ga ya 'od srungs

ག་ཡ་འོད་སྲུངས
ga ya 'od srung [RY]

disciple of Buddha [IW]

Gayākāśyapa (गयाकाश्यप) was one of the major monk disciples of the Buddha, and was the brother of Uruvilvākāśyapa (or Urubilvākāśyapa). He was a Jaṭila from Urubilvā (or Uruvilvā) who was converted by the Buddha, as mentioned in the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra, chapter 36. The same year as his enlightenment, the Buddha went to Urubilvā to convert the thousand Jaṭilas, fire worshippers, led by Urubilvākāśyapa, a venerable old man aged one hundred and twenty years, and his two brothers, Nadīkāśyapa and Gayākāśyapa (also known as Gatākāśyapa). To impress these heretics, the Buddha performed no less than eighteen miracles, beginning with the taming of a venomous snake. Finally convinced of not having attained sainthood (arhattva) and that he did not even know the Path, Urubilvākāśyapa asked to be received into the Buddhist order and his five hundred disciples made the same request. The Buddha agreed and the newly converted threw their garments of hide and their religious objects into the river in order to put on the Dharma robe. (Source: Wisdom Library, Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra). [Erick Tsiknopoulos]