An eminent laywoman, follower of the Buddha. AN.iv.347

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 …

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 …

AmbapālīAmbapālikā

A courtesan of Vesāli. She became a devout follower of the Buddha, and building a vihāra in her own garden, gave it to him and the Order. This was during the Buddha’s last visit …

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 …

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 …

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 city in India on the river of the same name; it was the capital of Aṅga and was celebrated for its beautiful lake, the Gaggarā-pokkharaṇī. On its banks was a grove of campaka-trees, well known for …

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 …

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 …

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 …

A brahmin village of Māgadha, presented to Kūṭadanta by Bimbisāra. The Buddha once stayed there at the Ambalaṭṭhikā pleasance, and there he preached the Kūṭadanta Sutta. DN.i.127

Māgadha3town

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 …

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 …

A very learned brahmin of Khāṇumata, which village had been given to him by King Bimbisāra as a brahmadeyya. The Buddha arrived at Khāṇumata when Kūṭadanta was making preparations for a great sacrific …

LaṭṭhivanaLatthivanaLatthivanuyyāna

A grove to the southwest of Rājagaha. In it was the Supatiṭṭha cetiya, where the Buddha stayed during his first visit to Rājagaha from Gayāsīsa, after the Enlighte …

A powerful tribe of India in the time of the Buddha. They were certainly khattiyas, for on that ground they claimed a share of the Buddha’s relics. DN.ii.165

Their capital was Vesāli, and they form …

MadhurāMathurā

The capital of Surasena, situated on the Yamunā. Its king, soon after the death of Bimbisāra, was Avantiputta, MN.ii.83 who, judging by his name, was probably related to the royal fami …

One of the four chief kingdoms of India at the time of the Buddha, the others being Kosala, the kingdom of the Vaṃsas and Avanti. Māgadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas and had its capital at …

PilindavacchaPilindivacchaPilindiyavacchaPilindaPilindiPilindiya

A monk whose enigmatic Theragāthā verse speaks of what has come and not departed. Thag.9 Certain devas who had been born in the deva w …

A city, the capital of Māgadha.

The place was called Giribbaja (mountain stronghold) because it was surrounded by five hills—Paṇḍava, Gijjhakūṭa, Vebhāra, Isigili and Vepulla. It is said MN.iii.68 th …

Soṇa¹

A Thera, declared chief of those possessing clear utterance. AN.i.24 He lived in Avantī, where he met Mahākaccāna and was later ordained by him, after much difficulty assembling the …

A rich brahmin of Campā, very learned in the Vedas; he lived in a royal domain, given to him as royal fief by King Bimbisāra. When the Buddha was in Campā, on the banks of the Gaggarā-lake, Soṇadaṇḍa …

Sāgata

He was the personal attendant of the Buddha at he time when Soṇa Kolvisa visited Bimbisāra, with overseers of the eighty thousand townships of Bimbisāra’s kingdom. Sāgata was endowed with supe …

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 …

UruvelākassapaKassapa

One of three brothers, the Tebhātika-Jatilas, living at Uruvelā. After initial resistance, all became the Buddha’s followers. He lived on the banks of the Nerañjara with five h …

A brahmin, chief minister of Ajātasattu. He and Sunidha were in charge of the fortifications of Pāṭaligāma, built against the Vajjī. Vin.i.228 Ud.viii.6 DN.ii.72ff.

At Ajātasattu’s suggestion, Vass …

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 …

A country and its people. At the time of the Buddha, Videha formed one of the two important principalities of the Vajjian confederacy. Its capital was Mithilā. The kingdom bordered on the Ganges, on o …

A class of non human beings generally described as non-human. They are mentioned with Devas, Rakkhasas, Dānavas, Gandhabbas, Kinnaras, and Mahoragas (? Nāgas).

Elsewhere AN.ii.38 they rank, in progr …

ĀrāmikagāmaPilindagāma

The name given to the village in which lived the five hundred park-keepers who were given by Bimbisāra to the Elder Pilindavaccha. It was near Rājagaha and was also called Pil …