The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary

equals an expression like our "thousands," cp. the use of Lat. mille and 600, also similarly many other high
numerals in P!li literature, as mentioned under respective units (4, 6, 8 e. g. in 14, 16, 18, etc.).
Psychologically 500 is to be expld as "a great hand," i. e. the 5 fingers magnified to the 2nd decade, and is
equivalent to an expression like "a lot" (originally "only one," cp. casting the lot, then the one as a mass or
collection), or like heaps, tons, a great many, etc. -- Thus 50 (and 500) as the numbers of "comm -- union"
are especially freq. in recording a company of men, a host of servants, animals in a herd, etc., wherever the
single constituents form a larger (mostly impressive, important) whole, as an army, the king's retinue, etc. -
- A. No. 50 (paññ!sa; the by -- form pa**!sa only at DhA iii.207), in foll. applns: (a) of time: does not
occur, but see below under 55. -- (b) of space (cp. 50 cubits the breadth of Noah's ark Gen. 6. 15; the height
of the gallows (Esther 5. 14; 7. 9) J i.359 (yojan!ni); DhA iii.207 (˚hattho ubbedhena rukkho); Vism 417
(paripu**a ˚yojana suriyama*.ala); DhA i.17 (˚yojana). -- (c) of a company or group (cp. 50 horses RV
ii.185; v.185; wives viii.1936; men at the oars Hom. Il. 2. 719; 16. 170, servants Hom. Od. 7, 103, 22, 421)
J iii.220 (cor!); v.161 (pallank!), 421 (dijakaññ!yo); Sn p. 87; SnA 57 (bhikkh(). -- Note. 55
(pañcapaññ!sa) is used instead of 50 in time expressions (years), e. g. at DhA i.125; ii.57; PvA 99, 142;
also in groups: DhA i.99 (jan!). -- B. No. 500 (pañcasata˚, pañcasat!, pañcasat!ni). -- (a) of time: years (as
Peta or Pet") Vv 8434; Pv ii.15; PvA 152 (with additional 50). (b) of space: miles high Pv iv.328; J i.204
(˚yojana -- satik!); Vism 72 (˚dhanu -- satika, 500 bows in distance). -- (C) of groups of men, servants, or a
herd, etc. (cp. 500 horses RV x.9314; witnesses of the rising of Christ 1 Cor. 15 -- 6; men armed Vergil
Aen. 10. 204; men as representatives Hom. Od. 3. 7; 500 knights or warriors very frequently in
Nibelungenlied, where it is only meant to denote a "goodly company, 500 or more") Arahants KhA 98;
Bhikkhus very frequent, e. g. D i.1; Vin ii.199; J i.116, 227; DhA ii.109, 153; iii.262, 295; iv.184, 186;
S!vakas J i.95; Up!sakas J ii.95; PvA 151; Paccekabuddhas DhA iv.201; PvA 76; Vigh!sâd! J ii.95; DhA
ii.154; Sons PvA 75; Thieves DhA ii.204; PvA 54; Relatives PvA 179; Women -- servants (pariv!rik!
itthiyo) Pv ii.126; VvA 69, 78, 187; PvA 152; Oxen A iv.41; Monkeys J iii.355; Horses Vin iii.6. -- Money
etc. as present, reward or fine representing a "round -- sum" (cp. Nibelungen 314: horses with gold, 317:
mark; dollars as reward Grimm No. 7; drachms as pay Hor. Sat. ii.743) kah!pa*as Sn 980, 982; PvA 273;
blows with stick as fine Vin i.247. -- Various: a caravan usually consists of 500 loaded wagons, e. g. J
i.101; DhA ii.79; PvA 100, 112; chariots VvA 78; ploughs Sn p. 13. Cp. S i.148 (vyaggh" -- nis!); Vin
ii.285 ((na -- pañcasat!ni); J ii.93 (acchar!); v.75 (v!*ij!); DhA i.89 (suva**asivik!), 352 (r!ja -- sat!ni);
iv.182 (j!ti˚) KhA 176 (paritta -- d"p!). Also BSk. pañ'opasth!yik! -- $at!ni Divy 529; pañca -- m!tr!*i str"
-- $at!ni Divy 533. -- Note. When Gotama said that his "religion" would last 500 years he meant that it
would last a very long time, practically for ever. The later change of 500 to 5,000 is immaterial to the
meaning of the expression, it only indicates a later period (cp. 5,000 in Nibelungeniled for 500, also 5,000
men in ambush Joshua 8. 12; converted by Peter Acts 4. 4; fed by Christ with 5 loaves Matthew 14. 21).
