Several Vinayas and Buddha biographies record further conversions during the Buddha's stay at Bārāṇasī. The Chinese Dharmaguptaka and Mahīśāsaka Vinayas say that the nāga king Erakapatta offered a reward at the Ganges to anyone who could explain a verse. The brahmin ascetic Nārada put the question to all six famous non-Buddhist teachers of the day, none of whom could answer, and only when he asked the Buddha at the Deer Park did he receive the answer. The nāga king thereby learned that a Buddha had appeared in the world and came with his followers; Nārada went forth, and the nāga king in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. There are also accounts of another group of fifty who went forth while passing through, of many going forth at a great assembly in the Deer Park, and of Puṇṇa going forth with thirty friends. Taishō Canon
Different Accounts
The episode of the nāga king and Nārada is found in the Chinese Dharmaguptaka and Mahīśāsaka Vinayas; in the Southern tradition it appears only in the later commentaries, and as two separate stories.
More differences between accounts (3)
The other group of fifty is found only in the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya; the going forth of the crowd at the great assembly in the Deer Park only in the Buddha biography Zhong benqi jing; Puṇṇa going forth with thirty friends only in the Buddha biography Fo benxing ji jing.
Timing: the later commentaries of the Southern tradition say Nālaka (that is, Nārada) came to see the Buddha on the seventh day after the first sermon, before Yasa; the Chinese Dharmaguptaka and Mahīśāsaka Vinayas place it after Yasa's fifty friends.
Number of : the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya says there were by now one hundred and eleven in all, the Mahīśāsaka Vinaya sixty-two, and the Buddha biography Fo benxing ji jing ninety-three (including the Buddha) by the end of the . Taishō Canon
Dating
Year 1 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged thirty-five, during the rains retreat; inferred from the sequence of events in each source (the later commentaries say Nālaka arrived on the seventh day after the first sermon), known only to fall within this rains retreat.
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
The episode of “the nāga king Erakapatta and Nārada” is recorded by two schools, the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Sifen lü) and the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Wufen lü). Recorded by two schools. Within it, “the other group of fifty” is recorded only in the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya; “the gathering of the dancing women” is not found in the early sutras and Vinayas of any school; “Puṇṇa's thirty and Sabhiya” are not found in the early sutras and Vinayas of any school.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Commentarial dating (the canonical texts give no date; later commentaries record it); 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: approximate range.
Sources
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.790c–792c
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.791a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.792b
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.106a–107a
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.196 p.149b–c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.190 p.824a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.190 p.825a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.190 p.831b
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.190 p.835b
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Dhp-a，III 230
- Pali Canon巴利 Snp 3.11:1.4
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1425 p.412c
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.792c