# Eighteen Arhats

This article uses the familiar names given to Arhat images in Chinese Buddhism. The first sixteen are matched to the elders listed in the *Record of the Abiding Dharma Spoken by the Great Arhat Nandimitra*.

Names such as “Deer-Riding,” “Joyful” and “Raised-Bowl” mostly developed in later Chinese paintings, sculpture and stories. They are not the elders' titles in the original *Record*.

The Dragon-Taming and Tiger Arhats were later additions to the Chinese group of eighteen. Their identities have not always been agreed upon, so those sections explain the differences.

The Buddha's Ten Great Disciples usually means Shariputra, Maudgalyayana, Mahakashyapa, Aniruddha, Subhuti, Purna, Katyayana, Upali, Rahula and Ananda. In the arrangement used here, Rahula clearly belongs to both groups. His standing as foremost in quiet, private practice is therefore noted.

## Deer Arhat

The Deer Arhat is Venerable Pindola Bharadvaja, Sanskrit Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja (पिण्डोल भारद्वाज).

Pindola Bharadvaja is the first of the Sixteen Great Arhats. Buddhist tradition describes him as highly accomplished in practice and spiritual powers. The Buddha asked him to remain in the world to protect the Dharma and give later generations a field of merit: an opportunity to do good through supporting him. Devotion to Pindola is therefore important in many East Asian temples.

**A traditional story:** He is said to have held an important position at King Udayana's court before leaving worldly status behind and becoming the Buddha's disciple. Another well-known story tells of a precious sandalwood bowl placed high up to see whether a practitioner could retrieve it through spiritual powers. Pindola did so in public. The Buddha reproached him for displaying his abilities to impress people and reminded the disciples that practice was not for showing off. Later accounts say the Buddha asked him to remain in the world and receive offerings, which is why he is also honoured as a holy monk and a field of merit.

“Deer Arhat” is a later Chinese name for his image. Another story says that after leaving the court to practise in the mountains, he rode a deer back to the palace and urged the king to let go of worldly desires. The deer became his familiar companion. Its gentle nature also recalls the Deer Park where the Buddha first taught, making it a fitting image of a peaceful life free from conflict.

## Joyful Arhat

The Joyful Arhat is Venerable Kanakavatsa, Sanskrit Kanakavatsa (कनकवत्स).

Kanakavatsa is one of the Sixteen Great Arhats. Early scriptures tell us little about his life in detail. Most people know him through the tradition of the Sixteen Arhats and their temple images.

**A traditional story:** Later Buddhist stories describe him as a good teacher who could answer people's questions clearly. When asked what true joy was, he explained that pleasing sights and sounds bring only passing happiness. A steadier joy comes from understanding, when the mind is no longer pulled about by its surroundings. Because he taught with an open, smiling face, later generations portrayed him as the Joyful Arhat.

His joy is not indulgence. It is the ease and gladness that come as practice loosens our troubles. In temples, his smile and relaxed posture bring a friendly, unforced presence to the solemn group of Arhats.

## Bowl Arhat

The Bowl Arhat is Venerable Kanaka Bharadvaja, Sanskrit Kanaka Bhāradvāja (कनक भारद्वाज).

Kanaka Bharadvaja is one of the Sixteen Great Arhats. The bowl is the vessel monastics use to receive food. Raising it gives a simple picture of the Buddha's community living on alms, with few wants and contentment with enough.

**A traditional story:** Later accounts say that when he went for alms, he did not call loudly for donations. He quietly raised his bowl and allowed people to decide for themselves whether to offer food. When circumstances allowed, he would share a few words of the Dharma with the donor. The person could then both practise generosity and hear the Buddha's teaching. Over time, the quietly raised bowl became his most recognisable feature.

The point is simple. The monk does not demand support, and the donor is doing more than giving something to a beggar. They help one another. The monk receives the basics needed to continue practising and teaching; the donor learns to give and loosen greed. His image therefore stands for both contentment and mutual care.

