Trapusa and Bahalika

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Trapusa and Bahalika, also called Bhallika, are traditionally known as the Buddha’s first lay disciples. They were caravan drivers from Puṣkalāvatī (often linked to Ukkalā in Orissa) who met the Buddha soon after his enlightenment while traveling. They offered him the first alms he accepted after awakening and took refuge in his teachings, becoming the Buddha’s first lay followers.

Before continuing their journey, the Buddha gave them eight strands of his hair as relics and told them how to build a stupa to house them. They carried the relics to their home city, commonly identified as Balkh in present-day Afghanistan, and enshrined them in a stupa at the city gate. Some traditions say this was the first Buddhist stupa ever built.

Different accounts add more details. In Sri Lankan chronicles, two merchants from Ukkalājanapada (in Orissa) meet the Buddha near Bodh Gaya, receive hair relics, and are instructed to erect a stupa; their relics are later associated with the Shwedagon Pagoda in present-day Myanmar. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang says Buddhism spread to Central Asia through Trapusa and Bahalika.

There are various versions about their exact origins and the Buddha’s dates, but Trapusa and Bahalika are widely honored as the first lay followers, the first to offer the Buddha food after his enlightenment, and the first to receive and enshrine his relics in a stupa. Their story is a early sign of Buddhism’s spread and the long tradition of venerating relics and monuments.