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Āpaṇa

A city in the Anguttarāpa country (probably its capital). The Buddha once visited the city with 1,250 monks and the whole company was entertained by the Jaṭila Keniya (Vin.i.245 ff). From Āpaṇa the Buddha went on to Kusinārā (Vin.i.247). In the Saṃyuttanikāya (S.v.225), Āpaṇa is spoken of as a township of the Aṅgas (Aṅgānaṃ nigamo) and the Buddha is mentioned as having stayed there with Sāriputta.

Several suttas were taught at Āpaṇa, among them

• the Potaliya Sutta (regarding Potaliya), (M.i.359 ff)
• the Laṭukikopama Sutta (to Udāyi) (M.i.447 ff),
• the Sela Sutta (regarding Sela) (M.ii.146 ff; Sn.pp.102 ff) and
• the Saddhā or Āpaņa Sutta (S.v.225‑7).

Āpaṇa was a brahmin village and was the home of the elder Sela (ThagA.ii.47). On the occasion of the Buddha’s visit to Āpaṇa, during which he converted Sela and Keniya, he seems to have stayed at Āpaṇa for over a week and ordained three hundred monks in the company of Sela (Sn., p.112).

According to Buddhaghosa (MA.ii.586), the village was called Āpaṇa because it had twenty thousand bazaars (āpaṇā) and was therefore distinguished for its shops (āpanāṇaṃ ussannattā). Near the village, on the banks of the river Mahī, was the woodland where the Buddha stayed during his visits.