## Pagoda Arhat

The Pagoda Arhat is Venerable Subinda, Sanskrit Subinda (सुबिन्द).

Subinda is one of the Sixteen Great Arhats. Chinese images often place a pagoda in his hand. Pagodas first served to enshrine the Buddha's relics and honour his memory, and later became signs of the Dharma continuing in the world.

**A traditional story:** Later Arhat stories describe Subinda as a disciple taught during the Buddha's final years, who treasured the instruction he received. After the Buddha's passing, a pagoda reminded him that although his teacher's body was gone, the teachings remained. Following them was like having the Buddha nearby. The pagoda in his hand gradually became his familiar image.

The story expresses the idea that seeing a pagoda, or seeing the Dharma, is like seeing the Buddha. Remembering the teacher involves more than preserving an object; it means using what he taught in our own lives. Behind this dignified image is plain advice: remember your teacher, and remember the teaching.

## Seated Arhat

The Seated Arhat is Venerable Nakula, Sanskrit Nakula (नकुल).

Nakula is one of the Sixteen Great Arhats. Chinese tradition often shows him as a strong, well-built man sitting quietly in meditation, which gives him his familiar name.

**A traditional story:** Nakula is said to have been a powerful young warrior, skilled in fighting and used to solving problems by force. After encountering Buddhism, he came to see that defeating someone else was not the same as mastering his own temper and distress. He put down his weapons and learned to sit quietly. The energy he had directed outwards gradually turned towards observing his own thoughts, and he made progress in practice.

The striking thing about him is outward strength with inward calm. His body still looks powerful, but his face has settled. The hardest things to master are often our own greed, anger, impulses and habits.

## River-crossing Arhat

The River-crossing Arhat is Venerable Bhadra, Sanskrit Bhadra (भद्र).

Bhadra is one of the Sixteen Great Arhats. His name means good or auspicious. Chinese temples often show him crossing water, riding in a boat or walking on waves, hence his familiar name.

**A traditional story:** He is said to have been born beneath a tree called Bhadra and named after it. After becoming a monk, he was willing to travel far to teach, and is said to have crossed the sea towards the southeast. Boats, rivers and long sea journeys did not make him turn back. Later generations used the river-crossing image to show his willingness to bring the teachings to more people, however far away.

Buddhism often compares the troubles of birth and death to “this shore,” and awakening and freedom to “the other shore.” Crossing the river therefore came to mean moving from distress towards clarity, and from clinging towards letting go.

## Elephant Arhat

The Elephant Arhat is Venerable Kalika, Sanskrit Kālika (कालिक).

Kalika is one of the Sixteen Great Arhats. Chinese images often show him riding or standing beside an elephant.

**A traditional story:** Before becoming a monk, Kalika is said to have trained elephants. An untrained elephant is powerful and hard to control; a well-trained one can be steady and dependable. Later, through Buddhist practice, he saw that the mind can be much the same. Scattered or impulsive, it is hard to guide. With patient training, it can become calm and strong.

The elephant is used here to explain training the mind. Real strength means recognising our feelings, desires and temper as they arise, without being dragged along by them.

## Lion Arhat

The Lion Arhat is Venerable Vajraputra, Sanskrit Vajraputra (वज्रपुत्र).

Vajraputra is one of the Sixteen Great Arhats. His name can be understood as “son of the vajra.” Chinese images often show him smiling with a lion beside him.

**A traditional story:** A widely told story says he was once a hunter who even hunted lions and tigers. After meeting the Buddhist teachings, he reflected on the suffering caused by killing, put down his weapons and gave up hunting. Later, a young lion came to him and was friendly rather than threatening. The peaceful companionship suggests that when someone truly gives up the wish to harm, relationships once shaped by fear and hostility can change.

In Buddhism, the lion also represents fearlessness, and the Buddha's teaching is often compared to a lion's roar. The lion's strength beside the Arhat's smile shows fearlessness grounded in a settled mind: strength that is not misused.

