Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c6.3250

v1.c6.3250

It is noteworthy that the word Avīci occurs only once in the four Nikāyas—namely, in a passage in the Cakkavatti-Sīhanāda Sutta of the Dīgha Nikāya¹⁶—but in this context there is no indication that the name refers to a purgatory. The word is not found in a list of purgatories given in the Sutta Nipāta¹⁷ and in the Saṃyutta.¹⁸ It is, however, found in a poem in the Itivuttaka (No. 89) which recurs both in the Vinaya¹⁹ and in the Dhammasaṅgaṇi,²⁰ and there it is specifically called a niraya.