A river, the modern Rāpti in Uttar Pradesh; one of the pañca-mahānadī, Vin.ii.237 the five great rivers flowing from the Himālaya eastwards (pācīnaninnā) SN.v.39 into the sea. During the hot seas …

A prostitute in Rājagaha who entered the Order of the bhikkhunis. Wishing to obtain the higher ordination from the Buddha, she set out for Sāvatthī, but was waylaid and stopped by libertines. So she s …

A Brahmin of Sāvatthī. A verse addressed by him to some corpulent monks is found in the Theragāthā. Thag.114

Aggikabhāradvāja¹AggikaBhāradvāja

A brahmin of Sāvatthī, of the Bhāradvāja clan. The Buddha, while on his rounds, sees him tending the fire and preparing oblations, and stands for alms in …

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. …

One of the villages near Vesāli visited by the Buddha on his last tour D.ii.123. It was between Bhandagāma and Bhoganagara, on the road from Vesāli to Kusināra. This was evidently the road which led f …

…Buddha’s sermons in Ambalaṭṭhikā seems to have been the Ambalaṭṭhikā-Rāhulovāda Sutta. MN.i.414ff. From the context it appears as…

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

A brahmin teacher of a past age, given in a list of six teachers, who were purohitas. AN.iii.373 The others were Sunetta, Mūgapakkha, Kuddālaka, Hatthipāla and Jotipāla. In the Aṅguttara AN.iv.135f. …

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 …

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 …

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. …

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 …

Bhaddā¹

Wife of King Muṇḍa. At her death the king placed her body in a vessel of oil and mourned for her until his friend Piyaka took him to Nārada Thera at the Kukkuṭārāma, and there made …

The name of a tribe and a country, the capital of which was Suṃsumāragiri. The Bhagga country lay between Vesāli and Sāvatthī.

The Buddha went there several times in the course of his wanderings AN.i …

The word occurs in the compound Ukkalā-Vassa-Bhaññā, SN.iii.73 MN.iii.78 AN.ii.31 a group described as ahetuvādā, akiriyavādā, natthikavāda, but who, nevertheless, agreed that the khandhas m …

A Vajjian village between Vesāli and Hatthigāma and near the former.

The Buddha visited it during his last tour, and while there he talked to the monks on four conditions, which lead to Nibbāna. DN.i …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

BārānasīBenares

The capital of Kāsi-janapada. It was one of the four places of pilgrimage for the Buddhists - the others being Kapilavatthu, Buddhagayā and Kusināra - because it was at, the Migadā …

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 …

A World ruler. The world itself means “Turner of the Wheel,” the Wheel (Cakka) being the well known Indian symbol of empire. More than one thousand sons are his; his dominions extend throughout the …

A lay-disciple of the Buddha in Sāvatthī. He was present when five rājās, including Pasenadi, visited the Buddha and asked him which was the highest sensual pleasure. When the Buddha had answered the …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 of Sāvatthī. Once when the Buddha was ill with cramp and desired hot water Upavāna obtained from Devahita hot water and molasses, which he sent on a pingo by a serving man. Hot fomentations …

A devaputta who once visited the Buddha at the Kalandakanivāpa in Veḷuvana and spoke a verse. SN.i.52

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 …

A village on the road from Vesāli to Bhoganagara. It was the residence of Ugga-gahapati and is described as a village of the Vajjians.

