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 …

…is, rather, on the Sarayū, adjacent to or an alternative name for Sāketa. However, in the Pali texts gaṅgā is sometimes used for…

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 …

…Next the Horse, Assaratana, named Valāhaka, all white with crow black head, and dark mane, able to fly through the air. Then the…

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 …

…of the West, and Vessarana of the North. DN.ii.207f. DN.iii.194f. They keep large retinues consisting, respectively, of Gandhabbas,…

A group of Khattiyas, owners of the Ānaka-drum. SN.ii.266f.

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 …

…Paribbājakas, including Sarabha, AN.i.185 AN.ii.29 AN.ii.176 and the Paribbājakārāma of Udumbarika the residence of Nigrodha, near the…

A headman of Rājagaha who visited the Buddha and asked him what destiny awaited him after death. The Buddha reluctantly replied that he would be born in the Sārañjita hell. SN.iv.310

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 …

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

…Ayojjha, on the banks of the Sarayu.

Other Kosala rivers mentioned in the books are the Aciravatī DN.i.235 and the Sundarikā, SN.i.167 Snp.p.97…

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 …

A hall in the Mahāvana near Vesāli. The Buddha stayed there on several occasions, and in the books are found records of various eminent persons who visited him there and of his conversations with them …

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 …

The books contain a list of seven great lakes, situated in the Himālaya. They form the sources of the five great rivers and dry up only when four suns appear in the world. These seven lakes are Anotat …

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 …

…them, Mahānāma, Godha, Sarakāni, Nandiya and Vappa SN.v.369–378 SN.v.395–397 SN.v.403–404 SN.v.408 AN.ii.196 AN.iii.284 AN.iv.220…

…MN.ii.29 AN.ii.175ff. and Sarabha. AN.i.185 Vekhanassa calls on the Buddha, MN.ii.40 as do Timbaruka, SN.ii.22 Vacchagotta, SN.iii.257 and Sivaka…

ParājitāParajita Sarājita

A Niraya in which those who die in battle are born. SN.iv.311

5hell

…similes and metaphors. These rivers are: Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Aciravatī, Sarabhū and Mahī. Vin.ii.239 AN.iv.101 SN.ii.135 Ud.v.4

4river

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 …

…challenge was uttered, but Sarabha sat silent. The Buddha then declared to the Paribbājakas that no one could say that his claim to Enlightenment…

Sarabhaṅga¹

A Pacceka Buddha. MN.iii.70

Sarabhaṅga²

A monk whose Theragāthā verses speak of living in a hut of reeds…

…Aciravatī was its tributary. Sāketa was situated on the banks of the Sarabhū, which flowed through the Añjanavana.

Saryu1river

SarakāniSaraṇāni

A Sākyan. When he died the Buddha declared that he was a sotāpanna, bound for enlightenment. But many of the Sākyans spoke…

A class of Devas, the gods of “Passionate Delight”. According to the belief of some, a man who dies fighting is born among them. SN.iv.308

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 …

SubhakinnāSubhakiṇṇāSubhakiṇhā

A class of Brahmas who occupy the ninth Rūpa-world; a division of the Subha devā.MN.iii.102 DN.ii.69 MN.i.2 Beings are born in that world as a result of developing the …

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 …

A monk whose Theragāthā verse speaks of the advantages of associating with good people. Thag.75

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 …

A shrine at Vesāli. DN.ii.75 DN.ii.102 Ud.vi.1

Vesāli3shrine

Udena Cetiya Udenacetiya

A shrine of pre-Buddhistic worship, to the east of Vesāli.

It is mentioned with other shrines at Vesāli—Gotamaka, Sārandada, Sattamba, Cāpāla and Bahuputta—all of which are …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Yasa ¹

He was the son of a very wealthy treasurer of Benares, and was brought up in great luxury, living in three mansions, according to the seasons and surrounded with all kinds of pleasu …

A headman who visited the Buddha and asked if it was true that men who fall fighting in battle are reborn among the Sārañjita devas. At first the Buddha refused to answer the question, but finding tha …

A Brahma-world where live radiant devas from whose bodies rays of light are emitted, like lightning. It belongs to the Rūpaloka and is in the plane of second jhāna The devas living there subsist on …

ĀjīvakāĀjīvikā

A class of naked ascetics, Vin.i.291 followers of Makkhali Gosāla, regarded, from the Buddhist point of view, as the worst of sophists. Numerous references to the Ājīvakas are to be fo …

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 …

ĀṇiĀṇakaĀṇṇaka

A mutiṅga (kettle-drum) belonging to the Dasārahas. As it grew old and began to split, they fixed in another peg, and this process was continued, until, at last, the original drumhe …