Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c12.318

v1.c12.318

3. Kaṭṭhavāhana.—A king. He had been a master builder and built for Bodhirājakumāra, a palace called Kokanadā, unrivalled in its splendour. In order to prevent the building of a similar palace for anyone else, the prince decided to make away with the master builder at the conclusion of his work, and confided his plan to his friend Sañjikāputta. The latter, being most distressed at this suggestion of wanton cruelty, warned the builder who, procuring seasoned timber with sap well dried, under pretence that it was needed for the palace, shut himself up and fashioned a wooden Garuḍa-bird, large enough to hold himself and his family. When his preparations were complete, the builder with his family mounted the bird and rode away through the air to the Himālaya, where he founded a kingdom and became known as King Kaṭṭhavāhana.¹