One of the three unfortunate rebirths, above that of hell beings and hungry ghosts.

The assembly place where the thirty-three gods of Trāyastriṃśa heaven gather, which is located to the southwest of the city of Sudarśana and which is known as Sudharmā (“Good Dharma”).

An epithet of the Buddha. This English rendering of the Sanskrit bhagavat should be understood not in the sense of having been blessed by a higher being but in the wider sense of the word “blessed” (pronounced “blessèd”): the state of enjoying felicity and receiving reverence.

One of the four heavenly groves outside the city of Sudarśana on Mount Meru. It owes its name to the fact that it was constructed by the king of the gandharvas, Citraratha (“He Who Has a Brightly-Colored Chariot”), for Kubera, king of yakṣas and god of wealth.

The Sanskrit cyavana can also have the specific connotation of “dropping” to a lower state of rebirth upon passing away.

One of the twelve types of the Buddha’s teaching (dvādaśāṅga). In this sense, the Sanskrit word avadāna means “exceptional feat” or “magnificent deed,” but in the context of the twelve types of buddhavacana the term came to refer to the narrative accounts of such deeds.

Literally “son of gods” or “divine scion,” the Sanskrit devaputra is often simply used as a synonym for “god” (deva), with -putra indicating that it involves a male member of this category of beings. But the term can have the added connotation of a being of divine origin who, due to a heroic feat, is able to enjoy long-lasting bliss in heaven.

One of the three unfortunate rebirths, below that of hungry ghosts and animals.

One of the first Buddhist monasteries, located in a park outside Śrāvastī, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kośala in northern India. This park was originally owned by Prince Jeta, hence the name Jetavana, meaning Jeta’s grove. The wealthy merchant Anāthapiṇḍada, wishing to offer it to the Buddha, sought to buy it from him, but the prince, not wishing to sell, said he would only do so if Anāthapiṇḍada covered the entire property with gold coins. Anāthapiṇḍada agreed, and managed to cover all of the park except the entrance, hence the name Anāthapiṇḍadasyārāmaḥ, meaning Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. The place is usually referred to in the sūtras as “Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park,” and according to the Saṃghabhedavastu the Buddha used Prince Jeta’s name in first place because that was Prince Jeta’s own unspoken wish while Anāthapiṇḍada was offering the park. Inspired by the occasion and the Buddha’s use of his name, Prince Jeta then offered the rest of the property and had an entrance gate built. The Buddha specifically instructed those who recite the sūtras to use Prince Jeta’s name in first place to commemorate the mutual effort of both benefactors.

Anāthapiṇḍada built residences for the monks, to house them during the monsoon season, thus creating the first Buddhist monastery. It was one of the Buddha’s main residences, where he spent around nineteen rainy season retreats, and it was therefore the setting for many of the Buddha’s discourses and events. According to the travel accounts of Chinese monks, it was still in use as a Buddhist monastery in the early fifth century ᴄᴇ, but by the sixth century it had been reduced to ruins.

A Kashmiri scholar-monk who worked on many translations at Samyé, Tibet, upon the invitation of the Tibetan king Tri Ralpachen (ca. 806–38).

“One who belongs to the Kuśika lineage.” An epithet of the god Śakra, also known as Indra, the king of the gods in the Trāyastriṃśa heaven. In the Ṛgveda, Indra is addressed by the epithet Kauśika, with the implication that he is associated with the descendants of the Kuśika lineage (gotra) as their aiding deity. In later epic and Purāṇic texts, we find the story that Indra took birth as Gādhi Kauśika, the son of Kuśika and one of the Vedic poet-seers, after the Puru king Kuśika had performed austerities for one thousand years to obtain a son equal to Indra who could not be killed by others. In the Pāli Kusajātaka (Jāt V 141–45), the Buddha, in one of his former bodhisattva lives as a Trāyastriṃśa god, takes birth as the future king Kusa upon the request of Indra, who wishes to help the childless king of the Mallas, Okkaka, and his chief queen Sīlavatī. This story is also referred to by Nāgasena in the Milindapañha.

The river that flows from the lake Manda at the foot of Mount Meru in Trāyastriṃśa heaven.

“Mixed Grove.” One of the four heavenly groves outside the city of Sudarśana on Mount Meru.

“Grove of Delight.” One of the four heavenly groves outside the city of Sudarśana on Mount Meru. It owes its name to the fact that anyone who enters it becomes joyous and happy, as it offers all sorts of sense pleasures.

Indra’s colossal throne underneath the Pāriyātraka tree in Heaven of the Thirty-Three (Trāyastriṃśa), which is made of a whitish stone and therefore resembles a “whitish woolen blanket” (pāṇdukambala).

The immense wish-fulling tree that stands to the northeast of the city of Sudarśana in Trāyastriṃśa heaven.

“Rough Grove.” One of the four heavenly groves outside the city of Sudarśana on Mount Meru. It owes its name to the fact that anyone who enters it becomes rough and violent and when the gods go there before battle they become donned with armor and weapons according to their needs.

The capital city of the ancient kingdom of Magadha from where King Bimbisāra and then his son Ajātaśatru ruled. It was located within the bowl of seven hills at present-day Rajgir in Bihar.

“Mighty One.” Another name for the god Indra, the king of the gods in Trāyastriṃśa heaven. It is derived from the Sanskrit root śak- (“to be able”).

The capital city of the kingdom of Kośala which was ruled over by King Prasenajit, one of the Buddha’s devoted patron kings. It is located on the banks of the Rāpti river in northern India, not far west from Kapilavastu and Lumbinī. The Buddha spent many rainy-season retreats there, especially in the later years of his life.

“Beautiful to See.” The golden city of the gods of Trāyastriṃśa heaven at the summit of Mount Meru.

The three refuges of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha.

The heaven “of the thirty-three gods” at the summit of Mount Meru. This is the second lowest heaven in the realm of sense pleasure (kāmadhātu), above the heaven of the Four Great Kings.

The heaven of “the contented.” This is the fourth heaven in the realm of sense pleasure (kāmadhātu), above the Yāma heaven. While not the highest heaven, it is considered the best heaven to be reborn in, since bodhisattvas reside and teach there before their final birth when they become buddhas. It is presently the abode of the bodhisattva Maitreya, who received the crown for this heaven from the bodhisattva Śvetaketu when the latter decided to take birth in the Śākya family in order to become the Buddha Śākyamuni, as described in The Play in Full (Toh 95).

Rebirth in one of the three lower states of existence, namely, the hell realm, the realm of hungry ghosts, or the animal realm.

A prolific Tibetan translator-editor who worked on many translations at Samyé, Tibet, during the reigns of the Tibetan kings Tri Songdetsen (ca. 742–800), Tri Desongtsen (r. 800–815), and Tri Ralpachen (ca. 806–838)