Mallika
Mallika
[末利] (Skt, Pali; Jpn Mari)
The wife of Prasenajit, a king of Kosala in ancient India. According to The Fourfold Rules of Discipline, she was a maidservant of a Brahman at Shravasti, the capital of Kosala. One day, Prasenajit encountered Mallika who made a deep impression on him. He took her as one of his consorts, among whom she came to hold the foremost place. Later she visited Shakyamuni Buddha at Jetavana Monastery in Shravastiin the Kosala kingdom to receive his instruction and converted to his teachings. She led Prasenajit to the Buddha's teachings. In the Increasing by One Agama Sutra, Mallika is described as foremost among laywomen who made offerings to the Buddha. Mallika appears with Prasenajit in many Buddhist works. According to one account, she was the mother of Virudhaka, who later seized the throne from his father Prasenajit and killed the great majority of the Shakyas. Shrimala, the protagonist of the Shrimala Sutra, is known as a daughter of Mallika and King Prasenajit.
See also Virudhaka.
