The later commentary on the Dhammapada of the Southern tradition says that the Buddha went from Rājagaha to the Jetavana at Sāvatthī; Devadatta, who had been ill for nine months, wished to see the Buddha and had his disciples carry him there. When he reached the pond at the Jetavana he stepped down from the litter onto the ground, and his feet sank into the earth; his body sank gradually up to the neck, and just before he disappeared he in the Buddha in verse, and fell into Avīci, the hell of greatest suffering. The Buddha said that after an immensely long time he would become a .
Different Accounts
The manner of his death: the later commentaries of the Southern tradition say his feet sank into the earth; the Chinese Ekottarika Āgama says a great fire and a great wind rose from the earth and surrounded his body; the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya says he fell alive into the great hell. The Pali Vinaya records only that he vomited hot blood, and does not record his death.
More differences between accounts (1)
Place: the later commentaries of the Southern tradition have the pond at the Jetavana in Sāvatthī; the opening of the discourse in the Chinese Ekottarika Āgama has the Banyan Park at Kapilavatthu.
Dating
The canonical texts give no year; it is known only to fall in the Buddha's last years, after Devadatta's splitting of the Sangha (which is placed in Year 38 after the Awakening). No year is estimated for it here, and the age is accordingly undetermined.
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded only in the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Wufen lü). Recorded by one school.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Commentarial dating (the canonical texts give no date; later commentaries record it). Time precision: year uncertain.
Sources
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Dhp-a，§15–17，PTS 1.133–1.150
- 大正藏大正藏 T02 no.125 p.804a–b
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.165c
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.193 p.98b
- Pali Canon巴利律 Kd 17:4.3.14