Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c12.2510

v1.c12.2510

Kumārapañha.—The fourth chapter of the Khuddakapāṭha.¹ It consists of ten questions which, according to the Commentaries,² the Buddha asked the young Sopāka, then an arahant though only seven years old, with the idea of giving him the upasampadā-ordination. The boy-arahant answered the questions and this conversation formed his ordination.³ These questions were elaborated by the nun of Kajaṅgalā⁴ (q.v.). The Majjhima Commentary⁵ on the Ambalaṭṭhika-Rāhulovāda Sutta seems to indicate a set of questions called Kumārapañha in connection with Rāhula when he was seven years old.