The Buddha stayed there and was visited by Ugga. AN.iv.212 SN.i …

A teacher of old, with a following of many hundred disciples to whom he taught the way to union with Brahmā. AN.iii.371 AN.ii.373 AN.iv.135

A thera. He had a brother, also a monk, named Isibhatta. Having spent the rainy season in Sāvatthī, they went to take up their abode in a certain village. The people there gave them food and robes, bu …

IsipatanaMigadayaDeer Park

An open space near Benares, the site of the famous Migadāya or Deer Park. It was eighteen leagues from Uruvelā, and when Gotama gave up his austere penances his friends, th …

JetavanaJeta’s GroveAnāthapiṇḍaka’s ParkAnāthapiṇḍikassa ārāmaAnāthapiṇḍada’s Park

A park in Sāvatthī, in which was built the Anāthapiṇḍikārāma. When the Buddha accepted Anāthapiṇḍika’s invitation to …

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 …

Kaccāna¹

See Mahā-Kaccāna, Pakudha-Kaccāna, Pubba-Kaccāna, Sambula-Kaccāna, Sabhiya-Kaccāna, etc. See also Kaccāyana.

Kaccāna or Kaccāyana is the name of a family, the Kaccānagotta. …

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 …

Khemā

An arahant, chief of the Buddha’s women disciples for her great wisdom. AN.i.25 Her Therīgāthā verses depict her being described as beautiful, but rejecting the pleasures of the senses. Thig.13 …

…presented to Kūṭadanta by Bimbisāra. The Buddha once stayed there at the Ambalaṭṭhikā pleasance, and there he preached the…

Kosala¹

A country inhabited by the Kosalans, to the north-west of Māgadha and next to Kāsī. It is mentioned second in the list of sixteen Great Nations.AN.i.213 AN.iv.252 In the Buddha’s …

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 …

KāsiKāsikaKāsigāmaKāsinigama

One of the sixteen Great Nations, AN.i.213 its capital being Bārāṇasī.

At the time of the Buddha, it had been absorbed into the kingdom of Kosala, and Pasenadi was king …

Kāḷī¹Kururagharikā

Described among laywomen as the best of those who believe even from hearsay. AN.i.26 A conversation between her and Mahā Kaccāna is related, where she asks him for a det …

A village of the Kāsis, on the road from Kāsi to Sāvatthī. It was the headquarters of the followers of Assaji and Punabbasu, who lived there, behaving in a shameless and wicked manner. A certain monk, …

LaṭṭhivanaLatthivanaLatthivanuyyāna

A grove to the southwest of Rājagaha. In it was the Supatiṭṭha cetiya, where the Buddha stayed during…

A monk whose Theragāthā verse says that, thrusting aside grasses with his chest, he will seek seclusion. Thag.27

According to the Lomasakaṅgiya Bhaddekaratta Sutta, MN.iii.199f. Candana visited Lom …

MahesāMāhissati

A city in the Buddha’s day, mentioned as lying on the route from Bāvari’s hermitage to Sāvatthī. Snp.1011

According to the Mahāgovinda Sutta DN.ii.220.ff. it was the capital of Ava …

MahākoṭṭhitaMahākotthitaKoṭṭhitaKotthita

One of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, ranked foremost among masters of analytical knowledge. AN.i.24 His Theragāthā verse speaks of contentment and sha …

Mallikāya ārāmaMallikārāma

A park in Sāvatthī belonging to Queen Mallikā. DN.i.178 MN.ii.22

27.50735, 82.074733park

A rich man of Sāvatthī. Ugga, Pasenadi’s minister, mentions him during a visit to the Buddha and remarks on his immense wealth. But the Buddha reminds him that Migāra’s treasure is not real treasure i …

The name given to the monastery erected by Visākhā Migāramātā in the Pubbārāma, to the east of Sāvatthī. It is said that, one day, when Visākhā had gone to the monastery to hear the Dhamma and afterwa …

…Macala, Matula, Ambalaṭṭhikā, Pāṭaligāma, NāIandā and SāIindiya.

Māgadha is identified with the modern South Behar.

