[^578]: This picks up from the events of DN 16:2.5.1, which however discusses only the Ñātikans (who are reckoned among the Vajjis). Like DN 17, it bears many signs of a late sutta. The overall theme is the presence of a cosmic order where the liberating teaching of the Buddha is reconciled with the requirements of worldly power.

[^579]: This list of ten nations is unique. The omission of the Aṅgas and Magadhans is noted below. The more famous list of "sixteen nations" adds Avanti and Assaka in the south, and Gandhāra and Kamboja in the north-west (eg. AN 3.70:28.3). The Buddha did not visit these lands, which explains why they are omitted.

[^580]: "Devotees" is paricāraka, which normally means "servant". It is not in the relevant passages of DN 16. This sense is found in only a couple of other places, both late (Snp 5.18:1.2, Kd 1:22.14.8).

[^581]: Bearing in mind that none of the nations were actually mentioned in the relevant Mahāparinibbānasutta passage, this whole introduction is framed to emphasize the importance of Magadha to Buddhism, especially given the problematic character of Ajātasattu. In the decades following the Buddha's death, the Buddhist community adapted to a new political landscape which for a time saw the entirety of Buddhism contained within the sprawling Magadhan empire.

[^582]: As we known from DN 2, Bimbisāra had recently been murdered by Ajātasattu.

[^583]: A not-so-subtle hint of the changes under Ajātasattu. The passing of Bimbisāra signifies the crumbling of the social order that prevailed in the Buddha's lifetime, bringing with it the immediate threat of war and chaos. This sutta establishes a timeless order that persists while worldly conditions fluctuate.

[^584]: Elsewhere the suttas say that Bimbisāra went for refuge (DN 4:6.33), while the Vinaya says he was in fact a stream-enterer (Kd 1:22.9.1), which is confirmed below. The Jains, however, claim him as one of their own but say he went to hell for committing suicide. Like his son Ajātasattu, it is likely that he frequented several teachers in his realm.

[^585]: Near the town of Uruvelā on the bank of the Nerañjarā River at the place known today as Bodhgaya.

[^586]: "Suggestion" is parikathaṁ, which elsewhere occurs in the Vinaya (Kd 7:1.5.16) and the Abhidhamma Vibhaṅga (Vb 17:43.2) in the sense of "hint".

[^587]: Normally aṭṭhiṁ katvā manasikatvā sabbaṁ cetasā samannāharitvā describes listening to Dhamma. This whole process seems unusually laborious.

[^588]: Nāmadheyyaṁ means "name (borne by someone or something)", not "one who bears the name" (MN 50:22.1).

[^589]: Janavasabha is "chief of men", spelled janesabha at DN 20:10.10 and DN 32:10.9. The synonym narāsabha is an occasional poetic epithet of the Buddha (Snp 3.11:6.2, Snp 5.1:21.3, SN 11.3:14.2). In Sanskrit we find puruṣaṛṣabha in the same sense.

[^590]: Uḷāravaṇṇa describes beautiful people at MN 96:7.8.

[^591]: Read ito. I think this implies what is stated more explicitly in Anuruddha's partly parallel verses at Thag 16.9:23.1: after each of seven rebirths under Vessavaṇa he can become a king of men. This explains the name Janavasabha.

[^592]: It is rare to see saṁsāra used as a countable noun, but see Thag 2.48:2.2.

[^593]: As a stream-enterer he is freed from any lower rebirths, yet he still aspires to a higher realization.

[^594]: In this idiom, the verb for "aware" varies between sañjānāti, jānāti, pajānāti, and sampajānāti.

[^595]: Compare SN 1.50:5.1 and SN 2.24:6.1.

[^596]: It is not just the Vajjis and the Buddhist Saṅgha who meet frequently in a hall to discuss business, but the gods as well. Here we get a rare glimpse into how the heavens work, or more to the point, how depictions of heavenly proceedings act as a template for how things should be on earth.

[^597]: The thirty-three and the Four Great Kings are both present; the heavenly realms are not shut off from one another.

[^598]: For vipakkamati compare MN 127:11.1.

[^599]: Compare DN 11:80.12.

[^600]: For vipāko bhavissati in discerning the results of signs, compare DN 1:1.24.2.

[^601]: See AN 3.127:2.3.

[^602]: This phrase is also at DN 19:16.8, but apart from that the words pakativaṇṇa ("normal appearance"), anabhisambhavanīya ("imperceptible"), and cakkhupatha ("visual range") are all unique in the early texts.

[^603]: For the unique term "human form" (mānusaṁ viggahaṁ) compare the Vinaya phrase manussaviggahaṁ (Bu Pj 3:2.49.1).

[^604]: Also appearing in DN 21:1.8.3, DN 20:10.11, and SN 35.119, Pañcasikha ("Five-Crest") was a handsome and virile deity of the gandhabbas.

[^605]: Bhāsittha is 3rd singular aorist middle voice.

[^606]: Compare MN 91:21.4.

