Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c12.1721

v1.c12.1721

1. Kāḷasilā.—The black rock by the side of Isigili (Isigilipasse). It was there that Moggallāna was murdered¹ and that Godhika² and Vakkali³ committed suicide. It was a lonely spot, and we are told that when monks came from afar to Rājagaha they would ask Dabba Mallaputta to find them lodgings there because they wished to see evidence of Dabba’s iddhi-powers.⁴ The Buddha is mentioned⁵ as having stayed at Kāḷasilā with a great company of monks. On one such occasion the Buddha is said to have given Ānanda an opportunity of asking him to continue to live for a whole æon. But Ānanda failed to do so.⁶ The Buddha is elsewhere⁷ described as residing at Kāḷasilā with five hundred monks, all of whom were arahants. Moggallāna discovered their powers, and thus earned the praise of Vaṅgīsa.