Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c30.28

v2.c30.28

3. Bhaggava.—A potter in Rājagaha in whose dwelling the Buddha met and conversed with Pukkusāti.¹ Bhaggava seems to have been a generic name for all potters, perhaps a special form of address used towards members of the *kumbhakāra* “caste.” Thus we find in the books several instances of potters being addressed as “Bhaggava.”² In the Saṃyutta Nikāya³ the Buddha addresses Ghaṭikāra Brahmā as “Bhaggava”; he had been a potter of Vehaliṅga in his previous birth and the name “Ghaṭikāra” itself means “jar-maker.” The Commentaries give no explanation of the word; perhaps the potters claimed their descent from Bhṛgu. Bhaggava is sometimes given as an example of a gotta.⁴ See also Bhaggavagotta.