House or hut, usually implying the comforts of living at home as opposed to anagāra homelessness or the state of a homeless wanderer (mendicant) ‣See anagāriyā
Thus frequently in two phrases contrasting the state of a householder or layman (‣cp. gihin) with that of a religious wanderer pabbajita viz
-
kesamassuṁ ohāretvā kāsāyāni vatthāni acchādetvā agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajati “to shave off hair & beard, put on the yellow robes, and wander forth out of the home into the homeless state”
[DN i.60] etc. ‣Cp. [Nd2 172] ‣See also
[SN i.185] agārasmā anagāriyaṁ nikkhanta
[MN ii.55] agāraṁ ajjhāvasatā
[Snp 274] [Snp 805] ˚ṁ āvasati
- and with pabbajita
[DN i.89] [DN i.115] [DN i.202] [DN i.230] [Pv ii.1317]
- of a rājā cakkavattin compared with a sambuddha: sace agāraṁ āvasati vijeyya paṭhaviṁ imaṁ adaṇḍena asatthena … sace ca so pabbajati agārā anagāriyaṁ vivaṭacchado sambuddho arahā bhavissati “he will become the greatest king when he stays at home, but the greatest saint when he takes up the homeless life”, the prophesy made for the infant Gotama
[DN ii.16] [Snp 1002] [Snp 1003]
- Further passages for agāra e.g.
[Vin i.15]
[DN i.102] Burmese variant agyāgāra, but [DN-a i.270] explained as dānāgāra
[AN i.156] [AN i.281] [AN ii.52f.] [Dhp 14] [Dhp 140] [Ja i.51] [Ja i.56] [Ja iii.392] [Dīpavaṁsa i.36]