## Open-hearted Arhat

The Open-hearted Arhat is Venerable Shubojia, whose Sanskrit name appears in forms including Śvaka and Gopaka.

He is one of the Sixteen Great Arhats. His popular Chinese name comes from a distinctive gesture: pulling open the robe at his chest as though openly showing his heart.

**A traditional story:** He is said to have been born into a royal family and to have had a claim to the throne. His younger brother feared he would take power and prepared to fight for it. Shubojia explained that he wanted to become a monk, not a ruler. When his brother did not believe him, he opened his robe and said, “There is only the Buddha in my heart.” His brother finally trusted him, the struggle ended, and he was free to leave home and practise.

The point is not whether a Buddha image was literally inside his chest. It is a clear picture of an honest heart: no hidden hunger for status or profit, no need to fight others, and no secret schemes to hide.

## Outstretched-hand Arhat

The Outstretched-hand Arhat is Venerable Panthaka, Sanskrit Panthaka (पन्थक).

Panthaka is one of the Sixteen Great Arhats. His name resembles that of Chudapanthaka, the sixteenth elder, and Buddhist tradition often describes them as brothers. Both names are connected with a road or path.

**A traditional story:** Their mother is said to have given birth while travelling to her parents' home, which explains their road-related names. Panthaka, the elder, was quick to learn. His younger brother had such a poor memory that he could not retain even a short verse. Panthaka once thought his brother would never succeed, but the Buddha did not give up on him and later taught him through a very simple practice. Both brothers attained realisation. The story reminds us that people learn differently: a quick start does not guarantee success, and a slow start does not rule it out.

The stretching pose comes from another later explanation: after sitting in meditation, Panthaka would naturally raise his hands and stretch. It is an ordinary human gesture, showing that practice can leave body and mind settled and at ease, rather than tense and rigid.

## Contemplative Arhat

The Contemplative Arhat is Venerable Rahula, Sanskrit Rāhula (राहुल). His name has several similar Chinese spellings.

Rahula was Shakyamuni Buddha's son and one of the Ten Great Disciples, **known as foremost in quiet, private practice**. This does not mean a secret or mysterious method. He worked sincerely without drawing attention to himself. Master Jingkong often explained him as someone who really put the teachings into action: others might not see his effort, but the Buddha knew he was practising carefully.

**A traditional story:** Rahula became a monk while young. The Buddha did not relax the standards because he was his son; he taught him with particular care. On one occasion, he used a water vessel to explain honesty. Someone who lies and deceives is like a vessel made dirty and emptied, losing the foundation of practice. He also taught Rahula to examine an action before, during and after doing it: will it harm me or someone else? If so, stop and correct it. Rahula brought this advice into daily life and became known for careful, quiet and steady practice.

The Contemplative Arhat may rest his chin on a hand, lower his head or appear deep in thought. He is not worrying, but reminding us to think before acting and reflect afterwards. What matters most is that he became a great disciple through his own practice, rather than relying on being the Buddha's son.

## Ear-cleaning Arhat

The Ear-cleaning Arhat is Venerable Nagasena, Sanskrit Nāgasena (नागसेन).

Nagasena is one of the Sixteen Great Arhats. *Naga* can mean dragon or elephant, and *sena* means army, so his name is often explained as “dragon army.” Another monk called Nagasena is famous for the *Questions of King Milinda*. The relationship between the two varies by tradition; we should not simply assume they are the same person.

**A traditional story:** Later Chinese stories say that Nagasena paid particular attention to training how he listened. Every day we hear praise, criticism, gossip and arguments. If we react at once to everything we hear, our minds are easily pulled about. His light touch at the ear reminds us that a sound can reach the ear without carrying the mind away. We can avoid listening in on private matters, getting absorbed in gossip or losing our calm over an unpleasant remark.

