At Sāvatthi.
Then the brahmin |Jaṭā::with dreadlocks, matted hair [jaṭā]| Bhāradvāja approached the Blessed One. Having drawn near, he exchanged friendly greetings with the Blessed One.
After having engaged in courteous and polite conversation, he sat to one side. Seated to one side, the brahmin Jaṭā Bhāradvāja addressed the Blessed One in verse:
“Entangled within, entangled outside,
this generation is knotted in entanglements;
I ask you this, O Gotama,
who can |disentangle::unravel [vijaṭayati]| this knot?”
[The Blessed One]: “He who is grounded in |virtue::moral conduct, ethical behavior [sīla]| and |wise::intelligent, discerning [sapañña]|,
cultivating the [higher] mind and wisdom;
A |discerning::astute, wise [nipaka]| bhikkhu |with continuous effort::ardent, zealous, with energy, with application [ātāpī]|,
he will disentangle this knot.
In whom |passion::intense desire, strong emotion, infatuation, obsession, lust [rāga]| and |aversion::ill will, hatred, hostility, mental attitude of rejection, fault-finding, resentful disapproval [dosa]|,
and |ignorance::fundamental unawareness or misunderstanding of the true nature of reality, not experientially understanding the four noble truths [avijjā]| have been |cleansed::purified, caused to fade away [virājita]|;
|Whose mental defilements have ended::who is awakened through the complete exhaustion of the mental effluents, taints [khīṇāsava]|, an |Arahant::a worthy one, an epithet of a fully awakened being [arahant]|,
for them, the knot is disentangled.
Where |name and form::mentality and materiality—the integrated structure of mental capacities (intention, attention, contact, feeling, perception) and physical form that together constitute and sustain an individual being [nāmarūpa]|,
completely cease without remainder;
Where |sense impingement::sense impression, impact, aversion, repulsion, resistance [paṭigha]| and |concept of form::perception of matter, existence in the realm of form [rūpasaññā]| ceases,
there the knot is disentangled.”
When this was said, the brahmin Jaṭā Bhāradvāja said to the Blessed One: “Excellent, venerable Gotama! Excellent, venerable Gotama! Just as if one might set upright what had been overturned, |reveal::uncover [vivarati]| what had been concealed, point out the way to one who was lost, or hold up a lamp in the dark so that those with eyes could see forms, in the same way, venerable Gotama, the Dhamma has been |explained::illustrated [pakāsita]| by you in many ways. I go for refuge to the Blessed One Gotama, to the Dhamma, and to the |Saṅgha::The community of monks and nuns practicing in line with the Buddha’s teachings. In the broader sense, this is the community of disciples who have realized the noble path and fruition through the Buddha’s teachings [saṅgha]| of bhikkhus. May I receive the going forth in the presence of the Blessed One Gotama, may I receive the full ordination.”
The brahmin Jaṭā Bhāradvāja received the going forth in the presence of the Blessed One, he received the full ordination. Having recently received full ordination, the venerable Jaṭā Bhāradvāja, dwelling alone, secluded, diligent, with continuous effort, and resolutely, soon realized with direct knowledge, in this very life, the unsurpassed culmination of the spiritual life, for the purpose of which sons of good families rightly go forth from the household life to the homeless life, and having personally attained it, he dwelled in it.
He understood: “Birth is ended, the spiritual life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.” And the venerable Jaṭā Bhāradvāja became one among the |arahants::fully awakened ones, free from all mental defilements; worthy of offerings and veneration; also an epithet of the Buddha [arahant]|.