Dighanikaya 11.481

11.481

Evaṃ me sutaṃ…pe… nāḷandāyanti kevaṭṭasuttaṃ. Tatrāyaṃ apubbapadavaṇṇanā. Pāvārikambavaneti pāvārikassa ambavane. Kevaṭṭoti idaṃ tassa gahapatiputtassa nāmaṃ. So kira cattālīsakoṭidhano gahapatimahāsālo ativiya saddho pasanno ahosi. So saddhādhikattāyeva ‘‘sace eko bhikkhu aḍḍhamāsantarena vā māsantarena vā saṃvaccharena vā ākāse uppatitvā vividhāni pāṭihāriyāni dasseyya, sabbo jano ativiya pasīdeyya. Yaṃnūnāhaṃ bhagavantaṃ yācitvā pāṭihāriyakaraṇatthāya ekaṃ bhikkhuṃ anujānāpeyya’’nti cintetvā bhagavantaṃ upasaṅkamitvā evamāha.

‘Thus have I heard… at Nāḷandā’ is the Kevaṭṭasutta. Therein, this is the explanation of unfamiliar words. ‘In Pāvārika’s mango grove’: in the mango grove belonging to Pāvārika. ‘Kevaṭṭa’: this is the name of that householder’s son. He, it is said, was a wealthy householder worth forty crores, and was exceedingly devoted and confident. Purely on account of his abundance of faith, he thought: ‘If a single monk were to soar into the air at an interval of half a month, a month, or a year and display various miracles, all the people would become exceedingly inspired. What if I were to entreat the Blessed One and have him permit one monk to perform miracles?’ Thinking thus, he approached the Blessed One and spoke in this way.