ཀ་ལན་ད་ཀ་གནས། | Glossary of Terms

A place where the Buddha often resided, within the Bamboo Park (Veṇuvana) outside Rajagṛha that had been donated to him. The name is said to have arisen when, one day, King Bimbisāra fell asleep after a romantic liaison in the Bamboo Park. While the king rested, his consort wandered off. A snake (the reincarnation of the park’s previous owner, who still resented the king’s acquisition of the park) approached with malign intentions. Through the king’s tremendous merit, a gathering of kalandaka‍—crows or other birds according to Tibetan renderings, but some Sanskrit and Pali sources suggest flying squirrels‍—miraculously appeared and began squawking. Their clamor alerted the king’s consort to the danger, who rushed back and hacked the snake to pieces, thereby saving the king’s life. King Bimbisāra then named the spot Kalandakanivāpa (“Kalandakas’ Feeding Ground”), sometimes (though not in the Vinayavastu) given as Kalandakanivāpa (“Kalandakas’ Abode”) in their honor. The story is told in the Saṅghabhedavastu (Toh 1, ch.17, Degé Kangyur vol.4, folio 77.b et seq.).

A bamboo forest near Rājagṛha.

Literally “The Squirrel Feeding Ground.” A location within the Bamboo Grove where the Buddha stayed. The place received its name from the many squirrels living there, fed by humans. It should be noted that Tibetan translations misunderstand the Sanskrit term kalandaka to be a kind of bird (Tib. bya).

Literally, the “Squirrel Feeding Ground.” A location within the Veṇuvana where the Buddha stayed. The place received its name from the many squirrels living there, being fed by humans. It should be noted that Tibetan translations misunderstand the Sanskrit term kalandaka to be a kind of bird (Tib. bya).

Literally, “The Squirrel Feeding Ground.” A location within the Veṇuvana where the Buddha stayed. The place received its name from the many squirrels living there, being fed by humans. It should be noted that Tibetan translations misunderstand the Sanskrit term kalandaka to be a kind of bird (Tib. bya).

Literally, “The Squirrel Feeding Ground.” A location within the Veṇuvana where the Buddha stayed. The place received its name from the flying squirrels who were fed there by royal order. It should be noted that Tibetan translations understand the Sanskrit term kalandaka to be a kind of bird (Tib. bya).

Literally, “The Squirrel Feeding Ground.” A location within the Veṇuvana where the Buddha stayed. The place was given its name by King Bimbisāra after being saved from being attacked by a snake there by the squawking of many kalandaka‍—flying squirrels, Sanskrit and Pali sources suggest, but crows or other birds according to the Tibetan rendering.

Literally, “The Squirrel Feeding Ground.” A location within the Veṇuvana where the Buddha stayed. The place received its name from the many squirrels living there, being fed by humans. It should be noted that Tibetan translations misunderstand the Sanskrit term kalandaka to be a kind of bird (Tib. bya).

Literally, “The Squirrel Feeding Ground,” a location within the Veṇuvana where the Buddha stayed, receiving its name from the many squirrels living there, being fed by humans. It should be noted that Tibetan translations misunderstand the Sanskrit term kalandaka to be a kind of bird (Tib. bya).

A place where the Buddha often resided, within the Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana) outside Rājagṛha that had been donated to him by King Bimbisāra of Magadha.

Literally, “The kalandaka Feeding Ground,” a location within the Veṇuvana where the Buddha stayed; it received its name from the many kalandaka that lived or were fed there. The Tibetan rendering bya ka lan da ka makes it clear that the Tibetans considered the kalandaka to be a kind of bird, while Sanskrit and Pali sources generally agree that it is a kind of squirrel‍—perhaps therefore the Indian flying squirrel, Petaurista philippensis.

Literally, the Squirrel Feeding Ground. A location within the Veṇuvana where the Buddha stayed. The place received its name from the many squirrels living there, being fed by humans. It should be noted that Tibetan translations misunderstand the Sanskrit term kalandaka to be a kind of bird (Tib. bya).

Literally, the “Squirrel Feeding Ground.” A location within the Veṇuvana where the Buddha Śākyamuni stayed. The place received its name from the many squirrels living there, being fed by humans. It should be noted that Tibetan translations misunderstand the Sanskrit term kalandaka to be a kind of bird (Tib. bya).

