Origin story

At one time the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery. At that time the bad and shameless monks Assaji and Punabbasuka were staying at Kīṭāgiri. They engaged in these kinds of improper behavior:

They planted flowering trees, watered and plucked them, and then tied the flowers together. They made the flowers into garlands, garlands with stalks on one side and garlands with stalks on both sides. They made flower arrangements, wreaths, ornaments for the head, ornaments for the ears, and ornaments for the chest. And they had others do the same. They then took these things, or sent them, to the women, the daughters, the girls, the daughter-in-laws, and the female slaves of good families.

They ate from the same plates as these women and drank from the same vessels. They sat on the same seats as them, and they lay down on the same beds, the same mats, the same blankets, the same mats and blankets. They ate at the wrong time, drank alcohol, and used garlands, perfumes, and cosmetics. They danced, sang, played instruments, and performed. While the women were dancing, singing, playing instruments, and performing, so would they.

They played various games: board games with eight or ten rows, imaginary board games, hopscotch, spillikins, dice games, tip-cat, painting-with-the-hand games, ball games, toy-plipe games, toy-plow games, turning somersaults, toy-windmill games, toy-measure games, toy-chariot games, toy-bow games, letter-guessing games, thought-guessing games, games of mimicking deformities.

They trained in elephant riding, in horsemanship, in carriage riding, in archery, in swordsmanship.