Anuruddha (Sanskrit:अनुरुद्ध;Pali:Anuruddha), also spelledAniruddha, was one ofthe ten principaldisciples and a cousin ofThe Buddha.

Anuruddha was the son of Amitodana and brother to Mahānāma and princessRohiṇī. Since Amitodana was the brother ofSuddhodana, king of theSakyas inKapilavatthu, Anuruddha was cousin to Siddhattha, the future Buddha. He was akshatriya by birth, enabling him to be raised in wealth. The Buddha returned to his home town two years after his enlightenment, preaching his ideas to the Sakyan kingdom. Together with his 3 cousins Bhaddiya,Ānanda, andDevadatta and their servantUpāli, Anuruddha became ordained by the Buddha at the Anupiya Mango Grove.^[1]

Anuruddha acquired "divine vision" (divyacakṣur) and was ranked foremost among those who had the ability.Sariputta assigned the eight thoughts of a great man for Anuruddha to use as a meditation topic. Journeying into the Pacinavamsadaya in the Ceti country to practice, he was able to master seven, but could not learn the eighth, which Buddha taught him. Anuruddha developed insight and then realizedarahantship.

Anuruddha is depicted in thePāli canon as an affectionate and loyalbhikkhu, and stood near the Buddha in assembly. At one point, when the Buddha was disappointed with the arguments of the monks atKosambi, he retreated to Pacinavamsadaya to stay with Anuruddha. In many texts, even when many distinguished monks were present, Anuruddha is often the recipient of the Buddha's questions, and answers on behalf of theSaṅgha.

Anuruddha was present when the Buddha died atKusinara. He was foremost in consoling the monks and admonishing their future course of action, reminding them of the Buddha's decree to follow theDhamma. As the Buddha was reclining and going through thejhānas, Ānanda said to Anuruddha:"The Exalted One has attained final Nibbana, Venerable Sir." Anuruddha, having divine vision, stated that the Buddha was absorbed in the state of "cessation," but had not yet died. Anuruddha was consulted by theMallas of Kusinara regarding the Buddha's last obsequies.

Later, at the First Buddhist Council, he played a notable role and was entrusted with the custody of theAṅguttara Nikāya. Anuruddha died at Veluvagama in theVajji country, in the shade of a bamboo thicket. He was one hundred and fifty years old at the time of his death.

Anuruddha is frequently depicted in theJātaka, which describes the previousreincarnations of Buddhist figures. In the time ofPadumuttara Buddha, he had been a wealthy householder. Hearing one of the monks declared best among possessors of the celestial eye, he desired a similar honor. He performed acts of merit, including holding a great feast of light in front of the Buddha's tomb. InKassapa Buddha's era he had reincarnated and was born inVaranasi; one day he placed bowls filled withghee around the Buddha's tomb and set them alight, circumscribed the tomb throughout the night, bearing on his head a lighted bowl.

He was then reborn in an impoverished family in Varanasi and was named Annabhāra. One day, while working for his master, the banker Sumana, he gave his meal to apaccekabuddha, Upariṭṭha. The banker, having heard of Annabhāra's pious deed, rewarded him by helping to establish a business for him. The king, impressed, gave him a site for a house, and when the ground beneath was excavated, yielded much buried treasure.

• The Buddha
• Ānanda
• Second Buddhist Council

• Anuruddha: Master of the Divine Eye by Hellmuth Hecker (translated from the German by Nyanaponika Thera)

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• Foremost disciples of Gautama Buddha
• 5th-century BC people
• Shakyas

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