[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [Dictionary of Pali Proper Names](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.malalasekera-1937) › v2.c35.1499 # Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c35.1499 Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names v2.c35.1499 - **Language:** English ### [v2.c35.1499](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.malalasekera-1937.v2.c35.1499) 5. Visākhā.—The chief among the female lay disciples of the Buddha and declared by him to be foremost among those who ministered to the Order (dāyikānam aggā).¹ Her father was Dhanañjaya, son of Meṇḍaka, and her mother Sumanā. She was born in the city of Bhaddiya in Aṅga. When she was seven years old, the Buddha visited Bhaddiya with a large company of monks, out of compassion for the brahmin Sela and others. Meṇḍaka gave Visākhā five hundred companions, five hundred slaves, and five hundred chariots, that she might visit the Buddha. She stopped the chariots some distance away and approached the Buddha on foot. He preached to her and she became a sotāpanna. For the next fortnight Meṇḍaka invited the Buddha and his monks daily to his house, where he fed them. - [Previous: v2.c35.1498](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.malalasekera-1937.v2.c35.1498) - [Next: v2.c35.1500](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.malalasekera-1937.v2.c35.1500) - [Up: v2.c35](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.malalasekera-1937.v2.c35) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.malalasekera-1937.v2.c35.1499](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.malalasekera-1937.v2.c35.1499) · Pramāṇa