Seeking the highest security, the Bodhisatta wanders through Magadha and comes to Senānigama at Uruvelā. Seeing that the land is pleasant and the woods thick, that the Nerañjarā (the river flowing past Uruvelā) runs clear, and that there are villages nearby where alms can be sought, he judges it well suited to striving and settles there. Five ascetics attend the Bodhisatta; they later become the Buddha's first monastic disciples, (see Year 1 after the Awakening). The texts of every major school record this event. Pali Canon
More sources (3)
Different Accounts
The name of the village: Majjhima Nikāya 26 of the Southern tradition has Senānigama; the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya has the village of General Yupiluo; the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya has the settlement of Xinayeni, which the translator glosses as “the village of the assembled army”. Taishō Canon
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More differences between accounts (3)
Where the five came from: the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya says they followed the Bodhisatta of their own accord, hoping that he would teach them after his awakening; the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya says they were sent by King Suddhodana, two from the mother's family and three from the father's; the later commentaries of the Southern tradition say they were Koṇḍañña, one of the who had examined the prince's marks, and the sons of four of the other soothsayers.
Location: the Chinese Madhyama Āgama says south of Elephant Peak; the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya has Elephant Head Hill; the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya says south of the city of Gayā. Taishō Canon
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The Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya adds that four local women fell in love with the Bodhisatta.
Dating
The Buddha between twenty-nine and thirty-five, after his study under the two teachers; inferred from the sequence of events; the year is uncertain.
Related Entries
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
The episode of “arriving and settling at Uruvelā” is recorded by three schools: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Sifen lü) and the Chinese Madhyama Āgama. Attested across multiple schools. Within it, “the five attendants” is recorded by three schools.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Inferred from the sequence of events (neither the canonical texts nor the commentaries give the time; the year is worked out from the order of this event and those around it). Time precision: year uncertain.
Sources
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 26:17.1–17.7
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 36:33.4
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 85:33.4
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.26 p.777a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.780c
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.119c
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.121c
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Ja-a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.780c–781a
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 26:17.1