Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c26.594

v2.c26.594

5. Nāga Sutta.—The Buddha goes to the bathing-place near the Migāra-mātupāsāda with Ānanda, bathes there, and, while drying his limbs, sees Pasenadi's elephant, Seta, coming out of the bathing-place, attended by great ceremony. People, seeing him, express their wonder and admiration of the noble animal. Udāyī,¹ who is near by, asks the Buddha if it is only the elephant whom people praise for his bulk or do they praise other bulky things as well? They do, says the Buddha, praise all huge things—horses, bulls, snakes, trees, and big men, calling them Nāgas, but really, the best Nāga is he who commits no enormity in word or thought (*āguṃ na karoti, tamnāgo*). Thereupon Udāyī breaks forth into song, praising the Buddha’s teaching, comparing the Buddha to an elephant, each limb representing a different virtue.²