Katyayana (Buddhist)

Most Venerable Mahā Katyāyana Maha Thera
Illustration of Ven. Mahā Kātyāyana
Religion	Buddhism
Dharma names	Mahā Kachchāyana
Personal
Born	Udeni (Ujjain) city, Avanti
Parents	Tirīțavachcha Brahmin (father), Chandima Brahmin lady (mother)
Senior posting
Title	Sankhittēna bhāsitassa vitthārēna attha vibhajantānan (Of those presenting the detailed meaning of what is spoken in brief)
Religious career
Teacher	Gautama Buddha
Students	Most ven. Sōṇa Kutikaṇṇa Maha Thera

Kātyāyana was a disciple of Gautama Buddha. In Sanskrit his name is Kātyāyana or Mahākātyāyana; in Pāli Kaccāna (means 'gold'), Kaccāyana, or Mahākaccāna; in Japanese 迦旃延 Kasennen, and in Thai he is called Phra Maha Katchaina (Thai: พระมหากัจจายนะ; Sinhala: මහා කච්චායන මහ රහතන් වහන්සේ).

Kātyāyana was born in a Brahmin family at Ujjayini (Ujjain) and received a classical Brahminical education studying the Vedas. Katyayana studied assiduously under Asita, who had predicted that Prince Siddharta would become either a chakravartin, a great worldly ruler, or a Buddha. With a group of seven friends he invited the Buddha to visit, and gained enlightenment (bodhi) while listening to him preach. He was ordained, and made numerous converts in the state of Avanti. He is known as Phra Sangkajai in Thai Buddhism and portrayed as extremely portly.

Kātyāyana is listed as one of the ten principal disciples of Gautama Buddha: Mahākassapa, Ānanda, Sāriputta, Subhuti, Punna, Moggallāna, Mahākaccāna, Anuruddha, Upali and Rāhula. He was foremost in explaining Dharma.

Tradition attributes to Katyāyana the authorship of two late Pāli canonical texts Nettipakarana, a commentary on Buddhist doctrine; and peṭakopadesa, a treatise on exegetical methodology. However it may be more accurate to think of these texts being composed by a school descended from him.