[3] According to the Buddhavamsa as well as traditional Buddhist legend, Sikhī lived 31 kalpas — many billions of years — before the present time.

[4][5] He was born in Aruṇavatī, which is located in the Dhule district of Maharashtra,[citation needed] in present-day India.

[6] His family was of the Kshatriya varna, which constituted the ruling and military elite of the Vedic period.

[5] Just prior to achieving buddhahood, he accepted a bowl of milk rice from the daughter of Piyadassī (a sethi from the town of Sudassana Nigama),[7] and sat on a grass seat prepared by Anomadassi, an Ājīvika ascetic.

His body radiated light for a distance of three leagues, which is roughly equal to 9 miles (14 km).