The later commentaries of the Southern tradition record that while the Buddha was teaching the Abhidhamma in the Heaven of the Thirty-three, he saw the god Indaka seated close by, while the god Aṅkura sat twelve away. Aṅkura had given vast gifts in the human world; Indaka had given only a spoonful of rice to Anuruddha. The Buddha used this to explain that a gift to a virtuous person bears greater fruit; when he had finished, both gods attained the .
Different Accounts
This story is found in the closing verses of Petavatthu 2.9 of the Southern tradition, with the background supplied by the commentaries on the Petavatthu and the Dhammapada.
Dating
Year 7 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged forty-one, during the ; the later commentaries say it was while the Buddha was staying in the Heaven of the Thirty-three after the full moon of Āsāḷha in the seventh year; only the year is known.
Related Entries
- Year
- Places
- People
- Discourses
Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Not recorded in the early sutras and Vinayas of any school; found only in the commentaries or later Buddha biographies. Later addition.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Commentarial dating (the canonical texts give no date; later commentaries record it). Time precision: year only.
Sources
- Pali Canon巴利 Pv 21:0.3
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Pv-a，§314–5
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Dhp-a
- Pali Canon巴利 Pv 21Entire text