Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c36.1989

v2.c36.1989

We also learn from the Visuddhimagga⁵ that the distance from Sāketa to Sāvatthi was seven leagues (yojanas), and there we are told that when the Buddha, at the invitation of Cūla-subhaddā, went from Sāvatthi to Sāketa, he resolved that the citizens of the two cities should be able to see each other. In the older books,⁶ however, the distance is given as six leagues. The town lay on the direct route between Sāvatthi and Patiṭṭhāna, and is mentioned⁷ as the first stopping-place out of Sāvatthi. The distance between the two places could be covered in one day, with seven relays of horses,⁸ but the books contain several references⁹ to the dangers of the journey when undertaken on foot. The road was infested with robbers, and the king had to maintain soldiers to protect travellers.