At dawn the Buddha sees with the divine eye many gods taking possession of building sites at Pāṭaliputta, and asks Ānanda who is building a city here; Ānanda answers that the ministers of Magadha are building it as a defence against the Vajjians. The Buddha predicts that the place will become a great metropolis, and that it will be destroyed by three things: flood, fire and internal strife. Pali Canon
More sources (1)
Different Accounts
The builders: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition has the two ministers Sunīdha and Vassakāra; the Chinese versions have Yushe, Yushe or the minister Xingyu (different renderings of the same name).
More differences between accounts (2)
Time of day: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition and the Chinese Youxing jing have dawn; the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya has evening; the Tibetan Vinaya has the midday rest.
The Chinese Fo bannihuan jing and Bannihuan jing place it at “Awei” near Pāṭaliputta, not inside the city.
Dating
Year 45 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged seventy-nine to eighty, before the , at dawn on the day after the arrival at Pāṭaliputta; the time of day is stated in the canonical text; known only to be a certain day in this year.
Related Entries
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded by four schools: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Dīrgha Āgama, the Sanskrit Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and the Chinese Fo bannihuan jing and Bannihuan jing. Attested across multiple schools.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Stated in the canonical text (the text itself gives the time). Time precision: fixed to the day.
Sources
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D6 da 236b6–238a1
- 梵文原典梵文《大般涅槃經》（Waldschmidt）§5.1–5.13
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.192 p.41b
- 轉引自現代整理本轉引自現代整理本
- 梵文原典梵文《大般涅槃經》（Waldschmidt）§5.3
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Sv，§152
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D6 da 236b6
- Pali Canon巴利 DN 16:1.26.1–1.28.9
- Pali Canon巴利律 Kd 6:28.7.2.1–28.8.8
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.1 p.12b–c
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.5 p.162c
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.6 p.177c–178a
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1451 p.384c
- 梵文原典梵文《大般涅槃經》（Waldschmidt）§5.2–5.13