Koṇāgamana
One of the 28 ancient Buddhas
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Through Buddhahood, Buddhism and The Buddha
Buddhist tradition
According to Theravāda Buddhist tradition, Koṇāgamana is the twenty-sixth of the twenty-nine named Buddhas, the fifth of the Seven Buddhas of Antiquity, and the second of the five Buddhas of the present kalpa.
The present kalpa is called the bhadrakalpa (Auspicious aeon). The five Buddhas of the present kalpa are:
- Kakusandha (the first Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
- Koṇāgamana (the second Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
- Kassapa (the third Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
- Gautama (the fourth and present Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
- Maitreya (the fifth and future Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
Koṇāgamana is said to have been born in Subhagavati Park in Sobhavati (now known as Araurakot, located about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) southwest of Nigalihawa) on Wednesday; because of this Koṇāgamana is placed on the Wednesday pedestal.
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Life
Koṇāgamana Buddha was born in Sobhavati, the capital of King Sobha (present day- Nigali Sagar, Nepal) within the serene Subhagavati Park. His father was Yannadatta who was a Brahmin, and his mother was Uttara. Koṇāgamana Buddha spent three thousand years in his royal household, residing in three palaces: Tusita, Santusita, and Santuttha.
According to Jataka, Koṇāgamana Buddha's height is traditionally described as 20 cubits high (approximately 30 feet or 9.14 meters). His chief wife was Rucigatta who bore him a son named Satthavaha. Koṇāgamana Buddha renounced the world on an elephant and practiced austerities for six months. He received milk-rice from Brahmin Aggisoma’s daughter and grass for his seat from the grain-watcher Tinduka. His enlightenment was attained under an Udumbara tree.
Koṇāgamana Buddha died at the age of thirty thousand in Pabbatārāma.
Historical mentions of the Koṇāgamana Buddha
Koṇāgamana is mentioned in a 3rd-century BCE inscription by Ashoka at Nigali Sagar, in today's Nepal. There is an Ashoka pillar at the site today. Ashoka's inscription in Brahmi is on the fragment of the pillar still partly buried in the ground. The inscription made when Emperor Asoka at Nigali Sagar in 249 BCE records his visit, the enlargement of a stupa dedicated to the Kanakamuni Buddha, and the erection of a pillar:
"Devanam piyena piyadasin lajina- chodasavasa bhisitena Budhasa Konakamanasa thube-dutyam vadhite Visativa sabhisitena –cha atana-agacha-mahiyite silathabe-cha usa papite"
“His Majesty King Priyadarsin in the 14th year of his reign enlarged for the second time the stupa of the Buddha Kanakamuni and in the 20th year of his reign, having come in person, paid reverence and set up a stone pillar”.
According to Xuanzang, Koṇāgamana's relics were held in a stupa in Nigali Sagar, in what is now Kapilvastu District in southern Nepal.