A Mahāsāla brahmin, so called because he was tall in person and eminent in wealth (AA.ii.714). Having made preparations for a great sacrifice, in which numerous animals were to be slaughtered, he visited the Buddha at Jetavana to consult him as to the efficacy of the sacrifice. Three times he told the Buddha that he had heard that the laying down (ādhāna) of the fire and the setting up (ussāpana) of the sacrificial post bore great fruit. Three times the Buddha agreed that it was so, and Uggatasarīra was about to conclude that the Buddha approved of his sacrifice, when Ananda intervened and suggested that the Buddha should be asked to explain his meaning and to give his advice as to the efficacy of the sacrifice. The Buddha thereupon declared that there were three fires to be cast off: rāga, dosa and moha; and three fires that should be honoured: āhuneyyaggi, gahapataggi and dakkhineyyaggi. The āhuneyyaggi was represented by the parents; the gahapata, by wife, children, servants and retainers; the dakkhineyya, by holy men and recluses.
At the end of the discourse, Uggatasarīra became a convert to the Buddha's faith and set free the animals destined for the sacrifice. A.iv.41-6.