Story of Culapantaka and Mahapantaka

Hi all,
I once heard a story from a monk of two brothers, Culapandaka and Mahapandaka, one of which was very bright while the other was slow. I believe one of the brothers receives a special meditation object from the Buddha, perhaps focusing on cleaning with a piece of cloth? I’m likely butchering the story but this is just the gist of what I remember. I’d be very grateful if someone could point me to the right direction where I could read the original source of this story. Is it a sutta? Or perhaps commentary? I tried to do a search on the site but I wasn’t able to find anything.

With metta,
Lucas

5 Likes

http://www.palikanon.com/english/pali_names/c/cuula_panthaka_th.htm

3 Likes

Here’s the whole story: Buddhist Legends, II. 3. Little Wayman

In this translation the names are translated. I note that you asked about Cullapandaka. It’s actually Culapantaka.

Enjoy! It’s one of the most famous stories from the Dhammapada commentary.

5 Likes

Cūḷapanthaka in Pali and either Kṣudrapanthaka or Cūḍapanthaka in Sanskrit.

If the ‘t’ is unaspirated he’ll be “Little Fringe-dweller” rather than “Little Wayman”.
:smile:

4 Likes

There are verses by the two brothers in Theragatha:

Mahapanthaka

Culapanthaka

2 Likes