24.72687,…

Mānatthaddha¹

A brahmin of Sāvatthī who, because of his great pride respected no one. One day he came upon the Buddha preaching to a large crowd of people and stood near, on one side. The …

Nandaka¹

Once, at the Buddha’s request, he preached a sermon to the nuns; on the first day they became sotāpannas, and, on the second, five hundred of them attained arahantship. MN.iii.270 …

Nandana¹

A devaputta who visited the Buddha at Sāvatthī and asked him questions regarding virtue, wisdom, etc. The Buddha answered them, and he went away satisfied. SN.i.62

Nandana ^…

Nandiya¹

He belonged to a Sākiyan family of Kapilavatthu, and was called Nandiya because his birth brought bliss. He left the world at the same time as Anuruddha, Kimbila and the others, a …

…along that road—Ambalaṭṭhikā, Nāḷandā, Pāṭaligāma, Koṭigāma, Nādikā, Vesāli, Bhaṇḍagāma, Hatthigāma, Ambagāma,…

A park near Hatthigāma, belonging to Uggagahapati. It was there that he first met the Buddha and was converted. AN.iv.213

26.38202, 84.840543park

…passed through Ambalaṭṭhikā, DN.ii.81 Vin.ii.287 and from Nāḷandā it went on to Pāṭaligāma. DN.ii.84 Between Rājagaha and…

A king, ancestor of the Sākyas and the Kolians.

In the Ambaṭṭha Sutta DN.i.92 it is stated that Okkāka, being fond of his queen and wishing to transfer the kingdom to her son, banished from the kingd …

Wanderer. The name given to some of the ascetics and recluses of the Buddha’s time. They were not exclusively brahmin. Their presence seems to have been recognized and respected from earlier times. Ge …

The capital of Aḷaka, the first place to be passed by Bāvarī’s disciples on their way to Sāvatthī. Snp.1011 It is identified with the Baithana or Paitana of Ptolemy.

19.482129,75.3808592town

A wanderer. Jāṇussoṇi once met him returning from Jetavana, where he had gone early to wait on the Buddha. Pilotika, on being questioned, spoke very highly of the Buddha. It is this conversation which …

A brahmin of Sāvatthī. He visited the Buddha at Jetavana and the Buddha preached to him the Cūḷasāropama Sutta, at the end of which he declared himself the Buddha’s follower. MN.i.198ff.

Nephew and pupil of Bāvarī. At the time that he visited the Buddha with the other disciples he was 120 years old and very feeble. At the end of his discussion with the Buddha, as recorded in the Piṅgi …

A wanderer. A discussion between him and the Buddha on samādhi and on the soul, which took place in Mallikārāma in Sāvatthī, is reported in the Poṭṭhapāda Sutta. Poṭṭhapāda, accepting the Buddha’s v …

A bathing place in Sāvatthī, near the Migāramātupāsāda, and therefore to the east of the city. Mention is made AN.iii.345 of the Buddha having bathed there. It was evidently extensive, for Pasenadi’s …

A monastery outside the eastern gate of Sāvatthī.

27.52532, 82.089843monastery

PālileyyaPārileyyaPārileyyaka

A town near Kosambī. When the Buddha found that he could not persuade the Kosambī monks to refrain from quarrelling, he left Kosambī alone and unattended, and passing th …

Chief of those who had left the world through faith. AN.i.24 He was born at Thullakoṭṭhita in the Kuru country as the son of a very wealthy councillor and was called by his family name of Raṭṭhapāla. …

…preached to him the Ambalaṭṭhikā Rāhulovāda Sutta as a warning that he should never lie, even in fun. Rāhula used to accompany the…

…along that road—Ambalaṭṭhikā, Nāḷandā, Pāṭaligāma, Koṭigāma, Nādikā, Vesāli, Bhaṇḍagāma, Hatthigāma, Ambagāma,…

An upāsikā of Sāvatthī. Thinking that to allow a monk to have intercourse with her would be the highest gift, she accosted a monk and offered herself. The offer was, however, refused. Vin.iii.39

SakkaVatrabhūVāsavaMaghavāMāghaPurindadaSahassakkhaSahassanettaSujampatiKosiya

Almost always spoken of as chief of the devas. The Saṃyutta Nikāya SN.i.229 contains a list of his names.

