Lol…sorry I couldn’t help myself…
And thanks…Bhante’s has also been corrected. 
1 Like
are you sure? 
Well, not in important matters! But in this, yes.
1 Like
you mean that in the particular phrase “upper story” that’s how it’s properly spelled?
Ahh, no, sorry, wires crossed, I was referring to correcting my translation in line with Brahmali’s most recent suggestion. As for storey, that should be fixed!
Meanwhile, I just noticed that in SN 56.44 it refers explicitly to the upper and lower storey of a kūtāgāra.
1 Like
oh lol… 
Thanks for that!
I think it’s done now…
1 Like
And further in random observations, in MN 37 we have the mention of Sakka’s Palace of Victory, which has a hundred towers, each one of which has seven hundred kutagaras, and in each kutagara there are seven nymphs, each with seven attendants. Here it must mean something like “chambers”, although Chalmers has “stories”.
3 Likes
But very large chambers! They would have to fit a total of 56 devas each. Perhaps hall or even mansion would be better. A hundred towers, each with seven hundred mansion. Some structure …
2 Likes
I thought of that, too. But I think “chamber” is flexible enough, as it includes, say, parliamentary chambers, a hall, or a suite of rooms.
In support of this: In MN 24 we have the antepura in the context of Pasenadi. And in MN 86 we have:
rañño pasenadissa kosalassa antepuradvāre mahājanakāyo sannipatitvā
This, I think, conclusively shows that the antepura, unless otherwise specified, is the rājantepura. It also shows that the gate is a place where the hoi polloi would gather, i.e. it was accessible to everyone. Entrance within was, presumably, guarded by the king’s guards.
4 Likes
Can we tell from the text the gender of the attendants?
Sorry, what attendants?
In Sri Lankan language Pasada means something similar to a mansion or a castle.
The most famous one in Sri Lanka is the Sigirya.
1 Like
The attendants who attend on the nymphs. The MLDB has them as maids. I was hoping for a nod to gender equality to have the nymphs tended by male attendants.
1 Like
Okay, but if you could quote the relevant section from above that would save me having to search back through the whole thread …
1 Like
@sujato: “And further in random observations, in MN 37 we have the mention of Sakka’s Palace of Victory, which has a hundred towers, each one of which has seven hundred kutagaras, and in each kutagara there are seven nymphs, each with seven attendants.:”
Post #36
3 Likes
Sorry. (was bored)
kūṭāgāra:
masculine neuter
a building with a peaked roof
kūṭāgāra may refer to buildings constructed in a certain style or technique.
Gahakāraka diṭṭhosi,
puna gehaṃ na kāhasi;
Sabbā te phāsukā bhaggā,
gahakūṭaṃ visaṅkhataṃ;
Visaṅkhāragataṃ cittaṃ,
taṇhānaṃ khayamajjhagā.O house-builder, you are seen! You will not build this house again. For your rafters are broken and your ridgepole shattered. My mind has reached the Unconditioned; I have attained the destruction of craving.
A traditional roof building technique still existing in sri lanka. with rafters connecting to a type of ridge pole called kanimadala.
Multi-story kūṭāgāras are not inconceivable i guess:
MN 37 we have the mention of Sakka’s Palace of Victory, which has a hundred towers, each one of which has seven hundred kutagaras, and in each kutagara there are seven nymphs, each with seven attendants.
Remains of Lovamaha Pasada in Anuradhapura sri lanka. According to the great chronicle Mahavansa, built by king Dutugamunu (161 – 131 BC) with nine stories and gabled with copper plates.
Seems to have been built on stilts made out of granite.
5 Likes
Years ago I looked at all of the documentaries about the life of the Buddha that I could find and was disappointed that every one centered around the myths and exaggerations that ultimately take away from the Buddha being an example of how an ordinary person can awaken.
An EBT portrayal documentary would be powerful and inspiring! Venerable Anālayo’s book “A Meditator’s Life of the Buddha” paints a detailed picture of the Buddha carefully and intentionally navigating his way to awakening and beyond. The supernatural and glorifying details aren’t important or highlighted in order to be impressive, perhaps quite the opposite. I’m not at all a fan of Stephan Batchelor, but some years ago I listened to a series of his on the life of the Buddha. He cobbled together his version of the Buddha’s life which, in my humble opinion, wasn’t tenable but I could appreciate the approachability of the Buddha in the context of life in that time and place.
I can’t imagine the Buddha being raised in a “palace” in a traditional context, like the palaces of ruins around the world. So a stilt house or lodge sounds much more fitting and even grandiose in the context of the Buddha’s time and place.
5 Likes
I ended up here while editing DA 22, which has a Chinese expression that seems to correspond to Pali uparipāsāda, which reads “up in a high tower” (高臺上). I’ve noticed that many Chinese translations that might well be of pāsāda in the original refer to towers rather than palaces.
In DA 22, Soṇadaṇḍa also comes down from the tower and stands in the entrance (下臺，至中門立), where he has the debate with the brahmins who think it’s beneath him to go visit the Buddha. These people who he has the debate with are described as standing under the entrance to which Soṇadaṇḍa has descended, and they were looking up at him when they addressed him. So, he was still in an elevated position. It does fit what would happen if it were a building on stilts. It seems like it may have been envisioned as a multi-storey building, but one that’s more vertical than anything else.
6 Likes
This design of house is to allow air circulation, ie natural a/c. The sense of coolness and detached confidence is also applied to mental formations:
Affirming the Truths of the Heart
The Buddhist Teachings on Samvega & Pasada:
“Only by remaining true to his honest emotions was he able to embark on the path that led away from the ordinary values of his society and toward an unsurpassed Awakening into the Deathless.
This is hardly a life-affirming story in the ordinary sense of the term, but it does affirm something more important than life: the truth of the heart when it aspires to a happiness absolutely pure. The power of this aspiration depends on two emotions, called in Pali samvega and pasada. Very few of us have heard of them, but they’re the emotions most basic to the Buddhist tradition. Not only did they inspire the young prince in his quest for Awakening, but even after he became the Buddha he advised his followers to cultivate them on a daily basis.
[…]
The first step in that solution is symbolized in the Siddhartha story by the prince’s reaction to the fourth person he saw on his travels outside of the palace: the wandering forest contemplative. The emotion he felt at this point is termed pasada, another complex set of feelings usually translated as “clarity and serene confidence.” It’s what keeps samvega from turning into despair. In the prince’s case, he gained a clear sense of his predicament and of the way out of it, leading to something beyond aging, illness, and death, at the same time feeling confident that the way would work.”—-Thanissaro
1 Like