Koṇāgamana (
Pāli), also known as Kanakamuni in
Sanskrit or alternatively Koṇāgon or Kanakagamana, is one of the ancient
Buddhas whose biography is chronicled in chapter 23[2] of the Buddhavaṃsa, one of the books of the
Pali Canon.
Gautama (the fourth and present Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
Maitreya (the fifth and future Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
Koṇāgamana is said to have been born in Subhagavati Park in Sobhavati[2] (now known as Araurakot, located about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) southwest of
Nigalihawa) on Wednesday;[6] because of this Koṇāgamana is placed on the Wednesday pedestal.
Historical mentions of the Koṇāgamana Buddha
Koṇāgamana is mentioned in a 3rd-century BCE inscription by
Ashoka at
Nigali Sagar, in today's
Nepal. There is an
Ashoka pillar at the site today. Ashoka's inscription in Brahmi is on the fragment of the pillar still partly buried in the ground. The inscription made when Emperor Asoka at
Nigali Sagar in 249 BCE records his visit, the enlargement of a stupa dedicated to the Kanakamuni Buddha, and the erection of a pillar:
"Devanam piyena piyadasin lajina- chodasavasa bhisitena Budhasa Konakamanasa thube-dutyam vadhite Visativa sabhisitena –cha atana-agacha-mahiyite silathabe-cha usa papite" “His Majesty King
Priyadarsin in the 14th year of his reign enlarged for the second time the stupa of the Buddha Kanakamuni and in the 20th year of his reign, having come in person, paid reverence and set up a stone pillar”.[7][8]