King Pasenadi entertains Ānanda and other monks

[Full title: Depiction of scenes from the life of Buddha: King Pasenadi entertains Ānanda and other monks]

Story:-

The story is given in Dhammapada-atthakatha. One day king Pasenadi of Śrāvastī saw several monks passing through the street. He learnt that they were going for breakfast in the houses of Anathapiṇḍika. The king also conceived the desire to entertain monks and requested Buddha to come to his palace. For seven days Buddha was entertained by the king after which he told the king that the bhikśus could not take their meal regularly in any one place as many desired them to visit their homes. The Master asked the congregation of monks headed by Ānanda to visit the palace regularly.

For seven days the king personally attended them. On the eighth day the king neglected his duty and the monks stopped to go to the palace. On the tenth day there was no one except Ānanda to go to the king’s house. When Ānanda departed the king enquired and learnt that the others had stopped coming. The king complained this to the Master.

The Master addressed the monks telling them of the nine traits disqualifying a family from receiving visits from the monks and nine traits that entitle a family to receive visits from them. Finally he told the king that the monks lacked confidence in him which was the reason for their stopping away from his palace. Hence the king for winning their confidence married a daughter of Mahānama, one of the Śākyas and the cousin of Buddha.^[1]

Depiction:-

A coping fragment from Amarāvatī preserved in the Madras Government Museum shows a king, that is, Pasenadi adoring four Buddhist monks. His attendants and a turbaned man, perhaps princes are in an attitude of reverence. One of them is kneeling at the feet of the monks and a dwarf is also visible.^[2]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Ibid, pp 197-198,

[2]:

Ibid, pp 197-198, pl LIII, fig 1