Still more impressive than 500 is the expression 5 Ko&is (5 times 100,000 or 10 million), which belongs to a
comparatively later period, e. g. at DhA i.62 (ariya -- s!vaka -- ko&iyo), 256 (˚matt! -- ariyas!vak!); iv.190
(p. koti -- matt! ariya -- s!vak!). 3. Typical sets of 5 in the Pali Canon. ˚agga' first fruits of 5 (kinds), viz.
khett˚, r!s˚, ko&&h˚, kumbhi˚, bhojan˚ i. e. of the standing crop, the threshing floor, the granary, the pottery,
the larder SnA 270. ˚ang! 5 gentlemanly qualities (of king or brahmin): suj!ta, ajjh!yaka, abhir(pa, s"lav!,
pa*.ita (see anga; on another combn with anga see below). The phrase pañc' angasamann!gata &
˚vippah"na (S i.99; A v.16) refers to the 5 n"vara*!ni: see expld at Vism 146. ˚angikaturiya 5 kinds of
music: !tata, vitata, !tata -- vitata, ghana, susira. ˚abhiññ! 5 psychic powers (see Cpd. 209). ˚!nantarika --
kamm!ni 5 acts that have immediate retribution (Miln 25), either 5 of the 6 abhi&h!nas (q. v.) or (usually)
murder, theft, impurity, lying, intemperance (the 5 s"las) cp. Dhs trsl. 267. ˚indriy!ni 5 faculties, viz.
saddh!, viriya, sati, sam!dhi, paññ! (see indriya B. 15 -- 19). ˚vidha' (r!ja -- ) kakudhabha*.a', insignia
regis viz. v!)av"jan", u*h"sa, khagga, chatta, p!duk!. ˚kaly!*!ni, beauty -- marks: kesa˚, ma'sa˚, a&&hi˚,
chavi˚, vaya˚. ˚k!magu*! pleasures of the 5 senses (=taggocar!ni pañc' !yatan!ni gahit!ni honti SnA 211).
˚goras! 5 products of the cow: kh"ra, dadhi, takka, navan"ta, sappi. ˚cakkh(ni, sorts of vision (of a Buddha):
ma'sa˚ dibba˚ paññ!˚ buddha˚ samanta˚. ˚ta*h! cravings, specified in 4 sets of 5 each: see Nd2 271v.
˚nik!y! 5 collections (of Suttantas) in the Buddh. Canon, viz. D"gha˚ Majjhima˚ Sa'yutta˚, Anguttara˚
Khuddaka˚, e. g. Vin ii.287. ˚n"vara*!ni or obstacles: k!macchanda, abhijjh! -- vy!p!da, th"namiddha,
uddhacca -- kukkucca, vicikicch!. ˚pati&&hita' 5 fold prostration or veneration, viz. with forehead, waist,
elbows, knees, feet (Childers) in phrase ˚ena vandati (sometimes ˚' vandati, e. g. SnA 78, 267) J v.502;
SnA 267, 271, 293, 328, 436; VvA 6; DhA i.197; iv.178, etc. ˚bandhana either 5 ways of binding or
pinioning or 5 fold bondage J iv.3 (as "ure pañcangika -- bandhana'" cp. ka*&he pañcamehi bandhanehi
bandhitv! S iv.201); Nda 304iii.b2 (r!j! bandh!peti andhu -- bandhanena v! rajju˚, sankhalika˚, lat!˚,