A park outside Rājagṛha where the Buddha often resided, within the Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana). The Tibetan rendering bya ka lan da ka makes it clear that the Tibetans considered the kalandaka to be a kind of bird, while Sanskrit and Pali sources generally agree that it is a kind of squirrel. It is therefore likely that this word refers to the Indian flying squirrel, Petaurista philippensis.

A place or vihāra within the Veṇuvana (Bamboo Grove) near Rājagṛha, named because it was where birds or animals called kalandaka lived or were fed. These kalandaka had once saved King Bimbisāra from a venomous snake, and it was on his orders that they were maintained and fed at the site to express his gratitude. The Tibetan rendering bya ka lan da ka makes it clear that the Tibetans considered the kalandaka to be a kind of bird (bya), perhaps a kind of crow, while from Sanskrit and Pali sources it seems more likely to mean a squirrel. It is therefore possible that this word refers to the Indian flying squirrel, Petaurista philippensis.

Literally, “the dwelling place of kalandaka (birds).” A location within the Veṇuvana where the Buddha stayed. The place was given its name by King Bimbisāra after he had been saved from a snake attack there by the squawking of many kalandaka‍—flying squirrels, Sanskrit and Pali sources suggest, but Tibetan translations understand the Sanskrit term to refer to a kind of bird. The alternative Sanskrit Kalandakanivāpa means “where food-offerings are made to kalandakas.”

A certain place in Bamboo Gove (Veṇuvana) in Rājagṛha, the Sanskrit name meaning “dwelling place of squirrels;” it was so named by King Bimbisāra after being saved from attack by a snake there thanks to the squawking of many kalandaka‍—flying squirrels, Sanskrit and Pali sources suggest, but crows or other birds according to the Tibetan rendering. It is also sometimes called Kalandakanivāpa, “place where squirrels are fed.”

The famous bamboo grove near Rājagṛha where the Buddha regularly stayed and gave teachings. It was situated on land donated by King Śreṇya Bimbisāra of Magadha and, as such, was the first of several landholdings donated to the Buddhist community during the time of the Buddha. Kalandaka­nivāpa means “feeding place of the kalandakas,” where kalandaka could refer to a flying squirrel or bird, as explained by differing sources.

A woodland within the Bamboo Grove; in the Pali tradition the compound is usually interpreted as “squirrels’ feeding place,” but according to Tibetan sources kalandaka refers to a kind of bird.

The exact referent of the word kalandaka is contested, and its etymology is unclear (see Mayrhofer 1956, s.v.). While in the Pali Buddhist tradition the word is generally believed to refer to a kind of squirrel (see Dhammika 2015, 61 and 110), the Tibetan tradition understood ka lan da ka to be a species of bird that nested in the Bamboo Grove. In the Pali tradition, kalandakanivāpa is the name of a locality in or near the Veṇuvana, the Bamboo Grove north of the ancient town of Rājagṛha, in which a certain king had placed food (nivāpa) for the squirrels. According to legend, a tree spirit in the form of a squirrel had warned the intoxicated, sleeping, and unattended king that a venomous snake was approaching to bite him. Out of gratitude, the king ordered that the squirrels be fed regularly. According to Tibetan sources, King Bimbisāra of Magadha confiscated the park that was later to become the Bamboo Grove from a local landowner. The landowner, angry about the expropriation, took rebirth as a venomous snake in that park. One day, when Bimbisāra and his attendants had fallen asleep after a picnic in the park, the snake approached to bite the king. Some kalandaka birds, however, saw the snake and seized it. Their cries awoke one of the king’s wives, who then killed the snake, thus saving the king’s life. As a sign of his gratitude, Bimbisāra planted bamboo that the birds especially liked (cf. Rockhill 1884, 43–44, for a translation of the Kangyur passage relating this story). According to some Chinese sources kalandaka is the name of the person who donated the Bamboo Grove to the Buddha (for references, see Vinītā 2010, 415 and 417, footnote b). We have followed the Tibetan interpretation in our translation.

The famous bamboo grove near Rājagṛha where the Buddha regularly stayed and gave teachings. It was situated on land donated by King Śreṇya Bimbisāra of Magadha and, as such, was the first of several landholdings donated to the Buddhist community during the time of the Buddha. Kalandaka­nivāpa means “feeding place of the kalandakas,” where kalandaka could refer to a flying squirrel or bird, as explained by differing sources.