Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c27.92

v2.c27.92

Paccantajanapada.—In the texts contrast is often drawn between the Paccantajanapada and the Majjhimadesa. In the latter the fortunate ones are born, and it is a great disadvantage to be born outside it; for, then, the possibilities of hearing of the Buddha and his teaching become remote.¹ The boundaries of the Majjhimadesa are given in several places, and the Paccantajanapada lies beyond these boundaries. They are: in the east, Kajaṅgala and Mahāsālā; in the south-east, the river Salalavatī; in the west, Setakaṇṇikā; in the west, Thūna; and in the north, Usiraddhaja (pabbata).² The Vinaya rules were relaxed in the case of those who lived in the Paccantajanapada, where it is said that the Buddha never spent a night.³