Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c23.1100

v1.c23.1100

Doṇa first met the Buddha on the road between Ukkaṭṭhā and Setavyā. He saw the Buddha’s footprints and, following them, he came upon the Buddha seated at the foot of a tree. Doṇa asked him various questions as to his identity and the Buddha explained to him his Buddhahood.² The Commentary³ states that Doṇa was a teacher with a large following, and that the Buddha’s journey to Setavyā was undertaken for the purpose of meeting him. At the end of the Buddha’s discourse, Doṇa became an anāgāmī and composed a poem of twelve thousand words in praise of the Buddha. This poem became known as the Doṇagajjita. Doṇa was held in very high esteem as a teacher, and it is said⁴ that at some time or other practically all the chiefs of Jambudīpa had sat at his feet. Therefore he was able to dissuade them from quarrelling over the Buddha’s relics. On that occasion he stood on a hill and recited the Doṇagajjita. At first his voice could not be heard through the uproar, but, by degrees, they recognised his voice and listened with wrapt attention.