Verses of the Senior Nuns 4.1

The Book of the Fours

Bhaddā Daughter of Kapila

Kassapa is the son and heir of the Buddha,

whose mind is immersed in samādhi.

He who knows his past lives,

sees heaven and places of loss,

and has attained the end of rebirth:

is a sage of perfect insight.

It’s because of these three knowledges

that the brahmin is a master of the three knowledges.

In exactly the same way, Bhaddā daughter of Kapila

is master of the three knowledges, conqueror of death.

She bears her final body,

having vanquished Māra with his legions.

Seeing the danger of the world,

both of us went forth.

Now we are tamed, our defilements have ended;

we’ve become cooled and quenched.