Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c26.616

v2.c26.616

Nāgadīpa.—A province of Ceylon, identified with the modern Jaffna peninsula and the north-west of Ceylon. The Buddha’s second visit to Ceylon was to Nāgadīpa, to settle a dispute between two Nāgas, Mahodara and Cūḷodara.¹ Jambukola (q.v.) was a harbour in Nāgadīpa, and there a vihāra was built by Devānampiyatissa² and later restored by Kanitthatissa.³ This vihāra was probably called Tissa-vihāra.⁴ Another vihāra, called Sālīpabbata, was built by Mahallaka-Nāga.⁵ The Uṇṇalomaghara, the Rājāyatana-dhātucetiya and the Amalacetiya were probably all places of worship in Nāgadīpa.⁶ The Valāhassa Jātaka⁷ says that the coast of Ceylon, from the river Kalyāṇī to Nāgadīpa, was once infested by yakkhinīs. Once⁸ Nāgadīpa was known as Serumadīpa, and near by was Karadīpa, earlier known as Ahidīpa.⁹ An old story, given in the Commentaries,¹⁰ speaks of a king called Dīparājā, who reigned over Nāgadīpa in great splendour. Nāgadīpa was once an important centre of Buddhism in Ceylon¹¹ and contained many places of pilgrimage. There is a legend¹² which relates that, when the Buddha’s sāsana comes to an end, all the Buddha’s relics in Ceylon will gather together at the Mahācetiya and travel to the Rājāyatanacetiya in Nāgadīpa, and then from there to the Mahābodhi tree at Gayā.