Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c36.1990

v2.c36.1990

Midway between Sāketa and Sāvatthi was Toraṇavatthu, and it is said¹⁰ that, when Pasenadi went from the capital to Sāketa, he spent a night in Toraṇavatthu, where he visited Khemā Therī who lived there. Between Sāketa and Sāvatthi was a broad river which could be crossed only by boat.¹¹ Near Sāketa was the Añjanavana, where the Buddha sometimes stayed during his visits to Sāketa and where he had several discussions—e.g., with Kakudha,¹² Meṇḍasira (q.v.), and Kuṇḍaliya.¹³ On other occasions he stayed at the Kāḷakārāma¹⁴ gifted to the Order by Kāḷaka (q.v.), and the Tikaṇṭakivana,¹⁵ both of which were evidently near the city. Mention is also made¹⁶ of Sāriputta, Moggallāna and Anuruddha staying together in Sāketa; Bhaddākāpilānī¹⁷ also stayed there, so did Ānanda. Once when Ānanda was staying in the Migadāya in the Añjanavana, a nun, described as Jaṭilagāhikā (probably a follower of the Jaṭilas), visited him and questioned him regarding concentration.¹⁸ Buddhaghosa says¹⁹ that there lived at Sāketa a brahmin and his wife who, in five hundred lives, had been the parents of the Buddha. When the Buddha visited Sāketa they met him, and, owing to their fondness for him, came to be called Buddhapitā and Buddhamātā, their family being called Buddhakula.