Early Monastic Buddhism v1.c14.s2.t2.2

v1.c14.s2.t2.2

Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta, the centre of whose activities was at Rājagaha, was the first non-brāhmanic religious teacher to feel the power of the religion preached by Buddha for within a very short time he saw that half of his following had been won over to Buddha’s side. It was Assaji, one of the first five disciples of Buddha, who commenced the missionary work by converting Sāriputta, the principal disciple of Sañjaya, to Buddhism, and Sāriputta in his turn followed him up until half of his quondam fellow disciples including Moggallāna embraced Buddhism. This event together with the previous conversions made by Buddha and his followers created in Magadha a sensation which evoked that Buddha converted 1000 Jaṭilas, 250 followers of Sañjaya, and the sons of distinguished Magadhan families, thereby making the families sonless and the wives husbandless, and there was no knowing who might be taken in next.¹