Nanda untranslated

Nanda 01. Nanda Thera. Son of Suddhodana and Mahā Pajāpatī, and therefore half-brother of the Buddha. He was only a few days younger than the Buddha, and when the Buddha’s mother died, Pajāpatī gave her own child to nurses and suckled the Buddha herself (AN­a.i.186).

On the third day of the Buddha’s visit to Kapilavatthu, after the Awakening, the Buddha went to Nanda’s house, where festivities were in progress in honour of Nanda’s coronation and marriage to Janapadakaḷyānī Nandā. The Buddha wished Nanda good fortune and handed him his bowl to be taken to the vihāra. Nanda, thereupon, accompanied the Buddha out of the palace. Janapadakaḷyānī, seeing him go, asked him to return quickly. Once inside the vihāra, however, the Buddha asked Nanda to become a monk, and he, unable to refuse the request, agreed with reluctance. But as the days passed he was tormented with thoughts of his beloved, and became very downcast and despondent, and his health suffered. The Buddha suggested that they should visit the Himālaya. On the way there, he showed Nanda the charred remains of a female monkey and asked him whether Janapadakaḷyānī were more beautiful than that. The answer was in the affirmative. The Buddha then took him to Tāvatiṁsa where Sakka, with his most beautiful nymphs, waited on them. In answer to a question by the Buddha, Nanda admitted that these nymphs were far more attractive than Janapadakaḷyānī, and the Buddha promised him one as wife if he would live the monastic life. Nanda was all eagerness and readily agreed. On their return to Jetavana the Buddha related this story to the eighty chief disciples, and when they questioned Nanda, he felt greatly ashamed of his lustfulness. Summoning all his courage, he strove hard and, in no long time, attained Arahant-ship. He thereupon came to the Buddha and absolved him from his promise (Thag.157f.; Ja.i.91; ii.92ff.; Ud.iii.2; Dhp­a.i.96-105; Ud­a.168ff.; Snp­a.273f.)

When the Buddha was told of Nanda’s Arahant-ship by a Devatā, he related the Saṅgāmāvacarajataka (Ja 182, q.v.) to show how, in the past, too, Nanda had been quick to follow advice. He also related the story of Kappaṭa (q.v.) and his donkey to show that it was not the first time that Nanda had been won to obedience by the lure of the female sex. The male donkey in the story was Nanda and the female donkey Janapadakaḷyānī. (Dhp­a.i.103f.)

Nanda is identified with the sub-king (uparājā) in the Kurudhammajataka (q.v.).

Later, on seeing how eminently Nanda was trained in self control, the Buddha declared him chief among his disciples in that respect (indriyesu guttadvārānaṁ). Nanda had aspired to this eminence in the time of Padumuttara Buddha. In the time of Atthadassi Buddha he was a tortoise in the river Vinatā, and, seeing the Buddha on the bank waiting to cross, he took him over to the other side on his back (AN.i.25; AN­a.i.174f.; Thag­a.i.276ff.)

He is said to have been called Nanda because his birth brought joy to his kinsmen. The Apadāna (i.57) says he was of golden hue, as reward for a gift of a costly robe given by him to Padumuttara Buddha. One hundred thousand kappas ago he became king four times under the name of Cela. Sixty thousand kappas ago he was again king in four births, under the name of Upacela. Later, five thousand kappas ago, he was four times Cakkavatti, and his name then, too, was Cela.

Nanda was very beautiful, and was only four inches shorter than the Buddha. He once wore a robe made according to the dimensions of the Buddha’s robe. Discovering this, the Buddha chided him for his presumption (Vin.iv.173). Perhaps this is another version of the story found at SN.ii.281. There, Nanda is said to have donned a robe which was pressed on both sides, painted his face, and gone to see the Buddha, carrying a bright bowl. The Buddha chided him, and Nanda thereupon became a forest dweller and a rag-robe man. Buddhaghosa (SN­a.ii.174) says that Nanda dressed himself up in order to evoke some comment from the Buddha – either approval, so that he might dress thus for the remainder of his life, or censure, in which case he would put on rag robes and dwell in the forest.

