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Dhataraṭṭha

1. Dhataraṭṭha.– One of the Cātumahārājā, the ruler of the Eastern Quarter. His followers are the Gandhabbā. He has numerous sons called Indra (D.ii.207, 220, 257 f; iii.197). He was present at the teaching of the Mahāsamaya Sutta and the Āṭānāṭiya Sutta. The name of his daughter is Sirī (J.iii.257).

2. Dhataraṭṭha.– A mythical king, mentioned in a list of kings — with Vessāmitta, Aṭṭhaka, Yāmataggi, Usinnara, and Sivi — as having entered Sakka’s heaven by virtue of his righteousness and his waiting on pious men. J.vi.251.

3. Dhataraṭṭha.– There were two kings of this name, contemporaries and vassals of Reṇu. One of these two was king of Aṅga with his capital in Campā, and the other of Kāsī with his capital in Bārāṇasī. D.ii.235 f.

4. Dhataraṭṭha.– A Nāga king. Thanks to the scheming of the turtle Cittacūḷa, he married Samuddajā, daughter of the king of Bārāṇasī. They had four sons: Sudassana, Bhūridatta, Subhaga and Kāṇāriṭṭha. His kingdom was beneath the Yamunā. Dhataraṭṭha is identified with Suddhodana. J.vi.162 ff., 171.186, 200, 219. For details see the Bhūridatta Jātaka.

5. Dhataraṭṭha.– The Bodhisatta born as king of the geese (haṃsa). He lived in Cittakūṭa, at the head of ninety-thousand geese. One day he was caught in a snare on lake Khemā, set by the orders of King Bahuputtaka. Dhataraṭṭha’s friend, Sumukha, refused to leave him while he was caught. The two friends melted the heart of the hunter when he came to take Dhataraṭṭha, and later they were brought before the king. Dhataraṭṭha taught the Dhamma to the king and to his queen, Khemā, who longed to hear a goose teach (J.iv.425 ff; for details see the Haṃsa Jātaka). Dhataraṭṭha is often referred to as a king surrounded by a splendid following, e.g., DA.i.40; MA.ii.576; UdA.57, 412; PvA.171.

6. Dhataraṭṭha.– The family of geese to which belonged Dhataraṭṭha, king of the geese. The members of this family are called Dhataraṭṭhā. They were golden-coloured and lived in Cittakūṭa. The Mahā-Sutasoma Jātaka (J.v.345, 355, 357) contains a story of the complete destruction of these geese. They lived in Kañcanaguhā, and during the four months of the rainy season would not leave their cave, in case their wings should be drenched with water and they fell into the sea. A spider, as big as a cartwheel, used to weave a thick web at the entrance to the cave, but the Dhataraṭṭha geese sent one of their young ones, who had received two portions of food, to cut through the web. One season, however, the rains lasted for four months, and the geese became cannibals and thus lost their strength. When, at the end of the rains, they tried to break through the web, they failed, and the spider cut off their heads one by one and drank their blood. This was the end of the Dhataraṭṭha geese. J.v.469 f.

7. Dhataraṭṭha.– A class of Nāgā (D.ii.259), descendants of the Nāga king Dhataraṭṭha and of Samuddajā (J.vi.219), and possessed great power. They dwell in the Sattasidantara-samuda (SA.ii.254).