The Buddha spends the night at the abode of the yakkha Āḷavaka; the three times orders the Buddha to go out and come in, and the Buddha does so each time; the fourth time the Buddha no longer complies. The yakkha then threatens the Buddha with questions, and the Buddha answers in , for example “faith is a person's best wealth”. Hearing this, the yakkha is won over and declares that he will go from place to place paying homage to the Buddha and the Dhamma. The canon of the and the Chinese Saṃyukta Āgama both record this exchange.
Different Accounts
The later commentaries of the Southern tradition give the background in detail: the king of Āḷavī was seized by the yakkha and agreed to send him one person every day; after twelve years only the prince was left in the city; the Buddha, foreseeing that both the prince and the yakkha would attain realization, came alone on foot. At dawn the prince was delivered, and the yakkha handed him over to the Buddha, which is how the prince got the name “Hatthaka of Āḷavī” (“Handed-over”); he grew up to become a male and attained the third stage of realization.
More differences between accounts (3)
The commentaries further say that the Buddha then taught again at the city gate for the king and the people of the city, and eighty-four thousand attained the .
Place and name: the Chinese Saṃyukta Āgama and the Bieyi za ahan jing set it in Magadha, and name the yakkha the demon Ala or the Yakkha of the Wilderness; neither Chinese text has the story of the prince.
The number of times he went out and in: the canon of the Southern tradition has three times complied, the fourth refused; the Chinese Saṃyukta Āgama has “thus again and again”, with refusal the fourth time.
Dating
Year 16 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged fifty, before the ; the year is given by the later commentaries; the commentaries of the Southern tradition further say the Buddha set out on the of the dark fortnight, tamed the yakkha that night, and the prince was delivered at dawn. Only the year is known.
Related Entries
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded by two schools, the Pali canon of the Southern tradition and the Chinese Saṃyukta Āgama. Recorded by two schools.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Commentarial dating (the canonical texts give no date; later commentaries record it). Time precision: fixed to the day, year only.
Sources
- Pali Canon巴利 Snp 1.10:1.1
- Pali Canon巴利 SN 10.12:1.1
- 大正藏大正藏 T02 no.99 p.364b
- 大正藏大正藏 T02 no.100 p.482c
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Snp-a
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 SN-a，§245–246
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 AN-a，§37
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 AN-a
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Bv-a
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Thig-a，§56
- 大正藏大正藏 T02 no.99 p.161a
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Snp-a，§182
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 AN-a，PTS 1.388