A shrine of pre-Buddhistic worship, to the east of Vesāli.
It is mentioned with other shrines at Vesāli -
all of which are described as beautiful spots (D.ii.102; S.v.260; A.iv.309; see also D.iii.9).
Rhys Davids conjectures that these were probably trees or barrows (Dial.ii.110, n.1, but see Law: Geography of Early Buddhism. 74ff).
The Dhammapada Commentary (iii.246) describes the Udena and the Gotamaka shrines as "rukkha-cetiyas" to which men pay homage in order to have their wishes fulfilled.
The Digha Commentary (ii.554; AA.ii.784; UdA.323) says that in the Buddha's time a vihāra had been erected on the spot where this shrine stood and that this vihāra had previously been dedicated to the Yakkha Udena.