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Soḷasavassakāle tattha mahāsampattiyā parihariyamāno anukkamena bhadrayobbanaṃ patvā tiṇṇaṃ utūnaṃ anucchavikesu tīsu pāsādesu devalokasiriṃ viya rajjasiriṃ anubhavanto uyyānakīḷāya gamanasamaye anukkamena jiṇṇabyādhimatasaṅkhāte tayo devadūte disvā sañjātasaṃvego nivattitvā catutthavāre pabbajitaṃ disvā, "sādhu pabbajjā"ti pabbajjāya ruciṃ uppādetvā uyyānaṃ gantvā tattha divasaṃ khepetvā maṅgalapokkharaṇītīre nisinno kappakavesaṃ gahetvā āgatena vissakammena devaputtena alaṅkatapaṭiyatto rāhulakumārassa jātasāsanaṃ sutvā puttasinehassa balavabhāvaṃ ñatvā, "yāva idaṃ bandhanaṃ na vaḍḍhati, tāvadeva naṃ chindissāmī"ti cintetvā sāyaṃ nagaraṃ pavisanto –
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In this royal household he was brought up amid great splendor and in the course of time attained auspicious youth. He spent his youth in three mansions appropriate to the three seasons of the year, enjoying splendor and majesty of sovereignty comparable [28.195] to the splendor of the World of the Gods. In the course of time it came to pass that, as he proceeded on three successive days to the garden to amuse himself, he beheld the Three Heavenly Messengers; namely, a man worn out by old age, a man afflicted with disease, and a dead man. On each of the three days he returned to his palace, overcome with emotion.
On the fourth day he beheld a man who had retired from the world and adopted the life of a monk. “It were well for me to retire from the world and adopt the life of a monk,” said he, conceiving a desire for the religious life; and with this thought in mind, he proceeded to the garden and spent the entire day sitting on the bank of the royal pool. While he sat there, the god Vissakamma approached him, disguised as a barber, and dressed him in rich apparel and adorned him with all manner of adornments. There also he received the message that a son had been born to him, Prince Rāhula; and realizing the strength of affection for a son, he reflected, “I must straightway break this bond, lest it become too strong for me.” In the evening, as he entered the city, Kisā Gotamī, daughter of his father’s sister, pronounced the following Stanza,
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