Cleaning the ear is an everyday gesture used to teach careful listening. The idea is to keep our judgment amid the noise, rather than shutting sound out altogether.

## Cloth-bag Arhat

The Cloth-bag Arhat is Venerable Angaja, Sanskrit Aṅgaja (अङ्गज).

Angaja is one of the Sixteen Great Arhats. Chinese images often show him carrying a large cloth bag. He should not be confused with Qici, the Cloth-Bag Monk of the Five Dynasties period, who is associated with Maitreya.

**A traditional story:** Angaja is said to have helped travellers by catching poisonous snakes. He did not catch them to kill them, but to prevent bites. Once the danger was under control, he would carry them away from people and release them. The bag he used became his familiar feature. The story brings together protecting people and avoiding harm to other lives.

A bag also suits the simple life of a monk: few possessions, carried along when it is time to leave. It suggests simplicity, flexibility and owning little. His statue need not resemble the large-bellied Maitreya, which would make the two easy to confuse.

## Plantain Arhat

The Plantain Arhat is Venerable Vanavasin, Sanskrit Vanavāsin (वनवासिन्).

Vanavasin is one of the Sixteen Great Arhats. His name means one who lives or practises in the forest, fitting an image of a person who prefers quiet to crowds.

**A traditional story:** A later Chinese story says that heavy rain fell when he was born, rustling the banana leaves in the courtyard. After he became a monk, he also liked to meditate in the woods and beside banana plants. Painters and sculptors gradually placed these plants beside him, until they became part of his recognised image.

Banana leaves are large but easily torn by wind and rain, so Chinese writers have often used them to suggest impermanence. Beside an Arhat, they also suggest quiet, simplicity and distance from worldly noise. Settling the mind is valuable work in itself; practice does not always call for a grand gesture.

## Long-eyebrow Arhat

The Long-eyebrow Arhat is Venerable Ajita, Sanskrit Ajita (अजित).

Ajita is one of the Sixteen Great Arhats. His name means unconquered or invincible. Other figures in Buddhist literature also have this name, so a shared name alone does not make them the same person.

**A traditional story:** Chinese folk accounts say that Ajita was born with long white eyebrows, which surprised his family. Someone told his father that long eyebrows were traditionally a sign of long life and virtue, and his father later sent him to study Buddhism. After years of monastic practice, he attained realisation. The eyebrows became his most memorable feature.

The story of being born with long eyebrows belongs mainly to later legend and need not be treated as a firm account in early scripture. The image presents an older, calm and wise practitioner. His eyebrows can be kind-looking and natural rather than exaggerated into something strange.

## Gatekeeping Arhat

The Gatekeeping Arhat is Venerable Chudapanthaka, Sanskrit Cūḍapanthaka (चूडपन्थक). Chinese texts also render his name as Zhouli Pante or Zhuli Pante.

Chudapanthaka is one of the Sixteen Great Arhats and a well-known disciple in Buddhist stories. He is often described as the younger brother of Panthaka, the tenth elder. Unlike his quick-learning brother, he learned slowly and remembered little. His story offers comfort to anyone who feels they lack ability or cannot learn fast enough.

**A traditional story:** As a new monk, he could not remember even a short verse. Learning one line meant forgetting another, and some people thought he was unsuited to practice. The Buddha gave him a simple task instead: sweep, while concentrating on a phrase such as “remove the dust, remove the dirt.” As he swept, he began to understand that greed, anger and ignorance also needed to be cleared from the mind, little by little. The disciple who seemed least able reached realisation through honest, steady practice.

The gatekeeping image comes from another later Chinese story. He once caused trouble by knocking too heavily while asking for alms. The Buddha taught him to use a ringed staff, gently sounding its rings at the door so the household could choose whether to open and offer food. He was later shown holding the staff beside a gate. It suggests responsible care, but his main lesson remains that patient, sincere effort can succeed even when learning comes slowly.

