Summary: Kisāgotamī is one of the most celebrated figures in the Pali Canon. Her story — a young mother who loses her infant son and seeks a cure from the Buddha, who asks her to bring mustard-seed from a house where no one has died — is preserved both in Ud 8.8 (cited; not yet ingested) and in the Dhammapada-aṭṭhakathā. She went forth and attained arahantship, later composing canonical verses (Thig 10.1 (cited; not yet ingested)) on impermanence and liberation.
(This page draws on canonical references; full ingest of cited sources pending.)
Life in the canon
Kisāgotamī came from a poor family in Sāvatthi and was called Kisā (lean, thin) because of her slight build. After her only infant son died, she was unable to accept his death and carried the body seeking a cure. Someone directed her to the Buddha, who said he could provide medicine if she brought a mustard seed from a household where no one had died. Going from house to house, she found that every household had known death. The recognition brought insight into impermanence; she cremated her son and returned to the Buddha. This account appears in canonical form at Ud 8.8 (cited; not yet ingested), where the Buddha's verse on death's universality is recorded. The more detailed narrative appears in the Dhammapada-aṭṭhakathā (commentary).
She went forth as a nun and eventually attained arahantship. Her canonical Theragāthā equivalent (Thig 10.1 (cited; not yet ingested)) contains ten verses on impermanence, the ending of grief through the path, and freedom from the "three fires" — a moving expression of her liberation.
The Sahassavagga (Vagga 8) vatthu attributes Dhp 114 (Kisāgotamīvatthu) to an episode from her story: "Better to live one day seeing the deathless state than a hundred years without seeing it" (Dhp-a on Dhp 114 — commentary — not canonical).
Key teachings given or received
- Ud 8.8 (cited; not yet ingested) — the canonical mustard-seed teaching; includes the Buddha's verse on death
- Thig 10.1 (cited; not yet ingested) — her ten Therīgāthā verses expressing liberation through insight into impermanence
Relationships
- Disciple of the Buddha; arahant; foremost in wearing worn-out robes (AN 1.191 (cited; not yet ingested))
Related pages
- dhammapada 08 sahassavagga — Dhp 114 vatthu attribution
- arahant — her liberation