Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c35.416

v2.c35.416

1. **Vanavaccha Thera.**—He was the son of Vacchagotta, a brahmin of Kapilavatthu, and was born in the forest, his mother having longed to see it and having been taken in travail while wandering there. His name was Vaccha; but because of his love for the woods, he was called Vanavaccha. He left the world soon after the Buddha’s Renunciation, and led the ascetic life till he heard of the Buddha’s Enlightenment. Then he joined the Order, and it was in the forest that he strove and won arahantship. When he returned to Kapilavatthu with the Buddha, his companions asked him why he so loved the forest, and he spoke a verse in praise of forest-life.¹