The Aṅguttaranikāya (AN.iv.166f) contains a discourse in which the Buddha discusses Nanda’s claim to have achieved self control in all things.

He is probably to be identified with Taraṇiya Thera of the Apadāna. (ii.428; cp. Thag­a.i.277.)

Nanda 02. Called Nandamāṇava. One of the chief disciples of Bāvarī; he visited the Buddha: His conversation with the Buddha is recorded in the Nandamāṇavapucchā. Later, he became an Arahant. Snp.vs.1007, 1124.

Nanda 03. Called Nanda Gopālaka. He was a cowherd of Kosambi. One day he heard the Buddha preach to the monks, using as simile a log of wood how, in certain circumstances, it finds its way direct to the sea and how, similarly, a monk may reach Nibbāna. Nanda asked permission to join the Saṅgha. But the Buddha insisted that he should first return the cattle, for which he was responsible, to their owners. Nanda did so, and was then ordained, becoming an Arahant soon after. SN.iv.181.

Nanda 04. Nanda Thera. An Arahant. In the past he was once a hunter, and, while wandering in the forest, he saw a Pacceka Buddha named Anuruddha. He built for the Buddha a hut thatched with lotus flowers, and, having listened to the Buddha’s preaching, became a monk. Soon after he fell ill, died, and was born in Tusita. He possessed the power of traveling through the air and of walking over the sea. In this birth he visited the Buddha and questioned him regarding the “further shore.” At the end of the conversation he became an Arahant. Ap.ii.350f.

He is probably identical with No. 3 above. See DN­a.i.122, where Nanda Gopālaka’s questions are given; these seem to correspond with Nanda Thera’s questions about the “further shore.”

Nanda 05. A herdsman of Anāthapiṇḍika, living in Sāvatthī. He was rich and tended the king’s cattle as well. He often went to Anāthapiṇḍika’s house with gifts, and there he saw and heard the Buddha. He invited the Buddha to his house, but his invitation was not accepted for some time, until his wisdom should be ripe. But at last the Buddha paid him a visit, lasting seven days, and Nanda entertained him and his monks with the choicest foods. On the seventh day the Buddha preached to him and he became a Sotāpanna. He accompanied the Buddha part of the way back to the vihāra, but, on his return journey, was killed by a hunter’s arrow. Dhp­a.i.322f.

Nanda 06. Nandamāṇava. A former incarnation of Subhūti Thera (q.v.) in the time of Padumuttara Buddha. He was a Mahā Sāla Brahmin of Haṁsavatī, and later became an ascetic at the head of forty-four thousand Jaṭilas. After thirty thousand years, Padumuttara visited him in the forest, and, later, ten thousand of his followers joined the Buddha. Nanda provided them all with seats made of heavenly flowers, the Buddha’s being one league in height. Nanda stood by the Buddha for seven days, holding an umbrella made of flowers. Nanda and the rest of his disciples joined the Saṅgha, and all except Nanda became Arahants, he being born in the Brahma world after death. Later, for five hundred births he was a forest dweller living alone on Mount Nisabha in Himavā. He was king of the Devas for eighty births. (Ap.i.67; Thag­a.i.17f.; AN­a.i.124f.) He evidently belonged to the Kosiya gotta (Ap.i.67.)

Nanda 07. A disciple of a Pacceka Buddha named Sabbābhibhū. The Bodhisatta was then a drunkard, named Munāli, and abused Nanda. It was a result of this that Ciñcā slandered Gotama Buddha. Ap.i.299; Ud­a.264.

Nanda 08. A Devaputta who visited the Buddha and had a conversation with him. SN.i.62.

Nanda 09. One of the three palaces occupied by Vipassī Buddha in his last lay life. Bv.xx.24.

Nanda 10. v.l. Canda. One of the chief lay supporters of Sikhī Buddha.. Bv­a.204.

