Velukandakiya

Velukandakiya (P. Veḷukaṇḍakiyā) was a female disciple of Gautama Buddha who was held up an an example for other female lay disciples (upasika), along with Khujjuttara. She is known as the mother of Nanda (not the stepbrother of Buddha with the same name).

She is praised as a lay female disciple in Samyutta Nikaya 17.24, which states:

A faithful laywoman with a dear and beloved only daughter would rightly appeal to her, ‘My darling, please be like the laywomen Khujjuttarā and Veḷukaṇṭakī, Nanda’s mother.’

These are a standard and a measure for my female lay disciples, that is, the laywomen Khujjuttarā and Veḷukaṇṭakī, Nanda’s mother.