Trapusa and Bahalika (alternatively Bhallika) are attributed to be the first two lay disciples of

the Buddha. The first account of Trapusa and Bahalika appears in the Vinaya section of the
Tripiṭaka where they offer the Buddha his first meal after enlightenment, take refuge in the
Dharma (while the Sangha was still not established), and become the Buddha's first disciples.[1]
Xuanzang says that Buddhism was brought to Central Asia by Trapusa and Bahalika (referring to
Balkh) two merchants who offered food to the Buddha after his enlightenment.[2]

The era of Trapusa and Bahalika is during the life of the Historical Buddha: most early 20th-
century historians dated his birth and death as c. 563 BCE to 483 BCE,[3] but more recent
research dates his death to between 486 and 483 BCE or, according to others, between 411 and
400 BCE.[4]