Year 21 after the Awakening

This year the Buddha is fifty-five (all ages are reckoned from an awakening at thirty-five), and the “Sāvatthī Years” (Years 21 to 44 after the Awakening) begin: according to the later commentaries, from now on the Buddha makes the Jetavana and the Eastern Park at Sāvatthī his fixed places for the rains retreat. Most discourses given in this period record only the place, not the year, so no event is placed explicitly in this year; these discourses are gathered under “Texts of the Sāvatthī Years”. Three events, such as Ānanda beginning to serve as his permanent attendant (the disciple who looked after the Buddha's daily needs), are said by the later commentaries only to fall after the first twenty years, and are placed under “Events known only to fall within a span of years”.