Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c34.246

v2.c34.246

The Commentaries³³ contain a mythical account of the origin of the Licchavis. The queen of Benares gave birth to a lump of flesh, and, wishing to avoid disgrace, her ladies-in-waiting put it in a sealed casket and threw it into the Ganges. A deva wrote the king's name on the casket, which was picked up by an ascetic, who tended the embryo until two children, a boy and a girl, emerged from it. The ascetic fed them with milk. Whatever entered the stomachs of the children could be seen as though the stomach were transparent, so that they appeared skinless (nicchavi); some said the skin was so thin (linachavi) that the stomach and whatever entered it appeared as though sewn together. From this the children came to be called Licchavi, and, as they grew, were brought up by the villagers living near the hermitage. The other children disliked them, saying they were to be avoided (vajjitabbā) because of their quarrelsome disposition. When they were sixteen years old the villagers obtained land for them from the king, founded a town, and married them together. Their country came to be called Vajji. They had sixteen pairs of twins, and their city had to be greatly enlarged—hence its name, Visālā or Vesālī.