He was the son of Vacchagotta — a brahmin of Kapilavatthu, and was born in the forest, his mother having longed to see it and having been taken in travail while wandering there. His name was Vaccha; but because of his love for the woods, he was called Vanavaccha. He left the world soon after the Buddha’s Renunciation, and led the ascetic life until he heard of the Buddha’s Enlightenment. Then he joined the Order, and it was in the forest that he strove and won Arahantship. When he returned to Kapilavatthu with the Buddha, his companions asked him why he so loved the forest, and he spoke a verse in praise of forest life (Thag.13).

In the time of Atthadassī Buddha, he was a large turtle ¹ living in the Vinatā. Seeing the Buddha about to cross the river, he took him on his back. Many hundreds of times afterwards he lived as an ascetic in the forest. In the time of Kassapa Buddha he became a dove, and his heart was gladdened by the sight of a monk practicing compassion. Later he was born as a householder in Bārāṇasī and renounced the world. ThagA.i.58 f; Ap.ii.506 f.