## Dragon Arhat

In a common modern Chinese arrangement, the Dragon Arhat is Venerable Nandimitra, Sanskrit Nandimitra (नन्दिमित्र), whose name is translated as “joyful friend.”

Nandimitra is not one of the sixteen elders listed in the *Record of the Abiding Dharma*. He is its narrator. When the group grew from sixteen to eighteen, the identities of the two additions varied. Matching the Dragon Arhat with Nandimitra is therefore one common modern Chinese arrangement, rather than a universal identification.

**A traditional story:** The *Record* says that Nandimitra taught in the Lion Kingdom, Sri Lanka, many years after the Buddha's passing. Near the end of his life, knowing that his own passing was close, he gathered the monastic community. He retold how the Buddha had asked sixteen great Arhats to remain in the world and protect the Dharma, naming each elder and his dwelling place. This account played a major part in preserving the complete list known today.

The dragon-taming story comes mainly from later Chinese legend. In a common version, hostile forces destroy temples and steal scriptures, which are hidden in a dragon palace. Nandimitra enters the palace and brings them back, earning the name Dragon Arhat. This is better understood as a later story about protecting the Dharma than as a central account in the *Record*. Its lesson is about overcoming powerful obstacles and afflictions through wisdom and concentration.

## Tiger Arhat

One common modern Chinese arrangement identifies the Tiger Arhat as Venerable Pindola, Sanskrit Piṇḍola (पिण्डोल).

This figure was added later in the development of the Eighteen Arhats. The final two have been arranged in several ways: some traditions name Nandimitra and Pindola, others Mahakashyapa and Maitreya, and there are further variations. Identifying the Tiger Arhat with one particular early disciple is not a conclusion shared by every Buddhist tradition.

**A traditional story:** A hungry tiger often came near the Arhat's temple, frightening everyone. The elder did not chase it with weapons or hurt it. Instead, he shared some of his food. Over time, the tiger stopped attacking people and rested quietly beside him. People said that compassion, rather than force, had calmed it.

The story fits a Buddhist understanding of taming the tiger. We also have anger, greed and impulses that leap out like a wild animal. Meeting force with more force often keeps a conflict going. Looking at the cause and responding with compassion and wisdom reaches deeper.

If this Arhat is identified as Pindola, his name and origins clearly overlap with the first elder, Pindola Bharadvaja. The website can keep the familiar Tiger-Taming image while explaining that it developed later in Chinese Buddhist art. It is not part of a fixed list of eighteen found in the earliest scriptures.

## Notes on the sources

The order of the first sixteen follows the tradition based on Xuanzang's translation of the *Record of the Abiding Dharma Spoken by the Great Arhat Nandimitra*. Their familiar image-names—Deer, Joyful, Bowl, Pagoda, Seated, River-crossing, Elephant, Lion, Open-hearted, Outstretched-hand, Contemplative, Ear-cleaning, Cloth-bag, Plantain, Long-eyebrow and Gatekeeping—developed gradually in later Chinese tradition.

This article distinguishes two kinds of material. One concerns people clearly described in scripture or established Buddhist tradition: Rahula as the Buddha's son and a leading disciple known for private practice, Chudapanthaka learning slowly but following the teaching faithfully, and Nandimitra passing on the account of the sixteen protectors. The other consists of later Chinese stories associated with images: a former hunter living peacefully with a lion, a monk carrying snakes away to release them, meditation beside banana plants, or a tiger calmed by food. These stories help explain the images, but they are not all historical accounts from early Buddhist scriptures.

The explanation of Rahula's quiet practice draws on Buddhist tradition and Master Jingkong's plain-language teaching: Rahula did the work without making a display of it. “Steady practice without showing off” is a useful way to introduce this to a general audience.

The Dragon-Taming and Tiger-Taming figures were added as the Chinese group of eighteen developed, and their identities have long varied. This article keeps the common modern pairings used in the original file while stating the uncertain points, so that later Chinese artistic traditions are not mistaken for a fixed list in early Indian Buddhist texts.