Devadatta

Devadatta (Sanskrit and Pali: देवदत्त devadatta; Sinhalese: දේවදත්ත; Burmese: ေဒဝဒတ္; Thai: เทวทัต Thewathat; Lao: ເທວະທັດ; Chinese: 提婆達多; Japanese: 提婆達多 Daibadatta; Vietnamese: Đề-Bà-Đạt-Đa) was by tradition a Buddhist monk, cousin and brother-in-law of Gautama Siddhārtha, the Sākyamuni Buddha, and brother of Ānanda, a principal student of the Buddha. Devadatta was a Shakyan and is said to have parted from the Buddha's following with 500 other monks to form their own Sangha, most of whom are said to have been Shakya clan relatives of both Devadatta and Siddhartha.

Etymology

The name Devadatta has the meaning god-given in Palī and Sanskrit (cf. Latin Deodatus, Deusdedit; both also meaning god-given). It is composed from the stem form of deva and the past participle datta of the verb da, give, composed as a tatpurusa compound. In the Bhagavad Gītā, the conch shell used by Arjuna on the battle-field of Kurukshetra was named Devadatta. The name Devadatta is still given today.