When we consider the lineage of Aniruddha, he was descended from the Wheel-turning Noble King, the original lord of India. He was born as a grandson of Shimuhahanu, a nephew of King Śuddhodana, and was the crown prince of King Doronodana. Thus Aniruddha was born to a noble family widely known in the world. Moreover, he was very wealthy, and his house was always crowded with visitors — as many as 12,000 people, 6,000 seeking loans and 6,000 returning them, would come and go in a day. Besides being such a wealthy person, he had the foremost in divine eyesight among His disciples and was guaranteed to become the future Universal Brightness Buddha.
Inquiring how meritorious the acts of Aniruddha in his previous life were, we find the following: “Once in the past there was a hunter. He made a living by hunting the mountain beasts and raising barnyard millet. It was during a year of famine, when he was eating a bowl of millet rice, which was all that he had, a sage pratyekabuddha named Rita came along begging for food, ‘I have not eaten anything for the last seven days. Please let me share your food.’ The hunter answered, ‘My millet rice has been disgraced in a dirty bowl,’ but Rita insisted, ‘Please do not be concerned about that. I will die if I don’t eat now.’ Feeling embarrassed the hunter passed his bowl of millet rice to Rita, who finished eating it and returned the bowl with one grain of millet left in it to the hunter.
“But, the grain of millet transformed into a wild boar, which in turn changed to a piece of gold, which turned into a dead person, then into a golden person. When the hunter pulled out a finger of the golden person to sell, a new finger grew back. Thus, the hunter was reborn as an immensely wealthy man for as long as 91 kalpa (aeons). Ultimately, he was reborn in this world as Aniruddha and became a disciple of the Buddha. Though it was merely a bowl of millet rice, Aniruddha offered it to a sage during a famine to prolong his life. Thus, Aniruddha was rewarded with such a splendid fortune.”
Tokimitsu-dono Gohenji, Reply to Lord Tokimitsu, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 24-25