Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c33.357

v2.c33.357

At the time of the Buddha’s death, there were eighteen large monasteries in Rājagaha.²⁷ Close to the city flowed the rivers Tapodā and Sappinī.²⁸ In the city was a Potter’s Hall where travellers from far distances spent the night.²⁹ The city gates were closed every evening, and after that it was impossible to enter the city.³⁰ In the Buddha’s time there was constant fear of invasion by the Licchavis, and Vassakāra (q.v.) is mentioned as having strengthened its fortifications. To the north-east of the city were the brahmin villages of Ambasanda³¹ and Sālindiya³²; other villages are mentioned in the neighbourhood, such as Kiṭāgiri, Upatissagāma, Kolitagāma, Andhakavinda, Sakkhara and Codanāvatthu (q.v.). In the Buddha’s time, Rājagaha had a population of eighteen crores, nine in the city and nine outside, and the sanitary conditions were not of the best.³³ The Treasurer of Rājagaha and Anāthapiṇḍika had married each other’s sisters, and it was while Anāthapiṇḍika (q.v.) was on a visit to Rājagaha that he first met the Buddha.