An arahant. He was the son of a very eminent Brahmin of Sāvatthi, and was so called because the name of his family was Pārāpara. One day he went to Jetavana to hear the Buddha preach, and the Buddha, seeing him, preached the Indriyabhāvanā Sutta.
This probably refers to M.iii.298ff., which deals with the views of the Brahmin teacher Pārāsariya, and then gives the method of developing the indriyas as taught in the Ariyan Vinaya. The Sutta, however, was preached at Kajañgalā and not at Sāvatthi, the questioners being Uttara, a pupil of Pārāsariya, and Ananda. See Brethren 295, n.1.
After learning the Sutta, Pārāpariya pondered on its meaning and won arahantship (Thag.vs.726ff.; ThagA.ii.17f). The Theragāthā contains a number of verses (Vs.920 49; ThagA.ii.74ff) spoken by Pārāpariya after the Buddha's parinibbāna and immediately before his own death.