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 …

Probably the name of a brahmin clan, the Agnivesyāyanas, and the Ksatriyas who were so styled, took the name from their brahmin priests.

The name is used by the Buddha in addressing Saccaka Nigaṇṭhap …

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 …

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 …

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 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 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, …

IsigiliIsigilapassa

One of the five mountains round Rājagaha and one of the beauty-spots of the city. DN.ii.116 There was, on one side of it, a black stone called the Kāḷasilā. This was a favourite …

The black rock by the side of Isigili.

It was there that Godhika SN.i.120f. and Vakkali SN.iii.124 committed suicide.

It was a lonely spot, and we are told that when monks came from afar to Rājaga …

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 …

A township in Kāsī, the residence, among others, of Citta-Gahapati. SN.iv.281

It contained the Ambāṭakavana, which Citta presented as a monastery for the monks, at the head of whom was Mahānāma.

S …

The name of a people and their country.

The country is included in the sixteen Great Nations of the Buddha’s time. The kingdom, at that time, was divided into two parts, having their respective capit …

A class of devas. Beings who die devoted to some idea are born in their world—e.g., a Nigaṇṭha who will take only warm water and would rather die than take it cold. MN.i.376

Nigaṇṭha NāṭaputtaNigaṇṭha NāthaputtaNāthaputtaNāṭaputta

Founder or reformer of the Jains. One of six eminent teachers, contemporary with the Buddha; he is described as a outsider. SN.i.66

He was le …

NiṅkaNika

A deva who visits the Buddha in the company of several other devas and utters a verse in praise of Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta. SN.i.65f.

The followers of Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta. DN.iii.117

A city of the Mallas which the Buddha visited during his last journey, going there from Bhogagāma and stopping at Cunda’s mango grove.

Cunda lived in Pāvā and invited the Buddha to a meal, which prov …

A Sākiyan village where the Sāmagāma Sutta was preached. MN.ii.243 There was a lotus pond in the village. AN.iii.309

The Vedhaññā probably lived there, because, according to the Pāsādika Sutta, DN.ii …

Sīha¹

A Licchavi general of Vesāli. He was a follower of the Nigaṇṭhas. When the Buddha visited Vesāli, Sīha, having heard reports of his greatness, wished to see him, but Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaput …

Upāli ¹

One of the most eminent of the Buddha’s immediate disciples. He belonged to a barber’s family in Kapilavatthu and entered the service of the Sākiyan princes. When Anuruddha and his …

Uruññā UjuññāUguññāUdaññaUjjuññā

A district and a town in Kosala. Once when the Buddha was staying at the Deer Park in Kaṇṇakatthala in the neighbourhood of the city, Pasenadi, who happened to be at …

A Yakkha. It is said that whoever, even up to the third time of being asked, refuses to answer a reasonable question put by a Buddha, his head will split into pieces on the spot. It was Vajirapāṇi’s d …

Vappa ¹

One of the group of five monks who practiced with the Bodhisatta before his Awakening, and who were his first monastic followers. Vappa was disappointed when the Buddha began takin …

A city, capital of the Licchavis. It is not possible to know how many visits were paid by the Buddha to Vesāli, but the books would lead us to infer that they were several. Various Vinaya rules are me …

A deva who visited the Buddha at Veḷuvana accompanied by Asama, Sahali, Ninka, Vetambarī and Mānava-Gāmiya. Ākoṭaka spoke before the Buddha in praise of various teachers of other schools: Pakuddha-K …