Nanda 11. King of Benares, a former birth of Mahā Kassapa. He belonged to a poor family, but, owing to his merit in having covered Kassapa Buddha’s cetiya with a golden coverlet, he came to be crowned king of Benares. He had a kapparukkha, which provided him and his subjects with divine robes. With the help of his queen – who became Bhaddakapilā in this life – he held a great almsgiving to five hundred Pacceka Buddhas, led by Mahā Paduma, and entertained them up to the time of their death. Nanda was away, quelling a frontier rebellion, at the time of their death. On his return, he gave over his kingdom to his eldest son and became an ascetic. Ap.ii.582; Thag­a.ii.139ff.; SN­a.ii.140f.; the story is also found at Pv-a.73ff.; there it is said that Nanda was granted divine clothes because he had once given his shawl to a Pacceka Buddha for a robe; see also Thīg­a.72.

Nanda’s wealth was proverbial, e.g., Pv.ii.1 (vs. 16), iii.2 (vs.16).

Nanda 12. One of the chief lay supporters of Maṅgala Buddha. Bv.xxii. 25.

Nanda 13. See Nanda Vaccha

Nanda 14. A slave, born in this life as the co-resident of Sāriputta. For his story see the Nandajātaka (Ja 39).

Nanda 15. A Brahmin of Takkasilā, learned in the Vedas, who supported his parents. He related four verses to Jayaddisa, seated on a throne, and earned four thousand pieces of money. For details see the Jayaddisajataka (Ja 513). Ja.v.23ff.

This is evidently the same story as that related in the Mahā Sutasomajataka (Ja 537, Ja.v.476f.,483). There Nanda is said to have learnt the stanzas from Kassapa Buddha, and to have come expressly to Indapatta in order to teach them to Sutasoma. Nanda is identified with Ānanda (ibid. 511. For details see the Mahā Sutasomajātaka.

Nanda 16. Called Nandakumāra. A Brahmin ascetic, brother of the Bodhisatta in his birth as Soṇa. Nanda is identified with Ānanda. For details see Soṇa Nandajātaka (Ja 532). Ja.v.312ff.

Nanda 17. A Brahmin, mentioned in the Milindapañha, p.101. This probably refers to the Brahmin Ānanda (q.v.) who raped Uppalavaṇṇā (Dhp­a.ii.49); this is confirmed by MN­a.ii.814, where Uppalavaṇṇā’s seducer is called Nanda māṇavaka as having been swallowed up by the earth for having insulted the Buddha and his disciples.

Nanda 18. See Nandopananda.

Nanda 19. Nanda Kumāputta Thera. He was born in Veḷukaṇḍa in Avanti and his mother was Kumā. Having heard Sāriputta preach, he entered the Saṅgha, visiting the Buddha later. From the Buddha he obtained a formula of meditation and became an Arahant (Thag.vs.36; Thag­a.i.100). He had a friend named Sudanta (also called Vāsula) who, too, became an Arahant (ibid.101). In the time of Vipassī Buddha, Nanda was an ascetic, and, having seen the Buddha in the royal park at Bandhumatī, gave him oil to massage his feet. He is probably to be identified with Abbhañjanadāyaka of the Apadāna. Ap.ii.456.

Nanda 20. Nine kings, called the Nava Nandā, reigned in India after the dynasty of Kāḷāsoka and his sons (Mhv.v.15). The first of the Nava Nandā was a bandit who captured the throne. Their names are given in the Mahā Bodhivaṁsa as follows: Uggasena Nanda, Paṇḍuka Nanda, Paṇḍugati Nanda, Bhūtapāla Nanda, Raṭṭhapāla Nanda, Govisānaka Nanda, Dasasiddhaka Nanda, Kevaṭṭa Nanda and Dhana Nanda (p.98; for details see Mhv­ṭ.177-9). The last was killed by Candagutta with the help of Cāṇakka, and his throne was seized. The nine Nandas together reigned for twenty-two years.