[^607]: Everything Sanaṅkumāra says is just a bit off. Here he adopts an idiom commonly used by the Buddha, but in third person rather than the Buddha's second person; and he asks only rhetorically, where the Buddha engages with his audience. If it were only this one example it would mean nothing, but similar changes happen throughout. I believe this is a subtle literary device that tells two narratives to two audiences. To potential converts it sounds like Sanaṅkumāra is giving a ringing and learned endorsement of Buddhism, while to knowledgeable Buddhists he appears as less than well versed in the teachings. I note these eccentric wordings as we proceed.

[^608]: The sutta began by recounting those who have achieved various stages of awakening. But escape from rebirth threatens the gods; this potentially fraught relationship is played out in MN 49. Sanaṅkumāra is preempting such arguments by pointing out that many of the Buddha's followers are reborn among the gods and do not escape transmigration, at least not for now. This is no trivial metaphysical argument. In order for Buddhism to prevail, it must show that its radical soteriology is compatible with worldly prosperity, lest it face opposition from kings and other temporal powers. The gods act as proxies to demonstrate the appropriate behavior for terrestrial kings. This is why the leading character is Bimbisāra/Janavasabha, who straddles the two realms.

[^609]: Sanaṅkumāra begins sharing the Buddha's teaching with the gods, starting with the bases of psychic power that featured prominently in DN 16. Here, however, he focuses on the worldly dimensions of psychic powers, ignoring the liberating dimension that was central to the Buddha. This sets the pattern for the teachings to follow, except for the very last.

[^610]: Yāva supaññattā, which is also at MN 51:4.3, is a variation of the common exclamation yāva subhāsita. The phrase iddhipahutāya iddhivisavitāya iddhivikubbanatāya is unique. The Paṭisambhidāmagga draws on this passage to explain vikubbana both as a general term for development of psychic powers (Ps 3.2:4.3) and as specific kind of psychic power, namely the transformation of one's apparent form as demonstrated by Sanaṅkumāra (Ps 3.2:15.1).

[^611]: These "three opportunities" are not found elsewhere.

[^612]: This unique term is the reverse of the phrase that begins the first jhāna. The passage, however, speaks only of lifestyle rather than deep meditation.

[^613]: "Aloof" (asaṁsaṭṭha) is a synonym of "secluded" (vivicca). The jhāna formulas are extremely stable and it is rare to find them played with like this.

[^614]: Since jhāna arises from pleasure, it cannot be meant here.

[^615]: "Coarse physical, verbal, and mental processes" (oḷārikā kāyasaṅkhārā ...vacīsaṅkhārā ... cittasaṅkhārā) is another unique term. They are probably to be identified with the three "processes" of MN 44:14.2.

[^616]: This builds off DN 1:2.24.1, but the full phrase is only here and DN 19:7.2.

[^617]: Normally satipaṭṭhāna is taught "in order to purify sentient beings, to get past sorrow and crying, to make an end of pain and sadness, to end the cycle of suffering, and to realize extinguishment" (eg. DN 22:1.7). Here, in yet another unique phrasing, a more humble goal is sought.

[^618]: Again the liberating dimension is ignored in favor of worldly psychic abilities. This is another unique formulation.

[^619]: Also found at AN 7.45:1.1. At MN 44:12.4 the four right efforts are said to be the "prerequisites of immersion". Here at last Sanaṅkumāra introduces the liberating dimension of the path as a whole.

[^620]: Also at SN 45.1, etc.

[^621]: To the standard passage on the qualities of the Dhamma, Sanaṅkumāra clumsily tacks on the line spoken by the Buddha when he was persuaded by Brahmā to teach (SN 6.1:10.1, DN 14:3.7.13, MN 26:21.6, MN 85:45.6).

[^622]: Finally the question is answered, although the number of deaths is obviously exaggerated. We cannot estimate the population size at the time with any confidence. But we know that Pāṭaliputta under Ashoka covered about 25 km², which suggests a population somewhere around 250,000. Probably there were a few million people in the whole of Magadha.

[^623]: The commentary identifies these as non-returners, but this is unlikely as puññābhāga ("share of merit") indicates those who do good for the sake of a good rebirth rather than liberation (AN 6.63:30.2). There would have been countless more of such good folk than stream-enterers, whereas the number of non-returners, as indicated by the count of the Ñātikans, would have been small, not "countless". This verse is also at SN 6.13:7.1, where the commentary says nothing of non-returners.

[^624]: Sanaṅkumāra lives longer than the lesser gods so he has a broader perspective. He emphasizes the long-term stability of cosmic order, which prevails through the crises that afflict the short-lived kingdoms of men.

[^625]: Astonishingly, this sutta traces its textual lineage directly to Brahmā, exactly like the Brahmanical texts (eg. Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 6.5.4). Of course, Brahmā gets his teaching from the Buddha, but this is clearly copying the Brahmanical model.

[^626]: Here Ānanda plays a key role as the linchpin of the oral tradition. It is likely that not just the Mahāparinibbānasutta itself, but all these suttas of this cycle were composed by Ānanda or his students.

[^627]: With this unique ending, there is no claim that this sutta was heard by the mendicants in the usual way. Rather it makes its purpose explicit, to act as a means to widely propagate the Dhamma. The Mahāparinibbānasutta also speaks of the spread of the Dhamma, and the Janavasabhasutta indicates some of the means by which that was achieved in the decades following the Buddha's death; in particular, by allying itself with the ascendant power of Magadha.