A bodhisattva in the audience of this sūtra whose name is attested in several related texts, including the Rāṣṭrapāla­pari­pṛcchā and Saddharma­puṇḍarīka. This correspondence is also attested in this sūtra, where at one point the term is used by an earth-dwelling deity to refer to the Buddha Śākyamuni while he is still a bodhisattva in his last life. The term means “earth bearer,” and has a broad usage in Indian literature. It has been used to refer to the king, a deity like Viṣṇu or Śiva, a mountain, the tortoise supporting the earth, and so forth.

Name of a bodhisattva.

“Earth Bearer.” One of the bodhisattvas in the entourage of the Buddha Śākyamuni when he taught the girl Vimalaśraddhā.

A great bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva present at the sūtra’s teaching.

Name of a bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

Literally “Holder of the Earth.” A great bodhisattva present at this discourse.

One of twenty-five bodhisattvas in Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta’s retinue at the outset of this sūtra.