From the Vulture's Peak Gautama wandered to neighbouring places—to Ambalathika, to Nalanda, and to Pataligrama, the site of the future capital of Magadha, Pataliputra. At the time of Gautama it was an insignificant village, but Sunidha and Vassakara, the chief ministers of Ajatasatru, were building a fortress there to repel the Vrijjians. Such, according to some accounts, was the origin of the town which became the capital of Chandragupta and Asoka, and was the metropolis of India for nearly a thousand years, and which, under the name of Patna, is still one of the largest cities in India. Gautama is said to have visited it upon invitation of the ministers and to have prophesied the greatness of the place, saying to Ananda: "Among famous places of residence and haunts of busy men, this will become the chief, the city of Pataliputra, a centre for the interchange of all kinds of wares." Leaving Pataligrama, Buddha went to Kotigrama, and then to Nadika, where he rested in the "brick hall," which was a resting-place for travellers. There he taught Ananda the lesson that each disciple could ascertain for himself whether he had attained salvation. If he felt within himself that he had faith in the Buddha, that he had faith in the Law, that he had faith in the Order, then he was saved, and thus Buddha, the Law (Dharma), and the Congregation (Sangha) became the triad of the Buddhists.
From Nadika, Gautama went to Vaisali, the capital of the powerful confederacy of the Lichchhavis to the north of the Ganges. Ambapali, a courtesan, heard
