First cousin of the Buddha and one of his most eminent disciples. He was the son of the Sākyan Amitodana and brother of Mahānāma. When members of other Sākyan families had joined the Order of their di …

AjātasattuVedehiputta

Son of Bimbisāra, King of Māgadha, and therefore half-brother to Abhayarājakumāra. He murdered his father to gain the throne, and conspired with Devadatta to kill the Buddha, b …

BuddhaBhagavāTathāgataSiddhatthaGotamaSugataSatthā

The Awakened one, the founder and teacher of the Buddha-dhamma. His personal name was Siddhattha Gotama, and he was a Khattiya of the Sakiyan clan. …

A monk, a close relative of the Buddha, who split the Sangha, and attempted to overthrow the Buddha and have him murdered. In one passage in the Vinaya, Vin.ii.189 Devadatta is spoken of as Godhiputta …

A banker (seṭṭhi) of Sāvatthī who became famous because of his unparalleled generosity to the Buddha. His first meeting with the Buddha was during the first year after the Enlightenment, in Rājagaha …

Channa¹

A Wanderer, classed among those who wore clothes. He is only mentioned once, in the Aṅguttara Nikāya, AN.iii.215 where we are told that he visited Ānanda at Sāvatthī and asked him …

A brahmin. He was at Kusinārā at the time of the Buddha’s death, and it was his intervention which prevented a quarrel among the kings who assembled there to claim the Buddha’s relics. He pointed out …

Cunda¹

A worker in metals living in Pāvā. When the Buddha reached Pāvā on his way to Kusinārā, he stayed in Cunda’s Mango grove. There Cunda visited him and invited him and the monks to a …

He lived at Suṃsumāragiri in the Bhagga country and built a palace called Kokanada. When the palace was completed, the Buddha was staying at Bhesakalāvana near by, and Bodhi sent a message by Sañjikāp …

AmbaṭṭhaAmbaṭṭhamāṇava

A brahmin youth of the Ambaṭṭha clan who lived with his teacher, Pokkharasādi, at Ukkaṭṭha. He was learned in the three Vedas and the correlated branches of knowledge, includin …

One of the four great monarchies in the time of the Buddha, the other three being Māgadha, Kosala and Vaṃsa (or Vatsa). Avanti is also mentioned among the sixteen Great Nations. AN.i.213 AN.iv.252 AN. …

Bāhiya¹Dārucīriya

As an ascetic, he came himself to believe that he had attained arahantship, but a devatā, reading his thoughts and wishing him well, pointed out to him his error and ad …

Abhaya ¹

A monk whose verse concerning the bewildering effects of beautiful sights is in the Theragāthā. Thag.98

Abhaya²Abhayarājakumāra

The son of King Bimbisāra and of Padum …

Bhāradvāja¹

A monk whose Theragāthā verses speak of the heroic roar of the conquerors. Thag.177–178

Bhāradvāja²

He was the eldest of a clan of Bhāradvājas living in Rājagaha a …

A village in the Māgadha country, three gāvuta from Rājagaha. Between it and Rājagaha is the river Sappinī, which rises in the Gijjhakūṭa. Vin.i.109 Once the Buddha went from Benares to Andhakavinda w …

In the time of Kassapa Buddha he was a potter of Vehaliṅga, looking after his blind parents. He was a very pious and devoted follower of the Buddha, ministering to him better than anyone else, and the …

Assaji¹

The fifth of the Pañcavaggiyā monks. When the Buddha preached the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, he was the last in whom dawned the eye of Truth, and the Buddha had to discourse to h …

A brahmin foremost in Mithilā in his knowledge of the Vedas.

On hearing of the Buddha at the age of one hundred and twenty, he sent his pupil Uttara to discover if the Buddha had on his body the mark …

BimbisāraSeniya

King of Māgadha and patron of the Buddha.

