1

v. 5 adhicetasi mā pramādyata
pratataṃ maunapadeṣu śikṣata |
śokā na bhavati tāyino hy
upaśāntasya sadā smṛtātmanaḥ || 6

v. 5Buddha Kanakamuni: Don’t be careless in meditation; steadily practice in the words of silence. For such a holy one, calmed and ever mindful, there are no sorrows.

v. 6 ⟨kaśava⟩ v1 sarvisya papasya akriśa [ti]śa ◊
śilasya vasaṃpata[naṃ]
[sva]citaparyavatana
eṣa budhana śasaṃna 4 1 1

v. 6 sarvapāpasyākaraṇaṃ
kuśalasyopasaṃpadaḥ |
svacittaparyavada[sic]nam
etad buddhasya śāsanam || 7

v. 6(Kāśyapa): Not doing any evil, accruing good karma, purification of one’s own mind: this is the Buddha’s teaching.

v. 7 ⟨godama⟩ v2 … v3 … ya budha jina … v4 … h1 … h2 … jivalo tu papana pariva

v. 7 kāyena saṃvaraḥ sādhu
sādhu vācā ca saṃvaraḥ |
manasā saṃvaraḥ sādhu
sādhu sarvatra saṃvaraḥ |
sarvatra saṃvṛto bhikṣuḥ
sarvaduḥkhāt pramucyate || 8
^{ⓝTwo more verses here (see Salomon 2023: 317).Click to pin}

v. 7(Śākyamuni): Control of the body is good; good is control of speech. Control of the mind is good; good is control in everything. A monk who is controlled in everything is freed from all suffering. Guarded in speech, well controlled in mind and body, one would not create bad karma. Purifying this happy course of action, one can attain the path proclaimed by the sage. When abused one should not abuse (in return); when struck, one should not strike (back). In hostile situations one should be without hostility, and toward evil persons one should always be gentle. One should not do himself what is criticized in others.