at DN.i.6 (in the lists of forbidden crafts) refers to some magic art. The proper meaning of the word was already unknown when Bdhgh at DN-a.i.84 explained it as “ghana-tāḷaṃ” (cymbal beating) with remark “mantena mata-sarīr’ uṭṭhāpanan ti eke” (some take it to be raising the dead by magic charms). Rh. D. at Dial. i.8 translates “chanting of bards” (cp. vetālika). It is of dialectical origin.
The corpus record — Pali
vetāḷaṁ
Vetāla
at DN.i.6 (in the lists of forbidden crafts) refers to some magic art. The proper meaning of the word was already unknown when Bdhgh at DN-a.i.84 explained it as “ghana-tāḷaṃ” (cymbal beating) with remark “mantena mata-sarīr’ uṭṭhāpanan ti eke” (some take it to be raising the dead by magic charms).
Every figure on this page is a live query of the corpus record.
Where it lives
- Digha Nikaya 2 · 0.14/10k
What it meant — PTS Pali–English Dictionary
In the wild
- vetāḷaṁ Digha Nikaya 1 (dn1:1.13.2)
- vetāḷaṁ Digha Nikaya 2 (dn2:48.2)
Pali text and translations from SuttaCentral (Bilara), dedicated to the public domain (CC0). PTS Pali–English Dictionary entries, public domain.