Nanda 21. There were once two butchers named Nanda. One day they killed a cow, and the younger asked that he might take the head and the tail as he had many children. The elder refused and was killed by the other. But the murderer had no peace of mind thereafter, and, on his death, was born in hell. Iti-a.82; also AN­a.i.295; but here the names are not mentioned.

Nanda 22. A distinguished monk in the time of Parakkamabāhu I. He lived in the Selantara monastery, and was appointed Head of the three fraternities in Rohaṇa. Cv.lxxviii.10.

Nanda 23. A butcher who killed cattle for fifty years. One day, having no meat, he cut off the tongue of a living ox, fried it and started eating it. His own tongue fell on to his plate. He died in great agony and was born in hell. MN­a.ii.814.

Nanda 24. The Isigilisutta mentions four Pacceka Buddhas of this name. MN.iii.70.

Nanda 25. See s.v. Nandaka.

Nandā 01. Chief woman disciple of Dīpaṅkara Buddha. Bv.ii.214; Ja.i.29.

Nandā 02. One of the four wives of Magha. When Magha and his friends built their hall, Nandā had a pond built in the grounds. As a result, she was reborn as the mate of Sakka, and the Nandāpokkharaṇī came into existence on account of her merit. Ja.i.201ff.; Dhp­a.i.269f.

Nandā 03. Three daughters of the Bodhisatta in one of his births. For details see the Suvaṇṇahaṁsajātaka (Ja 136).

Nandā 04. Daughter of Candakumāra, Ja.vi.134.

Nandā 05. A nun, sister of Thullanandā. Her other two sisters were Nandavatī and Sundarīnandā. Vin.iv.211, 259.

Nandā 06. Nandā Therī. Declared by the Buddha (AN.i.25) to be foremost among nuns in meditative power (jhāyīnaṁ). She was the daughter of Suddhodana and Mahā Pajāpatī and was therefore Sister of Nanda Thera.

She is evidently to be identified with Sundarīnandā.

There were three Therīs (Snp­a.i.241) of the name of Nandā who were ordained with Pajāpatī:

• Nandā, sister of Nanda Thera (also evidently called Sundarīnandā and sometimes Rūpanandā and even Janapadakaḷyāni Nandā) (e.g. AN­a.i.198; and Thīg­a.80),
• Abhirūpānandā (daughter of Khema the Sākyan) and
• Janapadakaḷyāni Nandā (evidently sometimes also called Rūpānandā, e.g.,Dhp­a.iii.113f.).

The legends about them seem to have been confused from very early times.

Nandā 07. A nun (evidently distinct from No. 6) mentioned as having died at Ñātika and having been reborn spontaneously in the Suddhāvāsā, there to pass away, never to return. DN.ii.91; SN.v.356f.

Nandā 08. One of the chief women supporters of Kakusandha Buddha. Bv.xxiii.22.

Nandā 09. Daughter of King Ānanda of Haṁsavatī and half sister of Padumuttara Buddha. She was a previous birth of Sakulā (Pakulā) Therī (q.v.). Thīg­a.91, 92.

Nandā 10. Nandā Therī. An Arahant. Sister of King Kāḷāsoka. She was instrumental in winning the king’s support for the orthodox monks, when he was inclined to favour the heretics. Mhv.iv.38ff.; probably the same as Dpv.xviii.10.

Nandā 11. Wife of Nandasena.

Nandā 12. One of the palaces occupied by Paduma Buddha in his last lay life. Bv.ix.17.

Nandā 13. A palace occupied by Sujāta Buddha in his last lay life. Bv.xiii.21.

Nandā 14. Probably the name of a celestial female musician, of Indra. Vv.ii.10; iv.25; but see Pv-a. (372), note on p.93 (1.23).

Nandā 15. The collective name of the nine Nandas (see Nanda 20) who ruled after the ten sons of Kāḷāsoka. Mhv.v.15.