Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c9.819

v1.c9.819

After this meeting Upaka went to the Vaṅkahāra country and there, having fallen desperately in love with Cāpā (q.v.), the daughter of a huntsman who looked after him, starved for seven days and in the end persuaded the huntsman to give her to him in marriage. For a living, Upaka hawked about the flesh brought by the huntsman. In due course Cāpā bore him a son, Subhadda. When the baby cried, Cāpā sang to him saying, "Upaka's son, ascetic's son, game-dealer's boy, don't cry," thus mocking her husband. In exasperation he told her of his friend Anantajina, but she did not stop teasing him. One day, in spite of her attempts to keep him, he left her and went to the Buddha at Sāvatthi. The Buddha, seeing him coming, gave orders that anyone asking for Anantajina should be brought to him. Having learnt from Upaka his story, the Buddha had him admitted to the Order. As a result of his meditation, Upaka became an anāgāmi and was reborn in the Avihā heaven.³ The Saṃyutta Nikāya⁴ records a visit paid to the Buddha by Upaka and other beings born in Avihā. According to the Majjhima Commentary,⁵ Upaka became an arahant as soon as he was born in Avihā.