Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c12.3504

v1.c12.3504

At the time of the Buddha Sāvatthi was the capital of Kosala. Next in importance was Saketa, which, in ancient days, had sometimes been the capital.¹⁵ There was also Ayojjhā, on the banks of the Sarayu, which, judging from the Rāmāyaṇa, must once have been the chief city; but in the sixth century B.C. it was quite unimportant. The river Sarayu divided Kosala into two parts, Uttara Kosala and Dakkhiṇa Kosala.¹⁶ Other Kosala rivers mentioned in the books are the Aciravatī¹⁷ and the Sundarikā,¹⁸ while among localities spoken of as being in Kosala are Icchānaṅgala (A. iii. 30, 341; iv. 340, etc.), Ukkaṭṭhā (D. i. 87), Ekasālā (S. i. 111), Opasāda (M. ii. 164), Kesaputta of the Kālāmas (A. i. 188), Caṇḍalakappa (M. ii. 209), Toraṇavatthu (S. iv. 374), Daṇḍakappa (A. iii. 402), Nagaravinda (M. iii. 290), Naḷakapāna (A. v. 122; M. i. 462), Nālandā (S. iv. 322), Paṅkadhā (A. i. 236), Veṇāgapura (A. i. 180), Veḷudvāra (S. v. 352), Sālā (M. i. 285, 400; S. v. 227), Sālāvatika (D. i. 244), and Setavya (D. ii. 316).¹⁹