According to the Pabbajā Sutta Snp.405ff. the first meeting between the Buddha and Bimbisāra took place in Rājagaha under the Paṇḍavapabba …

A banyan tree in Uruvelā, on the banks of the Nerañjara, near the Bodhi tree. A week after the Enlightenment the Buddha went there and spent a week cross-legged at the foot of the tree. There he met …

Citta¹

A householder of Macchikāsaṇḍa, where he was Treasurer. He was later declared by the Buddha to be pre-eminent among laymen who preached the Doctrine. AN.i.26

When Mahānāma visited …

A wanderer. He visited the Buddha at Sūkarakhatalena and the Buddha preached to him the Dīghanakha Sutta, at the end of which he became a sotāpanna. In the sutta he is addressed as Aggivessana. MN.i.497f.

Bhaddiya¹

An anāgāmī, one of seven persons who became arahants as soon as they were born in Avihā. SN.i.35 SN.i.60

Bhaddiya²Kāligodhāputta

Chief among monks of aristocratic …

Ajita¹

A monk. He devoted his time to explaining the Pātimokkha rules to the monks. At the time of the Second Council he was a monk of ten years’ standing and was appointed to assign seats …

A wealthy burgess of Sāvatthī who died intestate. In the Saṃyutta Nikāya SN.i.89–91 we find Pasenadi, King of Kosala, visiting the Buddha at noonday and telling him that he had just finished having th …

Gopaka²

A monk. He once stayed at the Kukkuṭārāma in Pāṭaliputta, where he was given a set of robes. Vin.i.300

Gopaka³

A deva. A series of verses attributed to Gopaka are give …

BakkulaBākulaVakkula

At the age of eighty, Bakkula heard the Buddha preach and left the world. For seven days he remained unenlightened, but on the dawn of the eighth day he became an arahant. Later, …

An eminent arahant, declared chief among monks skilled in creating forms by mind-power and in mental “evolution” (cetovivaṭṭa). AN.i.23

His Theragathā verses speak of how slow his progress was in …

A brahmin, probably of Pāṭaliputta. On coming to visit Benares, he saw Udena there in Khemiyambavana and had a conversation with him, recorded in the Ghoṭamukha Sutta. At the conclusion of the talk he …

When the Buddha, at Jetavana, laid down the rule that monks should eat one meal a day and that in the morning, Bhaddāli protested and refused to keep this rule because he said that, in so eating, he w …

Dhaniya¹Dhanika

A herdsman living on the bank of the river Mahī. One day, while he was in this house, having finished his preparations for the approach of the rains, he sat meditating on h …

Acelakassapa¹AcelaKassapa

A naked ascetic. He visited the Buddha at Ujuññā in the Kaṇṇa-katthala deer-park and asked him if it were true that he disparaged all penance and reviled asceti …

AjitakesakambalaKesakambalaAjita

Head of one of the six heretical sects mentioned in the Pitakas as being contemporaneous with the Buddha. He is described as a Titthaka (non-Buddhist teacher), leade …

An arahant, preceptor of Ānanda. He was once afflicted with scurvy and his robes clung to him. The monks thereupon applied water to the robes, but when the Buddha heard of it he made a rule allowing n …

A brahmin ascetic who went from Sāvatthī to Dakkhiṇāpatha and lived on the banks of the Godhāvarī in a hermitage which lay half in the territory of Assaka and half in that of Alaka.

He received the r …

Bhagu¹

A famous sage of old. Vin.i.245 DN.i.104 DN.i.238 DN.i.243 MN.ii.169 MN.ii.200 AN.iii.224 AN.iv.61

Bhagu²

He was born in a Sākiyan family, and having left the world wit …

A headman (gāmani). He came to the Buddha in the Pārileyyaka Mango Grove in Nāḷandā and asked him various questions, recorded in the Saṃyutta Nikāya. SN.iv.312ff. One of these related to the custo …

Ariṭṭha¹

A monk. He had been subjected by the Saṅgha to the ukkhepanīyakamma for refusal to renounce a sinful doctrine, namely, that the states of mind declared by the Buddha to be stumb …

