Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c23.918

v1.c23.918

Ajātasattu agreed, and provided Devadatta with royal archers to shoot the Buddha. These were placed on different paths, one on one path, two on another, and so on up to sixteen, and the plan was so laid that not one of them would survive to tell the tale. But when the Buddha approached the first man, he was terrified by the Buddha’s majesty, and his body became stiff. The Buddha spoke kindly to him, and the man, throwing away his weapons, confessed his intended crime. The Buddha thereupon preached to him and, having converted him, sent him back by a different path. The other groups of archers, tired of waiting, gave up the vigil and went away one after the other. The different groups were led to the Buddha by his *iddhi*-power, and he preached to them and converted them. The first man returned to Devadatta saying that he was unable to kill the Buddha because of his great *iddhi*-power.