Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c12.3213

v1.c12.3213

Koṭisanthāra.—In the Jātakas mention is made¹ of the Buddha when he wished to address the monks of Jetavana, asking Ānanda to summon them to the Koṭisanthāra and ordering that a seat be prepared for him at the entrance to the Gandhakuṭi. Koṭisanthāra was probably the name given to that part of the Jetavana grounds just outside the Buddha’s own apartments. It may have been so called in reference to the fact that Anāthapiṇḍika bought the land by spreading on it a crore of kahā- paṇas (kahāpaṇa-koṭi-santhārena²). Or the name may have been restricted to the part actually covered by the pieces of money, for we are told³ that the money was not sufficient to cover the whole of the ground. There were buildings in the Koṭisanthāra, the monks living in these buildings being referred to as “Antokoṭisanthāre vasantā.”⁴ Koṭisanthāra is generally translated as The Golden Pavement,⁵ which seems to be a wrong rendering.