He was ordained by Khadiravaniya. Thag.42

He is mentioned as living at the Kūṭāgārasālā, which place he left when the Licchavis caused disturbance by their visits to the Buddha. AN.v.133 In this cont …

AṅgulimālaAhiṃsakaGaggaMantāniputta

A robber and murderer who was converted by the Buddha in the twentieth year of his ministry, and who later became an arahant. MN86

As a result of his deeds whole …

AññātakoṇḍaññaKoṇḍañña

One of the five ascetics known as the Pañcavaggiyā. When, after the Enlightenment, the Buddha visited them at Isipatana and preached the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, Koṇḍañña w …

A young brahmin, sixteen years old, of Sāvatthī, very learned in the Vedas and allied subjects. Five hundred brahmins staying in the city asked him to hold a discussion with the Buddha and refute his …

An arahant. With the Buddha’s sanction, and wishing to be of service to the Order, he took upon himself the task of appointing night’s-lodgings to travelling monks and of directing them to meals. He …

A follower of Kassapa Buddha. Five hundred others were associated with him, and at first their spiritual life was poor. Gavesī, realising this, put forth effort and, step by step, attained greater pro …

A Brahmā. When the Buddha was once staying at Ukkaṭṭha in the Subhagavana, he read the thoughts of Baka, who had conceived the idea that this world was permanent and free from decay and death; and the …

A Nigaṇṭha, follower of Nāṭaputta. He once visited the Buddha at Nāḷandā, and there followed a discussion on actions and their efficiency. Dīghatapassī reported this discussion to Nāṭaputta and Upāli, …

A Licchavi chieftain. He was present at the discussion of the Nigaṇṭha Saccaka with the Buddha, and seeing Saccaka discomfited in the debate, Dummukha compared him to a crab pulled out of a pond and i …

A householder of Aṭṭhakanāgara. One day, having finished some business which took him to Pāṭaliputta, he visited the Kukkuṭārāma to call upon Ānanda. Learning that Ānanda was at Beluvagāma near Vesāli …

Candana¹

A deva, vassal of the Four Regent Gods. DN.ii.258 He is mentioned as one of the chief Yakkhas to be invoked by followers of the Buddha in case of need. DN.iii.204 He once visited …

King of Avanti in the time of the Buddha. His name was Pajjota, the sobriquet being added on account of his violent temper.

Once, when ill with jaundice, he asked Bimbisāra to lend him the services o …

Gaṇaka-Moggallāna

A brahmin teacher of Sāvatthī. He visited the Buddha at the Pubbārāma, and the Buddha preached to him the Gaṇaka-Moggallāna Sutta, after which, it is said, he became the Buddha’s …

Abhibhū¹

Chief disciple of Sikhī Buddha. DN.ii.9 In the Aruṇavatī Sutta it is said that he went with Sikhī to a Brahma-world and, at the Buddha’s request, preached a sermon to the accompa …

One of Bāvarī’s disciples; he was among those who visited the Buddha at Bāvarī’s request. Snp.p.194 The questions he asked of the Buddha on this occasion, and the answers given, are found in the Dhota …

A headman of Sāvatthī. He came to see the Buddha at Jetavana and asked him why some people earned the reputation of being wrathful and others of being kindly. The Buddha explained that the one man giv …

A group of thirty young men, converted by the Buddha.

They had gone picnicking with their wives in a forest glade between Bārāṇasi and Uruvelā. One of them had no wife, and for him they found a court …

A grove to the south of Sāvatthī, one gāvuta away from the city. It was well guarded and monks and nuns used to resort there in search of solitude. The Bhikkhunī Saṃyutta contains stories of nuns wh …

A hill near Gayā. Here the Buddha came from Uruvelā after converting the Tebhātika-Jaṭilā (the three Kassapa ascetics), and here he lived with one thousand monks. On this occasion of his coming he ta …

Aggāḷave CetiyeAggālavacetiya

The chief shrine at Āḷavī, originally a pagan place of worship, but later converted into a Buddhist vihāra. The Buddha stopped here on many occasions during his wander …

The followers of Assaji and Punabbasu. They lived in Kīṭāgiri, between Sāvatthī and Ālavi, and were guilty of various evil practices. They used to grow flowers, make wreaths and garlands, and send the …

GijjhakūṭaVulture’s Peak

One of the five hills encircling Rājagaha. It was evidently a favourite resort of those who followed the religious life.

