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Full Screen ImageThe Buddha's disciple Mahamodgalyayana had performed a miracle to obtain a particularly fine golden begging bowl. The Buddha's response to Modgalyayana's actions was to forbid performing miracles. Having heard of this prohibition and assuming that Shakyamuni himself would not be able to perform miracles, a group of heretics (non-Buddhists) challenged him to a competition. King Bimbisara of Rajagriha, one of the Buddha's great supporters, heard of the challenge and was conconcerned that Shakyamuni would not be able to perform miracles if he had to follow his own decree. However, the Buddha assured Bimbisara that the prohibition only applied to his disciples and not to himself and, indeed, he would accept the challenge. Such conjurers'competitions, in which two or more religious leaders competed before a king to determine which of them was the most powerful, were common in ancient India. At the end of the contest, a king decided on the winner who then won over the followers of his competitors. Prasenajith, the king of Kosala, was called upon to preside over the the compettion between the heretics and Shakyamuni. The event took place near Shravasti, the capital city of Kosala, now in Uttar Pradesh, India and came to be considered the fisrt of the secondary life events.
According to the Divyavadana, the story is summarized as follows: The Buddha decides to perform a miracle under a mango tree outside the city. However, when the Buddha and his entourage arrived, all the mango trees in the vicinity had been cut down. As the Buddha approached the site, a gardner by the name of Ganda welcomed him by offering a mango fruit. The Buddha ate the fruit and asked his disciple Ananda to have Ganda plant the seed. Miraculously, the seed instantly grew into a mature tree heavily laden with fruit.