Upatissa
1. Upatissa.- The personal name of SÄriputta (q.v.)
2. Upatissa.- Chief priest (purohita) to Vijaya, king of Sri Lanka. He founded a settlement at UpatissagÄma. Mhv.vii.44; Dpv.ix.32, 36.
3. Upatissa I.- King of Sri Lanka. He reigned for forty-two years between A.C. 362 and 409. He was the eldest son of BuddhadÄsa. He was of very kindly disposition and lived a simple life, eating of the food served in the MahÄpÄli alms-hall. It is said that once, when the roof of his palace started leaking at night, he lay all night in the wet, being loth to disturb any of the servants. During a period of drought and famine, he organised a religious festival, causing rain to fall. He built the Rajuppala, GijjhakÅ«ta, PokkharapÄsaya, ValÄhassa, Ambutthi and GondigÄma tanks and the KhandarÄja VihÄra, besides hospitals and almshouses for women in travail, the blind and the sick. He was murdered by his queen-consort, who had an intrigue with his younger brother, MahÄnÄma. For an account of Upatissa’s reign see Cv.i.37, 179ff.
4. Upatissa II.- King of Sri Lanka. He was the husband of the sister of MoggallÄna I. and was his general. He killed SÄ«va I, and became king, his reign lasting only one year and a half (A.C. 522-24). He had a son Kassapa, called Girikassapa by virtue of his prowess, and a daughter who married SilÄkÄla. SilÄkÄla became a rebel and seized Upatissa’s kingdom. (For an account of Upatissa see Cv.xli.5f). Upatissa belonged to the Lambakanna clan, and in Sinhalese writing is called LÄmÄni-upatissa (Cv.Trs.i.52, n.1).
5. Upatissa.- Son of SilÄkÄla and brother of DÄá¹hÄpabhuti and MoggallÄna II. He was a good-looking young man and was his father’s favourite. He was killed by DÄá¹hÄpabhuti (Cv.xli.33ff).
6. Upatissa Thera.- Called PÄsÄnadÄ«pavÄsÄ« Upatissa. He appears to have written a Commentary on the MahÄvaṃsa, which the author of the MahÄvaṃsa ṬīkÄ used for his own work, sometimes criticising its comments. See, e.g., MT.47.
7. Upatissa.- Thera of TambapapidÄ«pa (Sri Lanka), perhaps to be identified with (6) above. He and his colleague, Phussadeva, are often mentioned as being expert exponents of the Vinaya. Upatissa had two pupils, MahÄpaduma and MahÄsumma, who became very famous as experts in the Vinaya (vinayadharÄ). MahÄpaduma “read†through the Vinaya eighteen times with his teacher, and MahÄsumma nine times (Sp.i.263f). Buddhaghosa evidently regarded with great respect the explanations of various Vinaya questions as given by Upatissa, for he often quotes him. See, e.g., Sp.ii.456; iii.624, 714; iv.890.
8. Upatissa.- SÄriputta’s father and chieftain of NÄlaka or UpatissagÄma (q.v.) His proper name was Vaá¹…ganta (q.v.), Upatissa being, evidently, his clan name (SnA.i.326).
9. Upatissa Thera.- Author of the PÄli MahÄbodhivaṃsa. He lived in Sri Lanka, probably in the tenth century. For details see P.L.C. 156ff.
10. Upatissa Thera.- He wrote a commentary on Kassapa’s AnÄgatavaṃsa. Gv.p.72.
11. Upatissa.- A Pacceka Buddha, found in a nominal list (M.iii.69). The name is also found in the ApadÄna (i.280; ii.454).
12. Upatissa Thera.- Sometimes called ArahÄ Upatissa, author of the Vimuttimagga (P.L.C. 86). He probably lived about the first century B.C. J.P.T.S. 1919, pp.69ff; see also NidA. (P.T.S.); introd. vi f.
13. Upatissa Thera.- Author of the SaddhammappajjotikÄ, the commentary on the MahÄ Niddesa, written at the request of Deva Thera (NidA.ii.108). His residence was on the western side of the MahÄ Cetiya within the precincts of the MahÄvihÄra in AnurÄdhapura, and it was built by a minister, Kittissena.
Some MSS. give the author’s name as Upasena. For his age, see SaddhammappajjotikÄ.
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