Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c14.918

v1.c14.918

¹⁴ The account given here is taken mainly from the Nidānakathā (J. i. 59 ff.) and evidently embodies later tradition; cp. D. ii. 21 ff. From passages found in the Piṭakas (e.g., A. i. 145; M. i. 163, 240; M. ii. 212 f.) it would appear that the events leading up to the Renunciation were not so dramatic as given here, the process being more gradual. I do not, however, agree with Thomas (op. cit., 58) that, according to these accounts, the Bodhisatta left the world when “quite a boy.” I think the word dahara is used merely to indicate “the prime of youth,” and not necessarily “boyhood.” The description of the Renunciation in the Lal. is very much more elaborate and adds numerous incidents, no account of which is found in the Pāli.