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Mandākini

One of the seven great lakes of the Himavā. Their names are given at J.v.415; A.iv.101; SNA.ii.407; DA.i.164; UdA.300; AA.ii.759. At Vism.416, the name Tiyaggala is substituted for Maṇḍākinī.

It is in the Chaddantavana and is fifty leagues in extent, of which twenty-five leagues is of crystal water, free from moss or weeds. For the next twenty-five leagues, the water is but waist deep and is covered with white lotus, spreading for half a league around the lake; beyond that are red lotus, red lilies, etc., rice fields, fruit trees, a grove of sugar cane — each cane being as big as a palm tree banana, jack-fruit, mango, rose apple, etc.

On the bank of the lake is a spot where Pacceka Buddhas generally live; but Aññā-Koṇḍañña lived there for twelve years attended by Chaddanta, the elephant and Nāgadatta, a devaputta. They ministered to all his needs, and he only left there to take leave of the Buddha before his death. He then returned to Maṇḍākinī, where he died and was cremated, his relics being later deposited at the gateway of Veḷuvana, where a cetiya was erected over them. SA.i.217 ff; but see ThagA.ii.3, where he is said to have lived on the bank of the Chaddantadaha; Maṇḍākinī may have been another name for the same lake.

The Maṇḍākinī Lake never grows hot and dries up only at the end of the world-cycle. SNA.ii.407.