Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c31.2871

v2.c31.2871

Migalaṇḍika.—An undesirable monk (*samaṇakuttaka*). When the Buddha had once been preaching to the monks in Mahāvana in Vesāli regarding the defilement and filth of the body, and had retired into solitude, many of the monks, in disgust with their bodies, put an end to their lives. Some of them sought out Migalaṇḍika and asked him to cut off their heads. This he did with a sword, but on his way to the River Vaggamudā, to wash his sword, he was seized with remorse. A Mārakāyika-devatā, however, appeared before him in the river and assured him he was doing a service to the monks by helping them to commit suicide. This encouraged him, and he put to death many more monks, until the Buddha, discovering the facts, intervened.¹ *v.l.* Migaladdhika.