Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c21.214

v1.c21.214

The Aṅguttara Commentary³ says that the deity, who caused Tapassu and Bhalluka to give alms to the Buddha, was their mother in their previous birth. The Buddha gave them, for worship, eight handfuls of his hair, which he obtained by stroking his head. They took the hair with them to their city—which, according to this account, was **Asitañjana**—and there built a cetiya, from which rays of blue light issued on fast-days. Tapassu is called a *dvevācikaupāsaka*,⁴ and is included in a list of eminent upāsakas.⁵