Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c14.944

v1.c14.944

After spending the rainy season at Benares,²⁸ the Buddha returns to Seṇānigāma in Uruvelā, on the way converting and ordaining the thirty Bhaddavaggiyā. At Uruvelā, after a long and protracted exercise of magical powers, consisting in all of three thousand five hundred miracles, the Buddha wins over the three Kassapa brothers, the Tebhātika Jaṭilā, with their thousand followers, and ordains them. They become arahants after listening to the Ādittapariyāya Sutta preached at Gayāsīsa; with these followers he visits Rājagaha, where King Seniya Bimbisāra comes to see him at the Laṭṭhivanuyyāna. The following day the Buddha and the monks visit the palace, preceded by Sakka disguised as a youth and singing the praises of the Buddha. After the meal, the king gifts Veḷuvana to the Buddha and the Order. The Buddha stays for two months at Rājagaha,²⁹ and it is during this time that Sāriputta and Moggallāna join the Order, through the instrumentality of Assaji.³⁰ The number of converts now rapidly increases and the people of Magadha, alarmed by the prospect of childlessness, widowhood, etc., blame the Buddha and his monks. The Buddha, however, refutes their charges.³¹