The Buddha seems to have been attracted by its solit …

One of the three Kassapa brothers. They all lived at Gayāsīsa. When Uruvelā-Kassapa was converted, Gayā-Kassapa, with his followers, joined the Order, and at the conclusion of the Ādittapariyāya Sut …

BeluvaBeluvagāmaVeluvaVeluvagāma

A village near Vesāli, where the Buddha spent his last vassa.

It was at this time that the Buddha, in answer to a question by Ānanda, said that he had kept nothing b …

Mahā Kassapa says that while yet a “learner” he paid homage to the Buddha at a Bahuputtaka-nigrodha where the Buddha had gone to meet him. The Buddha taught him of the training to be followed and, pr …

One of the three daughters of Māra, the others being Taṇhā and Ragā. Seeing their father disconsolate after his repeated attempts to foil Gotama’s quest for Enlightenment, they offered to tempt the Bu …

AmbatitthaAmbatitthāAmbatiṭṭha

A village in the Cetiya country near Bhaddavatikā. When the Buddha was on tour near there he was repeatedly warned by the cowherds not to go to Ambatiṭṭha as in the Jaṭ …

A grove in the Bhagga country. It contained a Deer Park wherein the Buddhastayed, on Suṃsumāragiri. Nearby was the house in which lived Nakulapitā and Nakulamātā. AN.ii.61 AN.iii.295 SN.iii.1 SN.iv.11 …

AhiṃsakabhāradvājaAhiṃsakaBhāradvāja

One of the Bhāradvāja brothers. He came to the Buddha at Sāvatthī and the Buddha suggested to him the desirability of living up to his name by practising ahiṃsā. …

The son of a brahmin woman. Having joined the Order, he dwelt in solitude and became an arahant. One day he went to Sāvatthī for alms, and, in due course, arrived at his mother’s house. She was in the …

Wife of Vessavaṇa and a devout follower of the Buddha. Once, when Sakka went to see the Buddha at the Salaḷāgāra, he found the Buddha engaged in meditation, Bhuñjatī waiting on him and worshipping him …

BelaṭṭhakaccānaKaccānaBelaṭṭha

A sugar dealer. On his way from Andhakkavinda to Rājagaha he met the Buddha seated at the foot of a tree, and, with his permission, presented a pot of sugar to the monk …

Dhataraṭṭha¹

One of the Cātummahārājikā, the ruler of the Eastern Quarter. His followers are the Gandhabbas. He has numerous sons called Indra.DN.ii.207 DN.ii.220 DN.ii.257f. DN.iii.197 …

CetiyaCetiCetīCedi

One of the sixteen Great Nations, AN.i.213 probably identical with Cedi of the older documents. The people of Ceti settled near the Yamunā, to the east, in the neighbourhood of and …

A Gandhabba present at the preaching of the Mahāsamaya Sutta. DN.ii.258 He is elsewhere DN.iii.204 mentioned as a Yakkha chieftain who should be invoked by the Buddha’s followers when troubled by evil spirits.

