Anagata-vamsa

The Anagata-vamsa (“Chronicle of Future Buddhas”) is a post-canonical Pali text (c. 12th century CE) describing the future Buddha Metteyya and the cosmic conditions of his age - a direct Theravada complement to the Sanskrit Maitreya prophecy texts.

Content

The text describes:

• The signs of the age of Metteyya: the earth becomes flat and level, humans live 80,000 years, cities are close together, trees bear fruit, grain is abundant
• Metteyya’s birth into a brahmin family, renunciation, and enlightenment under the Nagapushpa tree
• His first assembly: 84,000 monks; second: 84,000; third: 84,000
• The qualities required to be present at Metteyya’s arising
• The decline of the Dhamma before Metteyya’s age

Relationship to Other Maitreya Texts

The Anagata-vamsa tradition is closely related to:

• DN 26 - canonical Pali parallel (CC0, full text here)
• Arya-Maitreya-vyakarana - Sanskrit parallel (108 verses)
• Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198) - Tibetan canon parallel

Sources

Pali text: J. Minayeff (ed.), Journal of the Pali Text Society 1886 II, pp. 33-53. Public domain. Available at PTS and archive.org.

English translations:

• Minayeff 1886 provides Pali text with English scholarly notes (not a verse translation). Public domain.
• B.C. Law 1952 (Calcutta Oriental Press) - under copyright.
• Pali Text Society critical edition (modern) - copyrighted.

No complete open-license English prose translation is currently available.