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Kanthaka's name

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Kanthaka (roughly "KANT-aka"), sometimes rendered Kantakanam.

  • Sanskrit: कण्ठक
  • Chinese: Jiānzhì 犍陟 
  • Japanese: Kenchoku 犍陟

Kanthaka is the name of Prince Siddhartha Gautama (the historical Buddha)’s favourite horse. He was said to be pure white and astoundingly clever, strong and swift. Driven by the servant Channa, he carried Siddhartha on the night the prince renounced the world, leaving his family and rulership behind in search of a way to end worldly suffering. Once Siddhartha was no longer in his kingdom, Channa and Kanthaka were both sent back home. It’s said that Kanthaka soon died of grief.

According to some stories, Kanthaka was reborn as a human and became a student of the Buddha, achieving enlightenment. The Kanthaka Sutra also describes an encounter between Maudgalyana (one of the Buddha’s foremost students) and a deva (god-like being) living in a beautiful heaven. When Maudgalyana asked what the deva had done to achieve this rebirth, the deva reveals that he used to be the Buddha’s white horse.

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