A district, probably Northern Kanara, in South India. After the Third Council, Rakkhita Thera was sent there to convert the people, and he preached the Anamatagga Samyutta poised in mid air. It is said that sixty thousand persons embraced the faith, thirty seven thousand joined the Order, while fifty viháras were established in the country.
Mhv.xii.4, 30f.; Sp.i.63 66; Dpv.viii.6. The Vanavásí are mentioned in the Mahábhárata (6. 366) and the Harivamsa (5232) as a people of S. India. The Sás (p.12) also mentions a county called Vanavásí, which, however, is the country round Prome in Lower Burma.