Maya Deviya Lyrics by Sanuka Wickramasinghe

Water-lily maidens awaken and dance,
bathed in the light of the moon,
this is the day of the Vesak full moon,
its glory spreading in all ten directions //

Queen Maya, to see her parents,
travelling on the way amid her retinue,
to behold the beauty of the Lumbini sal-grove,
a longing arose in her, by the power of merit

Dawn comes rising up,
parrots and cuckoos calling out //
peacocks and bees dance together,
overflowing, overflowing with joy //

Queen Maya..

The glory of flowers, the glory of Vesak,
spread boundlessly across the ten directions //
the three worlds lit up as one,
that glory spread by merit //

On the full-moon Vesak day, in the sal grove,
at the foot of a sal tree, most noble,
a merit-laden, blessed son was born,
and rose up onto seven lotuses //

I am the foremost in the world,
I am the eldest in the world,
I am the best in the world,
this is my final birth; now there is no more rebirth

This is a devotional song retelling the birth of Prince Siddhartha, the Buddha-to-be, part of Sanuka’s Windy album that narrates the Buddha’s life. It opens on Vesak, the sacred full-moon day: water-lilies open and seem to dance in the moonlight, and the day’s glory spreads in every direction. The whole natural world is shown celebrating.

It then follows Queen Maya on her journey. Travelling with her retinue to visit her parents, a longing arises in her, by the power of merit, to stop and see the beauty of the sal-grove at Lumbini. Dawn breaks with parrots and cuckoos calling and peacocks and bees dancing in joy, the earth itself rejoicing at what is about to happen.

The climax is the birth. On the Vesak full moon, at the foot of a sal tree in the grove, a merit-laden, blessed son is born and steps onto seven lotus flowers, the traditional miracle of the newborn Bodhisatta’s first steps. The song closes with the Pali words tradition gives the newborn: aggo hamasmi lokassa, I am the foremost, the eldest, the best in the world; this is my final birth, and there will be no more rebirth. Sung by Sanuka to words by Daya Wickramasinghe, it is a reverent, joyful telling of the Buddha’s birth, meant to be felt as sacred celebration rather than personal drama.