Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c31.105

v2.c31.105

Buddhaghosa says¹⁹ that there are many fanciful explanations (bahudhā papañcanti) of the word Magadha. One such is that king Cetiya, when about to be swallowed up by the earth for having introduced lying into the world, was thus admonished by those standing round—“*Mā gadhaṃ pavisa*”; another that those who were digging in the earth saw the king, and that he said to them: “*Mā gadhaṃ karotha*.” The real explanation, accepted by Buddhaghosa himself, seems to have been that the country was the residence of a tribe of khattiyas called Magadhā.