One of the sixteen disciples of Bāvarī, who, at his request, visited the Buddha. Snp.1008

He questioned the Buddha as to how a man could get over attachment and cross the flood. By grasping after not …

Bhadda¹

A lay disciple of Nādikā who, the Buddha declared, had destroyed the five lower fetters and had been born in the highest deva worlds, thence to pass away entirely. DN.ii.92

Bhadda …

A great brahmin, contemporary of the Buddha, reputed for his great learning and highly esteemed in brahmin gatherings—e.g., at Icchānaṅgala Snp.p.115 and at Manasākaṭa. DN.i.235

He is mentioned toget …

A monk of Ñātikā. Once when the Buddha was staying at Ñātikā in the Giñjakāvasatha, Ānanda mentions to the Buddha that Asoka Thera had died, and asks where he had gone. The Buddha tells him that Asoka …

A township in the Malla country to the east of Kapilavatthu. Large numbers of Sākiyan princes joined the Order there, including Bhaddiya, Anuruddha, Ānanda, Bhagu, Kimbila, Devadatta and their barber, …

A park about three miles from Kosambī SN.iii.126 where Khemaka stayed during his illness. Rāhula spent a whole night in the Buddha’s toilet at the Badarikārāma because he was unwilling to violate the …

The son of Bhadragaka. Bhadragaka visited the Buddha and told him that he was always anxiously waiting for news of Ciravāsī, who was away at school. SN.iv.329

The grove presented by Ambapālī to the Buddha and the Order. It was in Vesāli and was given to the Buddha during his last tour in that town, at the conclusion of the meal to which Ambapālī had invited …

AjitamāṇavaAjita

One of the disciples of Bāvarī who visited the Buddha at the request of their teacher.

He was the first to question the Buddha, and the questions asked by him form the Ajitamāṇavapu …

In the Dhammika Sutta. Snp.379 Erāvaṇa is mentioned among the devas who visited the Buddha to pay him homage. He is also mentioned among the Nāgas present at the preaching of the Mahāsamaya Sutta. DN.ii.258

A recluse, once a co-disciple of the Buddha in the holy life. Once, when the Buddha visited Kapilavatthu and wanted lodging for the night, Mahānāma suggested that he should go to the hermitage of Bha …

The name of the devaputta whose abode is the moon (Canda), sometimes also called Candimā. There are other devas besides Canda who dwell in the moon.

It is said that once, when Candimā was seized …

MahākassapaKassapaPippali

One of the Buddha’s most eminent disciples, chief among those who upheld austere practices. AN.i.23 His personal name was Pippali, but he is usually known by his clan name K …

MahāmoggallānaMoggallānaKolita

The second of the Chief Disciples of the Buddha. He and Sāriputta went forth as disciples of Sañjaya. After some time, Sāriputta, wandering about in Rājagaha, met Assaj …

Hatthaka¹

A monk. He was a Sākyan and loved holding discussions with the heretics. When he suffered defeat at their hands, he would resort to falsehood and evasion, or would ask his oppone …

A great brahmin, ranking with eminent brahmins such as Caṅkī, Tārukkha, Pokkharasāti and Todeyya. Snp.p.115 He is mentioned as staying in Icchānaṅgala, MN.ii.196 where he evidently took part in the pe …

MāraNamuciKaṇhaAdhipatiAntakaPamattabandhuPāpimā

Generally regarded as the personification of Death, the Evil One, the Tempter. Sometimes known as the Dark One (Kaṇha). Snp.355 MN.i.377 DN.ii.262 T …

The capital of the Vatsas or Vaṃsas. In the time of the Buddha its king was Parantapa, and after him reigned his son Udena. Kosambī was evidently a city of great importance at the time of the Buddha f …

One of the most eminent disciples of the Buddha, considered foremost among those who taught the monks. AN.i.25 The Vinaya Vin.i.105 records that when Kappina was in the Deer Park at Maddakucchi he won …

A householder of Rājagaha. When he lay ill he was visited by Ānanda, to whom he confessed that even in his illness he practiced the four satipaṭṭhāna. He was quite free from the five lower fetters. SN.v.178

JīvakaJīvakakomārabhacca

A celebrated physician, and the Buddha’s doctor. The Vinaya contains many stories of his skill in healing. Vin.i.268–281 Once when the Buddha was ill, Jīvaka found it necessa …

A city near the Himalaya, capital of the Sākiyan republic. The administration and judicial business of the city and all other matters of importance were discussed and decided in the Santhāgārasālā. DN …