Devadatta

Devadatta (Sanskrit and Pali: देवदत्त devadatta; Sinhalese: දේවදත්ත; Burmese: ေဒဝဒတ္; Thai: เทวทัต Thewathat; Lao: ເທວະທັດ; Chinese: 提婆達多; Japanese: 提婆達多 Daibadatta; Vietnamese: Đề-Bà-Đạt-Đa) was by tradition a Buddhist monk, cousin and brother-in-law of Gautama Siddhārtha, the Sākyamuni Buddha, and brother of Ānanda, a principal student of the Buddha. Devadatta was a Shakyan and is said to have parted from the Buddha's following with 500 other monks to form their own Sangha, most of whom are said to have been Shakya clan relatives of both Devadatta and Siddhartha.

Etymology

The name Devadatta has the meaning god-given in Palī and Sanskrit (cf. Latin Deodatus, Deusdedit; both also meaning god-given). It is composed from the stem form of deva and the past participle datta of the verb da, give, composed as a tatpurusa compound. In the Bhagavad Gītā, the conch shell used by Arjuna on the battle-field of Kurukshetra was named Devadatta. The name Devadatta is still given today.

Gautama Buddha

Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhārtha Gautama, Shakyamuni, or simply the Buddha, was a sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. He was born in Nepal and is believed to have lived and taught mostly in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE.

The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one". "Buddha" is also used as a title for the first awakened being in a Yuga era. In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (Pali sammāsambuddha, Sanskrit samyaksaṃbuddha) of the present age. Gautama taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the śramaṇa movement common in his region. He later taught throughout regions of eastern India such as Magadha and Kosala.

Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism and accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral tradition and first committed to writing about 400 years later.