• Maghavā, be …

A waggon builder of Sāvatthī. In the Aṅgaṇa Sutta, Moggallāna tells Sāriputta how he once saw Samīti shaping a felloe; by his side, Paṇḍuputta was watching, wishing that Samiti might shape the felloe …

…of the six famous heretical teachers of the Buddha’s day. He was a great skeptic, his teaching…

A very learned brahmin of Candalakappa. One day he saw Dhānañjānī trip up, and heard her exclaim three times, “Glory to the Buddha, the arahant, the all enlightened.” He blamed her for thus extolling …

A city, thirty leagues from Sāvatthī. During the Vajjiputta controversy, Revata Thera, on his way from Soreyya to Sahājāti, went through Saṅkassa. The road he took passed through Saṅkassa, Kaṇṇakujja, …

SetabyāSetavyā

A town in Kosala, DN.ii.316 near which was Ukkaṭṭha.

The Aṅguttara Nikāya AN.ii.37 records a conversation between the Buddha and the brahmin Doṇa, whom the Buddha met on the road from …

A monk of Sāvatthī who was found guilty of various Vinaya offences, and was therefore subjected to the Nissayakamma. Udāyī (Lāludāyi) was his friend and his evil genius. Vin.iii.110f.

Subha¹

A Pacceka Buddha. MN.iii.70

Subha²TodeyyaputtaBhāradvāja

A young brahman student. He once visited the Buddha in Sāvatthī, asking him various questions. The interview is …

Sudhamma¹

He lived in Macchikāsaṇḍa, in a monastery (the Ambātakārāma) provided by Citta. Citta used to invite Sudhamma to his house for meals. One day Sāriputta, at the head of several em …

Suppatiṭṭha CetiyaSupatiṭṭhacetiya

A shrine near the Latthivanuyyāna in Rājagaha. Vin.i.35

near the Latthivanuyyāna3shrine

…these two, in the Ambalaṭṭhikā park, regarding the virtues of the Buddha, his Dhamma and his Order, which led to the preaching of the…

A stream at Sāvatthī. Anuruddha is mentioned as having stayed near by. SN.v.297

Sāvatthī3river

A town in Kosala. It was regarded in the Buddha’s time as one of the six great cities of India, the others being Campā, Rājagaha, Sāvatthī, Kosambī and Benares. DN.ii.146 In the Vinaya Vin.i.253 howev …

The capital city of Kosala in India and one of the six great Indian cities during the lifetime of the Buddha. DN.ii.147 It was six leagues from Sāketa. Vin.i.253 It was on the banks of the Aciravatī.V …

A Pacceka Buddha, MN.iii.69 third among the five hundred sons of Padumavatī, all of whom became Pacceka Buddhas. Suppabuddha, a banker of Rājagaha, having seen the Pacceka Buddha on his way to a park, …

Tissa¹

One of the two chief disciples of Vipassī Buddha. DN.ii.4

Tissa²

A monk who was reborn as a Brahmā with great iddhi-powers. Moggallāna visited him soon after his bir …

A locality in Kosala, between Sāvatthī and Sāketa. Pasenadi once stopped there and visited Khemā, who lived there. SN.iv.374

27.145923,82.1255492town

A devaputta. He visited the Buddha at Sāvatthī and uttered certain verses in the hearing of the monks, telling of the necessity of following the recluse’s calling with energy and sincerity. After hi …

Udaya¹

A brahmin of Sāvatthī. One day the Buddha came to his house and he filled the Buddha’s bowl with the food prepared for his own use. Three days in succession the Buddha came, and Uda …

Udāyī¹LāludāyīPaṇḍita Udāyī

There were at least two monks called Udāyī, and it is not always possible to be sure which one is meant. When the Buddha preached the Nāgopama Sutta, AN.iii.344 …

He once visited the Buddha and told him how he rivalled in power and wealth the seṭṭhi Migāra, grandson of Rohana. He was worth one hundred thousand in gold alone, to say nothing of silver. The Buddha …

