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 …

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 …

BaliharaṇaBaliharana

A forest tract near Kusinārā where the Buddha is said to have stayed. AN.i.274 AN.v.79 The Kinti Sutta was preached there. MN.ii.238

26.751742,83.8957213park

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 …

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. …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Gotama¹BuddhaSiddhatthaSakyamunīTathāgataAṅgīrasa

He was a Sākiyan, son of Suddhodana and of Mahā Māyā, Suddhodana’s chief consort, and he belonged to the Gotama-gotta. At age 29 he depar …

A river, on the bank of which was the Upavattana Sālavana of the Mallas of Kusināra, where the Buddha died. DN.ii.137

Hirakinari1river

Kakudhā Kakuṭṭhā Kakutthā Kukuṭṭhā Kukutthā

A river near Kusinārā in which the Buddha bathed and from which he drank water before entering Kusinārā for his parinibbāna. On its bank was a mango-grove …

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 …

Kassapa¹

One of the seven Buddhas mentioned in the Canon. DN.ii.7

Among those who attained arahantship under Kassapa is mentioned Gavesī, who, with his five hundred followers, strove alwa …

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 …

Inhabitants of Kusinārā. Vin.i.247

A park in Pāṭaliputta. It was evidently the residence of monks from very early times, probably, for some time, of the Buddha himself. The Mahāvagga Vin.i.300 mentions the names of several theras who l …

The capital of the Mallas and the scene of the Buddha’s death. At that time it was a small city, “a branch-township with wattle-and-daub houses in the midst of the jungle,” and Ānanda was, at first …

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 …

A shrine of the Mallas to the east of Kusināra, where the Buddha’s body was cremated. DN.ii.160–161

26.73395, 83.930743shrine

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 king of Māgadha, great grandson of Ajātasattu and son of Anuruddha. It is probably this same king who is referred to in the Aṅguttara Nikāya. AN.iii.57ff. His wife Bhaddā died, and Muṇḍa gave hims …

A class of devas, inhabiting the fifth of the six deva-worlds. DN.i.218 MN.i.289 SN.i.133 AN.i.210

A monk, mentioned once as staying at the Ghositārāma in Kosambī, with Musila, Savittha, and Ānanda. In the course of discussion he declares that, though aware of the nature of nibbana, he is not an ar …

Pukkusa¹

A prince of the Mallas. He was a disciple of Āḷāra Kālama, and one day, while on his way from Kusinārā to Pāvā, he saw the Buddha seated under a tree by the roadside and stayed to …

The Buddha visited Pātaligāma shortly before his death. Although it later became the capital of Magadha, it was then a mere village. At that time Ajātasattu’s ministers, Sunīdha and Vassakāra, were en …

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 …

Rojā¹

A Malla, inhabitant of Kusinārā. When the Buddha and Ānanda visited Kusinārā, the Malla chieftains decreed that whoever failed to pay homage to the Buddha would be fined five hundred …

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 …

In the Aṅguttara AN.i.118f. he is represented as saying, in the course of a conversation between him, Sāriputta and Koṭṭhita, that he preferred the person who obtains relief by faith, to one who tes …

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 …

Subhadda¹

When the Buddha died and the monks stood weeping, Subhadda asked them to rejoice instead, saying— “We are well rid of the Great Monk; we shall now do just as we like.” Mahā Kassa …

Sumanā¹Sumanārājakumārī

She was the daughter of the king of Kosala and sister of Pasenadi. She is included among the eminent upāsikās. AN.iv.347 She once visited the Buddha, with five hu …

A devaputta, king of the Nimmānaratī world. SN.iv.280 AN.iv.243

A tribe in North India, to which the Buddha belonged. Their capital was Kapilavatthu. Mention is also made of other Sākyan settlements - e.g., Cātumā, Khomadussa, Sāmagāma, Devadaha, Sīlavatī, Nagara …

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 …

UpavattaUpavattana

The sāla-grove of the Mallas of Kusināra, on the further side of the Hiraññavatī. This was the last resting-place of the Buddha on his last tour, and here he passed away, lying …

A monk who was occasionally the attendant of the Buddha, and who features in a number of discourses. Once when the Buddha was attacked by cramp, Upavāna, with the help of his lay-friend Devahita, obt …

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 …

Vāseṭṭha¹

An old sage held in high esteem for his knowledge. He was one of the originators of the Vedic mantras. Vin.i.245 DN.i.104 MN.ii.164 MN.ii.200

Vāseṭṭha²

A clan, proba …

…Dānavas, Gandhabbas, Kinnaras, and Mahoragas (? Nāgas).

Elsewhere AN.ii.38 they rank, in progressive order, between manussā and…

A city in the Aṅguttarāpa country, probably its capital. The Buddha once visited the city with 1,250 monks and the whole company was entertained by the Jaṭila Keṇiya. Vin.i.245ff. From Āpaṇa the Bud …

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 …