Pathurahosi Buddha Jayanthi Lyrics by Amaradeva

The Buddha Jayanthi has appeared,
the time of the Dhamma has arisen

“Rise up, sit up, uphold the Dhamma;
strive on, go forth, walk the path” (Pali)

The noble truth, the Dhamma, wisdom,
the light has arisen,
the Buddha Jayanthi has appeared,
the time of the Dhamma has arisen

“Fulfil always the perfections of enlightenment;
practise well the highest way” (Pali)

In the trembling wind, in the dense of the trees,
in hanging, graceful play,
the array of leaf-buds and blossoms sings
an after-song of “Buddha, Buddha”

The Buddha Jayanthi has appeared,
the time of the Dhamma has arisen

A stately devotional classic celebrating the Buddha Jayanthi, the great anniversary of the Buddha, sung by the maestro Amaradeva. Its refrain rings out the good news like a proclamation: the Buddha Jayanthi has appeared, the time of the Dhamma has arisen. A new age of the teaching has dawned upon the world.

Woven through it are lines of canonical Pali, calls to practice. Rise up, sit up, uphold the Dhamma; strive on, go forth, walk the path, and fulfil always the perfections of enlightenment; practise well the highest way. The song frames the Jayanthi not just as a celebration but as a summons, to get up and live the teaching. And it names what has come into the world: the noble truth, the Dhamma, wisdom, the light has arisen.

The close lets all of nature join the celebration. In the trembling wind, in the dense of the trees, swaying in graceful play, the array of leaf-buds and blossoms sings an after-song of Buddha, Buddha. Even the leaves and flowers take up the chant. Sung by W. D. Amaradeva to words by Shri Chandraratna Manawasinghe, it is a serene, reverent classic in which the whole earth, and its very trees and flowers, rejoices that the age of the Buddha and his Dhamma has dawned.