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 …

Aggāḷave CetiyeAggālavacetiya

The chief shrine at Āḷavī, originally a pagan place of worship, but later converted into a Buddhist vihāra. The Buddha stopped here on many occasions during his wander …

One of the four great monarchies in the time of the Buddha, the other three being Māgadha, Kosala and Vaṃsa (or Vatsa). Avanti is also mentioned among the sixteen Great Nations. AN.i.213 AN.iv.252 AN. …

Hell. Descriptions of it are to be found in several places in the four Nikāyas MN.iii.183 AN.i.141–142 It is a quadrangular space, one hundred leagues each way, four-doored, walled all round and abov …

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 …

Bhāradvāja¹

A monk whose Theragāthā verses speak of the heroic roar of the conquerors. Thag.177–178

Bhāradvāja²

He was the eldest of a clan of Bhāradvājas living in Rājagaha a …

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 …

A group of six monks, contemporary with the Buddha, frequently mentioned as being guilty of various Vinaya offences. Vin.i.84f. Vin.i.104 Vin.i.106 Vin.i.111 Vin.i.113 Vin.i.114 Vin.i.138 Vin.i.160 …

CūladevaCūḷadeva

A Thera, an eminent teacher of the Vinaya. Vin.v.3

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 …

EkuddāniyaEkuddāna

A monk whose verse in the Theragāthā says that one of higher mind will not sorrow. Thag.68

The verse attributed above to Ekuddāniya, occurs in the Vinaya Vin.iv.54 as having been …

A festival held from time to time in Rājagaha. According to the Vinaya accounts Vin.ii.107f. Vin.ii.150 Vin.iv.85 Vin.iv.267 there were dancing, singing and music.

A bhikkhunī mentioned in the Therīgāthā verses of Isidāsi, who describes Jinadattā as a learned and virtuous expert in the Vinaya. Thig.427

JīvakaJīvakakomārabhacca

A celebrated physician, and the Buddha’s doctor. The Vinaya contains many stories of his skill in healing. Vin.i.268–281 Once when the Buddha was ill, Jīvaka found it necessa …

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 …

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 …

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 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 …

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 …

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 …

Nigrodhārāma¹

A grove near Kapilavatthu, where a residence was provided for the Buddha. Vin.i.82 There Mahāpajāpati Gotamī first asked permission for women to enter the Order. This was ref …

A class of beings classed with Garuḷas and Supaṇṇas and playing a prominent part in Buddhist folk lore. They are gifted with miraculous powers and great strength. Generally speaking, they are confused …

The boundaries of the Majjhimadesa are given, and the Paccantajanapadā lies beyond these boundaries. They are: in the east, Kajaṅgala and Mahāsālā; in the south east, the river Salalavatī; in the sout …

Paṭācārā

A bhikkhunī whose Therīgāthā verses speak of her efforts to attain Awakening. Thig.112–116 She was declared by the Buddha to be the best among bhikkhunīs who knew the Vinaya. AN.i.25 She was …

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 …

Piṇḍola¹

A Pacceka Buddha, given in a nominal list. MN.iii.69

Piṇḍola²Bhāradvāja

An arahant who announced before the Buddha his readiness to answer the questions of any doubti …

Puppha

An eminent teacher of the Vinaya. Vin.v.3

PāveyyakāPātheyyakā

The name given to the inhabitants of Pāvā—e.g., Pāveyyakā Mallā. DN.ii.165

Pāvā was evidently a centre of Buddhist activity even during the lifetime of the Buddha, and mention is …

Chief of those who had left the world through faith. AN.i.24 He was born at Thullakoṭṭhita in the Kuru country as the son of a very wealthy councillor and was called by his family name of Raṭṭhapāla. …

RāhulaRāhulabhadda

Only son of Gotama Buddha. When the Buddha visited Kapilavatthu for the first time after his Enlightenment and accepted Suddhodana’s invitation, Rāhula’s mother sent the boy to the …

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 …

SakkaVatrabhūVāsavaMaghavāMāghaPurindadaSahassakkhaSahassanettaSujampatiKosiya

Almost always spoken of as chief of the devas. The Saṃyutta Nikāya SN.i.229 contains a list of his names.

• Maghavā, be …

A Paribbājaka who joined the Order and soon after left it. He then went about proclaiming in Rājagaha that he knew the Dhamma and Vinaya of the Sakyaputta monks, and that was why he had left their Ord …

A monk of Sāvatthī who was found guilty of various Vinaya offences, and was therefore subjected to the Nissayakamma. Udāyī (Lāludāyi) was his friend and his evil genius. Vin.iii.110f.

…him that when he was a vīṇā player his vīṇā sounded neither tuneful nor playable when the strings were either over-strung or…

A wanderer. She once saw Sāriputta in Rājagaha eating his meal, which he had begged from house to house, leaning against a wall. Sucimukhī asked him why he looked downwards while eating. When Sāriputt …

SusumāragiriSuṃsumāragiri

A city in the Bhagga country, of which it was probably the capital. Near the city was the Bhesakalāvana where the Buddha stayed.

During his visits there he preached the Anu …

SāgalaSāgalā

A city in India, mentioned in the Vinaya Vin.iii.67 as the residence of Daḷhika.

A town in Kosala. It was regarded in the Buddha’s time as one of the six great cities of India, the others being Campā, Rājagaha, Sāvatthī, Kosambī and Benares. DN.ii.146 In the Vinaya Vin.i.253 howev …

The capital of Gandhāra. The Vinaya describes it as the place of education of Jīvaka, the Buddha’s doctor. Vin.i.269f.

Takkasilā is identified with the Greek Taxila, in Rawalpindi in the Punjab.

3 …

Ubhato-vibhaṅga

A collective term, comprehending the Bhikkhu-vibhaṅga and the Bhikkhunī-vibhaṅga of the Vinaya Pītaka. Sometimes the word seems to be used as varia lectio for Ubhato-Vinaya. Vin.ii.287

Udāyī¹LāludāyīPaṇḍita Udāyī

There were at least two monks called Udāyī, and it is not always possible to be sure which one is meant. When the Buddha preached the Nāgopama Sutta, AN.iii.344 …

Upananda¹

A monk, belonging to the Sākyan clan, who was known for his greed in procuring requisites. Several incidents connected with him are mentioned in the Vinaya. Once he promised to s …

Uppalavaṇṇā

One of the two chief women disciples of the Buddha, and the chief of the women possessed of psychic power. AN.i.25 The Therīgāthā Thig.234–235 SN.i.131f. contains several verses attribu …

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 …

A town in which the Buddha once spent the rainy season at the invitation of the brahmin Verañja. Verañja visits the Buddha at the foot of the Naḷerupucimanda, where he is staying, and asks him a serie …

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 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 …

YasojaYasojoti

The Udāna mentions Ud.iii.3 how Yasoja and five hundred of his companions went to see the Buddha at Jetavana. There they stood talking to the monks who lived there and made a great upr …

ĀḷavakāĀḷavikā

A name given to the monks of Āḷavī.

The Āḷavaka-bhikkhū are mentioned several times in the Vinaya Vin.ii.172ff. Vin.iii.85 Vin.iv.34–35 in connection with offences relating to repa …