UggāhamānaSamaṇamaṇḍikāputtaSamaṇamuṇḍikāputta

A Paribbājaka. Once when he was staying near Sāvatthī in Mallikā’s pleasance at the Samayappavādaka hall, the carpenter, Pañcakaṅga, on his way to see t …

The capital of Avanti. In the Buddha’s time, Caṇḍapajjota Vin.i.276 was king of Ujjenī and there was friendly intercourse between that city and Māgadha, whose king was Seniya Bimbisāra. After Bimbisār …

A district identified with modern Orissa. The merchants Tapussa and Bhalluka were on the way from Ukkalā, when they visited the Buddha shortly after his Awakening, near Uruvelā, and offered food to hi …

Upananda¹

A monk, belonging to the Sākyan clan, who was known for his greed in procuring requisites. Several incidents connected with him are mentioned in the Vinaya. Once he promised to s …

The northern division of Jambudīpa. Its boundaries are nowhere explicitly stated in Pāḷi literature. Perhaps Uttarāpatha was originally the name of a great trade-route, the northern high road which e …

A brahmin. He once visited the Buddha at Sāvatthī and asked him whether the five sense-faculties, which were of different scope and range, had any common ground of resort. The Buddha replies that the …

A wanderer who later became an arahant Thera. Several conversations he had with the Buddha are mentioned in the books. For details see the Tevijja Vacchagotta-, Aggi Vacchagotta-, Mahā Vacchagotta- …

Vajirā²

The Saṃyutta Nikāya SN.i.134f. relates that one day, when she was meditating in Andhavana at Sāvatthī, Māra questioned her as to the origin of a “being”, its creator, its origin, …

The name of a country and of its people. It was one of the sixteen Great Nations. The inhabitants appear to have consisted of several confederate clans of whom the Licchavī and the Videhā were the chi …

VanasavhayaVanasaVanasāvhayaTumbavanagaraPavanaVanasāvatthī

A city lying between Vedisa and Kosambī, on the road taken by Bāvarī’s disciples. Snp.1011

24.69943,80.1727292town

A lady of Sāvatthī who had a reputation for gentleness till her servant girl, Kāḷī, convinced people that it was not deserved. MN.i.125f.

A town in which the Buddha once spent the rainy season at the invitation of the brahmin Verañja. Verañja visits the Buddha at the foot of the Naḷerupucimanda, where he is staying, and asks him a serie …

Veḷuvana¹Veṇuvana

A park near Rājagaha, the pleasure garden of Bimbisāra. When the Buddha first visited Rājagaha, after his Enlightenment, he stayed at the Latthivanuyyāna. Vin.i.35 The da …

Visākhā¹

. Thig.13

Visākhā²

The chief among the female lay disciples of the Buddha and declared by him to be foremost among those who ministered to the Order. AN.i.26 She is c …

While journeying in the company of Sabhiya, he came to Sāvatthī, where he was present at the discussion between Sabhiya and the Buddha. It was his purpose to try and discover flaws in the Buddha’s arg …

One of the chief ministers at Sāvatthī. He joined the Order of monks and his wife became a nun. They had their meals together and she waited on him, fetching him water and fanning him. He forbade her …

A brahmin. Once when Mahā Kaccāna was staying at Vāraṇā on the banks of the Kaddamadaha, Ārāmadaṇḍa came to see him and asked him why nobles quarrelled with nobles, brahmins with brahmins, and househo …

A town that lay between Kusinārā and Sāvatthī. Once the Buddha, with a large company of bhikkhus, visited the town. At that time there dwelt in it a monk who had been ordained late in life and had for …

Āḷavī¹

A town between Sāvatthī and Rājagaha. The Buddha goes from Sāvatthī to Kīṭāgiri, thence to Āḷavī, and finally, to Rājagaha. The Buddha, on several occasions, stayed at Āḷavī at the …