Pārāyana

The fifth and last division of the Sutta Nipāta. Snp.976ff. It consists of sixteen suttas preceded by an introduction. The introduction describes how Bāvarī first heard of the coming of the Buddha from a devotee and sent sixteen of his pupils to visit the Buddha and find out if his claims to Enlightenment were true. A description of the route taken by them is also given. The sixteen suttas give the questions asked by Bāvarī’s disciples and the answers given by the Buddha.

The Pārāyana Vagga is mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya AN.i.133 AN.i.134 AN.ii.45 AN.iv.63 and in the Saṃyutta Nikāya, SN.ii.49 which is evidence of its having been one of the oldest collections.