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Kammāsadamma, °dhamma

v.l. Kammasa°.– A township of the Kurū. The Buddha, during the course of his wanderings, stayed there several times; the exact place of his residence is, however, mentioned only once, namely the fire-hut of a brahmin of the Bhāradvāja-gotta, where a grass mat was spread for him by the brahmin. It was on this occasion, according to the Māgaṇḍiya Sutta (M.i.501), that, after a long discussion, Māgaṇḍiya was converted.

Several important discourses were taught at Kammāsadamma, among them being: the Mahānidāna Sutta (D.ii.55; S.ii.92), the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta (D.ii.290; M.i.55), and the Āneñjasappāya Sutta (M.ii.26)

The Saṃyuttanikāya (S.ii.107 f) contains a discourse on handling experiences by way of casual relations, and the Aṅguttara (A.v.29 f ) a discourse on the ten noble states (ariyavāsā), both taught at Kammāsadhamma.

Buddhaghosa (SA.ii.89) says that the people there were full of wisdom and their food was nutritious; it was therefore a compliment to their intellectual calibre that the Buddha should have taught these suttas to them.

Even in Buddhaghosa’s day the name of the township had two different spellings, and two etymologies are suggested for the names (DA.ii.483). The place was called Kammāsadamma because it was here that the man-eating ogre, Kammāsapāda was tamed and civilized by the Bodhisatta. (Kammāso ettha damito ti, Kammāsadamaṃ Kammāso ti Kammāsapādo porisādo vuccati.)

The spelling Kammāsadhamma is explained on the grounds that the people of the Kuru country had a code of honour called the Kuruvattadhamma; it was here that Kammāsa (already referred to) was converted and made to accept this code, hence the name of the township. (Kururatthavāsīnaṃ kira kuruvattadhammo, tasmiṃ Kanamāso jāto, tasmā taṃ thānaṃ “Kammāso ettha dhamme jāto” ti Kammāsadhamman’ti vuccati.)

According to the Jātaka stories, there are two places of the same name, called Cūḷakammāsadamma and Mahā-kammāsadamma respectively, to distinguish one from the other. Mahā-kammāsadamma, which was evidently the original place, was founded on the spot where Porisāda of the Mahāsutasoma Jātaka was tamed (J.v.411), while Cūḷakammāsadamma was the name given to the place where Jayaddisa showed his prowess by his spiritual victory over the ogre in the Jayaddisa Jātaka (J.v.35 f).

In the Divyāvadāna (pp.515 f), the place is called Kammāsadamya. It was the residence of the nuns Nanduttarā and Mittākālikā (ThigA.87, 89).