The Visit of Bhagavan Buddha to Munger.

excerpted from 'Buddha Chariya' by Rahul Sankrityayana. Part II

Chapter 11

Bhagavan Buddha after spending some time at Vaishali went to the town known as Bhaddiya (Bhadrika, modern Munger), acompanied by a large Bhikkhu Sangha of 1,250 monks. Learning of the arrival of Bhagavan Buddha, the richest merchant of Bhaddiya, Mendaka Shresthi, approached the Lord and requested that he accept his bhiksha or offerings the following day. Accordingly the Lord visited Mendaka Shresthi's house the following day together with his Bhikkhus, had lunch there and taught the Dharma to all,in that house.

Mendaka Shreasthi's eldest son was known as Dhananjaya Shresthi whose first wife was Sumana Devi. To this couple was born a daughter they called Visakha*, grand daughter of Mendaka Shresthi.

One day Lord Buddha went to Angutharapa, a town in what is currently Bhagalpur district north of the River Ganga, without informing the Shresthi. Mendaka Shresthi then went to this town taking with him the choicest of dishes in large quantities to serve Bhagavan Buddha and the Sangha, along with hundreds of milch cows. There he had them milked and expressed his desire to serve the fresh milk to the Bhikkhus They declined to accept this offering as until then monks had been forbidden to drink milk. However, the Lord permitted them to drink the proffered milk together with the lunch served. This was the first time that Bhikkhus had been permitted to drink milk.

After lunch, the Lord assembled the entire Sangha and pronounced that henceforth he has permitted the Sangha to accept the following as food: milk, curds, yoghourt, butter milk, butter and ghee. They were further permitted to carry if they so required, food for their survival whilst sojourning in forests, but not gold and silver. They were forbidden to accept, possess, or collect gold and silver ever.

The above rules of the Vinaya were promulgated mostly in what is now Munger, and its vicinity.

*When she grew up she played a tremendous role in the creation of a large number of facilities for the Sangha by building monasteries.

Tr. by Sri B. Veerabhadra Rao from the Telugu rendering of the original in Hindi.