Trapusa_and_Bahalika
Trapusa and Bahalika
First two lay disciples of the Buddha
Trapusa and Bahalika (alternatively Bhallika) are traditionally regarded as the first disciples of the Buddha. The first account of Trapusa and Bahalika appears in the Vinaya section of the Tripiṭaka where they offer the Buddha his first meal after enlightenment, take refuge in the Dharma (while the Sangha was still not established), and become the Buddha's first disciples.[6] According to the Pali canon, they were caravan drivers from Puṣkalāvatī (Pali: Pokkharavatī),[7] in ukkalapada on way to Uttarapatha. However, most ancient Buddhist texts state that they came from Orissa or Burma i.e. modern Myanmar. Xuanzang (玄奘) says that Buddhism was brought to Central Asia by Trapusa and Bahalika, two Burmese merchants who offered food to the Buddha after his enlightenment.[8]
The era of Trapusa and Bahalika is during the life of the Historical Buddha: most early 20th-century historians dated his birth and death as c. 563 BCE to 483 BCE,[9] but more recent research dates his death to between 486 and 483 BCE or, according to others, between 411 and 400 BCE (or between 623 and 624 BCE).[10] Many also claim that they originated from Gandhar Kingdom.