A monk of Ñātikā. Once when the Buddha was staying at Ñātikā in the Giñjakāvasatha, Ānanda mentions to the Buddha that Asoka Thera had died, and asks where he had gone. The Buddha tells him that Asoka …

A nun of Ñātikā. When Ānanda announces her death to the Buddha at Ñātikā in the Giñjakāvasatha, and inquires where she had been born, the Buddha says that she had been reborn spontaneously in the Sudd …

BojjhāBocchā

An eminent laywoman. The Aṅguttara Nikāya AN.iv.259 AN.iv.347 records a visit paid by her to the Buddha at Jetavana. The Buddha then preached to her on the uposatha and the advantages …

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 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 …

A brick hall at Nādikā. The Buddha stayed there on various occasions during his visits to Nādikā. It was during one of these visits that Ambapāli presented her park to the Buddha and the Order. Vin.i. …

Gosiṅgasālavanadāya¹

A forest tract near Nādikā. Once, when Anuruddha, Nandiya and Kimbila were living there, they were visited by the Buddha, who came from Giñjakāvasatha. The result of t …

A devaputta. He saw a number of monks in a forest-lodge on the slopes of the Himālaya, muddled in mind, loose of speech and heedless. He appeared before them on an uposatha day and reminded them of …

Kāliṅga¹

An inhabitant of Ñātika. While staying in Ñātika, at the Giñjakāvasatha, the Buddha tells Ānanda that Kālinga was reborn after death in the Suddhavāsā, and that there he would att …

A park near Rājagaha, at the foot of Gijjhakūṭa. It was a preserve where deer and game could dwell in safety. When Devadatta, wishing to kill the Buddha, hurled a rock down Gijjhakūṭa, it was stopped …

One of the most eminent disciples of the Buddha, considered foremost among those who taught the monks. AN.i.25 The Vinaya Vin.i.105 records that when Kappina was in the Deer Park at Maddakucchi he won …

MakhādevaMaghadeva

King of Mithilā. His legend is told in the Makhadeva Sutta. MN.ii.74ff. He was a righteous king who observed the uposatha, together with his people. When a grey hair appeared o …

Mittā

A bhikkhunī whose Therīgāthā verses speak of how she was formerly attached to the idea of performing rites on the uposatha days aspiring for heavenly rebirth. Thig.31–32

One of the Licchavis. He went to visit the Buddha at the Kūṭāgārasālā in Vesalī, at a time when the Buddha had given orders that no one should be allowed to see him; but through the intervention of th …

The name given to a set of rules to be observed by members of the Buddhist Order. The rules regulate the behaviour of the members of the Order towards one another in respect of clothes, dwellings, fur …

SandhaSaddha

A monk who visited the Buddha at Ñātikā in the Giñjakāvasatha, when the Buddha preached to him the Sandha Sutta. AN.v.323f.

It is, perhaps, the same monk who is mentioned as Saddho Ka …

A Yakkha. He persuaded his friend Hemavata to visit the Buddha on an uposatha day. Hemavata then asked the Buddha a series of questions. Snp.176–205

Sātāgira is mentioned in the Āṭānāṭiya Sutta DN. …

The name of the Elephant Treasure of the Cakkavatti Mahāsudassana. He was “all white, sevenfold firm (sattappatiṭṭha), wonderful in power, flying through the sky.”. DN.ii.174 MN.iii.173f.

Uttarā¹

A bhikkhunī whose Therīgāthā verses tell of her awakening. Thig.15

Uttarā²

The Therīgāthā contains seven verses uttered by her after becoming an arahant, the result of …

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 …