Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c14.531

v1.c14.531

Giraggasamajjā.—A festival held from time to time (kālānukālam) in Rājagaha.¹ It was held in the open air in the afternoon and was attended by all people of all grades of society from Aṅga and Magadha. Special seats were prepared for the more eminent of the audience, and the festivities seem to have consisted chiefly of nautch dances.² According to the Vinaya accounts³ there were also singing and music, and the festival was attended not only by laymen, but also by members of religious orders, for otherwise it is unlikely that the Sattarasavaggiyas and the Chabbaggiyas would have been there. Food was provided as well as amusements. Buddhaghosa⁴ explains the name of the festival thus: *giraggasamajjo ti girimhi aggasamajjo girissa vā aggadese sammajo*, and tells us that it was announced for seven days before its commencement, and was held on level ground under a shadow of a hill and outside the city. Perhaps it was originally a pagan religious festival, a survival of old exogamic communistic dancing.⁵