The grove presented by Ambapālī to the Buddha and the Order. It was in Vesāli and was given to the Buddha during his last tour in that town, at the conclusion of the meal to which Ambapālī had invited him (Vin.i.231‑3). However, both the Buddha and the monks seem to have stayed there previously during their visits to Vesāli (thus according to D.ii.94 the Buddha was already in the grove before Ambapālī visited him; see also S.v.301, which must refer to an incident before the Buddha’s last tour, because Sāriputta was still alive).
The Buddha is stated to have taught three suttas in the grove, two of them being on the value of the foundations of mindfulness. (S.v.141 ff). In the third sutta (A.iv.100‑6) he dwells on the impermanence of all formations (saṅkhārā) and proceeds to describe the process by which the whole world will ultimately be destroyed by seven suns arising in the world and drying everything up. In this sutta appears also the story of the teacher Sunetta, who, even after becoming the Great Brahma, is yet subject to old age and death.
The Saṃyuttanikāya also records a conversation that took place between Anuruddha and Sāriputta during a stay in Ambapālivana (S.v.301).
The grove was planted with mangoes and was so called because it belonged to Ambapālī. DA.ii.545.