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Ānanda

Attendant of the Buddha and main figure in First Buddhist Council

PersonhumanQ28988

Also known as Ānanda Bhikkhu

Born: 6th century BCE
Died: 5th century BCE
Birthplace: Kapilavastu
Place of death: Vaishali
Citizenship: Shakya
, India
Occupation: Buddhist monk
Positions held: Zen Patriarch

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Ānanda was the primary attendant of the Buddha and one of his ten principal disciples. Among the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda stood out for having the best memory. Most of the texts of the early Buddhist Sutta-Piṭaka are attributed to his recollection of the Buddha's teachings during the First Buddhist Council. For that reason, he is known as the Treasurer of the Dhamma, with Dhamma referring to the Buddha's teaching. In Early Buddhist Texts, Ānanda was the first cousin of the Buddha. Although the early texts do not agree on many parts of Ānanda's early life, they do agree that Ānanda was ordained as a monk and that Puṇṇa Mantānīputta became his teacher. Twenty years in the Buddha's ministry, Ānanda became the attendant of the Buddha, when the Buddha selected him for this task. Ānanda performed his duties with great devotion and care, and acted as an intermediary between the Buddha and the laypeople, as well as the saṅgha. He accompanied the Buddha for the rest of his life, acting not only as an assistant, but also as a secretary and a mouthpiece.

Overview

All data

33 statements · 6% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Sex or gender: male
Religion or worldview: Buddhism
Part of: Ten Principal Disciples
Name in native language: आनन्द
Father: Śuklodana statement supported by: Five-Part Vinaya · sourcing circumstances: according to some sources
Amritodana statement supported by: Sūtra on the Arising of the World · sourcing circumstances: according to some sources
Sibling: Devadatta
2
Sources
1.Stated in Five-Part Vinaya
2.Stated in Sūtra on the Arising of the World
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Relative: The Buddha kinship to subject: cousin, male first cousin
Family: family of Gautama Buddha
Different from: Ānanda
Anuo

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12 identifiers linking Ānanda across the web's reference databases

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Source last edited August 31, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). Ānanda (Q28988). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/ananda-Q28988