Nakulapitā and his wife, Nakulamātā, were eminent lay disciples of the Buddha Śākyamuni and were his parents and near relations during five hundred of his previous lives as a bodhisattva. Their home was the city Suṃsumāragiri (Skt. Śuśumāragiri) in the country of the Bhaggas (Skt. Bhargas). According to Malalasekera, they lived a celibate married life as coreligionists devoted to Buddhist practice, and the Buddha regarded them as the most intimate among his disciples (see Malalasekera 1938, p. 3). Their celibacy does not appear to be supported by the Tibetan translation of The Benefits of the Five Precepts, nor by their names, which could be translated as “father of Nakula” and “mother of Nakula,” respectively.