The five kings are not identified.

This term, usually used by gods of the Buddha, is here used among kings to indicate equal status (see SN 1.1:1.4 and note).

The Buddha could have simply rejected out of hand the idea that this was a worthwhile question. Instead, he educates the kings by proposing an analytical approach based in a psychology of empathy, encouraging the kings to remember that other people have different yet valid experiences.

Candanaṅgalika is unknown elsewhere. The same verse, with a similar outcome, is spoken by the brahmin Piṅgīyānī at AN 5.195:3.1.

Aṅgīras was one of the Vedic sages and the Aṅgīrasas are his descendants. They were priestly poets who assisted Indra in freeing the cows from the Vala cave, thus ushering in the dawn. Aṅgīras is regarded as the pravara or revered ancestor of the Gotama clan. Both names are associated with light: aṅgīrasa shares a root and is often synonymous with agni (“fire”), while gotama means “light dispelling dark”.