Kātyāyana ［迦旃延］ (; Pali Kacchāyana or Kacchāna;  Kasennen): Also known as Mahākātyāyana (Pali Mahākacchāyana or Mahākacchāna). One of Shakyamuni Buddha’s ten major disciples, respected as foremost in debate. He was a native of Ujjayinī, the capital of Avanti in west-central India. A Brahman by birth, he held the position of religious advisor to the ruler of state. The first native of Avanti to become a disciple of the Buddha, he converted at Shrāvastī, where the Buddha was preaching. The ruler of Avanti had heard reports of Shakyamuni’s teachings and sent Kātyāyana there to investigate. After becoming Shakyamuni’s disciple, he returned to Avanti, where he converted the king and many others. In the Lotus Sutra, Kātyāyana is one of the four great voice-hearers who understood the Buddha’s true intention through the parable of the three carts and the burning house in the sutra’s “Simile and Parable” (third) chapter. The “Bestowal of Prophecy” (sixth) chapter predicts that in the future he will become a Buddha named Jāmbūnada Gold Light.