[The homeland of Gautam Buddha which is described in the vast Buddhist literary
texts as Kapilavastu, the land and
capital city of the Sakyas is now a central point of debate regarding its
location among some historians and archaeologists. It is a subject of considerable interest from the
last decade of the 19th century A.D. and now it is associated with national
interest and pride. Some historians locate Kapilavastu in Piprahwa, some others
locate it in Tilaurkot and still others locate it in Bhubaneswar
By Kailash Chandra Dash
An interesting focus in The Hindu of 20th August 2012 entitled “Four Bones, three Countries” of
Srivatshan raises the question of the exact location of Kapilavastu. In that
focus the learned author stated-“Four bone fragments of the Buddha housed in
the National Museum Delhi are on a two week tour of Sri
Lanka to enable Buddhists there to pay
homage to them. They are part of the trove of 22 bone fragments that were
discovered by the ASI in the 1970s in Kapilavastu, Uttar Pradesh, where he grew
up as a prince before renouncing the world.xxxxxxxBut Nepal has for years
raised doubts about the relics claiming that the true Kapilavastu lies in its
territory and not in Utter Pradesh as Indian archaeologists claim.” The author
has of course not ignored the claim of Nepal
as the birth land of Gautam
Buddha Nepal
and not in Priprahwa of UP.
The homeland of Gautam Buddha
which is described in the vast Buddhist literary texts as Kapilavastu, the
land and capital city of the Sakyas is
now a central point of debate regarding its location among some historians and
archaeologists. It is a subject of
considerable interest from the last decade of the 19th century A.D. and now it
is associated with national interest and pride. Some historians locate
Kapilavastu in Piprahwa, some others locate it in Tilaurkot and still others
locate it in Bhubaneswar of Odisha. I have presented the arguments against the location of Kapilavastu in Odisha in the
pages of The Himalayan Voice.
The location of Kapilavastu is to
be studied in the context of Lumbini, the real spot of the birth of Gautam
Buddha. We find the name of Lumbini Grama in the edicts of Ashoka as well as in
the famous text Buddha Charita of Asvaghosh of 1st century A.D. Interestingly
Buddha Charita explains Lumbini as Vananta-bhumi(a forest area), This term
Lumbini is in all probability a local term whose Sanskrit equivalent was given
by Asvaghosh as Vanantabhumi. This explains the fact that Lumbini-the spot
where Gautam was born was a peculiar term of the areas on the Hmalayan zone.
This compels us to think that the term
was associated with ancient Nepal
and not with ancient India .
The text Buddha Charita states of Kapila Janapada Nagara where Sakyas and their
leader Suddhodana-the father of Gautama were living with prosperity. Thus
Lumbini and Kapilavastu(the land of Kapila kingdom of Kapilavastu
The Sakyas of Kapilavastu were in
control of a part of Himalayan region which was attached to the Kosala kingdom
in 6th-7th century B.C.. Sakya was a republican state in ancient Bharat Varsha.
But according to Buddhist sources like Bhaddasalajataka Kapilavastu and the
Sakyas were destroyed by king Vidudabha, son of Prasenjit of Kosala during the lifetime of Gautam
Buddha. But probably the city was not completely destroyed because the Sakyas of Kapilavastu got a part of the ashes
of Buddha after his death which were
divided into eight parts-the recipients being
Ajatasatru of Magadha, Lichhavis of Vaisali, Bulis of Allakappa, A
Brahmin of Vethadipa, Mallas of Kusinagara, Koliyas of Ramagrama and the Sakyas
of Kapilavastu, Thus even after the destruction by the Kosalan king some parts
of Kapilavastu remained. By the time of Samudragupta the Sakya clan was not
prominent, but Nepal
was famous then as a frontier state. Accordng to Allahabad Pillar inscription Nepal
remained a frontier kingdom under Samudragupta after paying all taxes. Thus
this explains the fact that the remaining portions of Kailavastu must have been
a part of the frontier kingdom of Nepal Nepal
then.
The reports of the Chinese
pilgrims like Fa-hien in A.D. 399 and Hiuen Tsang in A.D. 629 refer to
Kapilavastu. According to Fa-hien after the city of Sravasti
and going 12 yojanas to the south-east there was a town called Na-pi-ka which
was the birth-place of Krakuchchanda Buddha. Going north from this place less
than one yojana, there was a town where Kanakamuni Buddha was born. Going east
ward from this less than a yojana, the city of Kapilavastu
appeared. Fifty li to the east of this city was the royal garden of lumbini
where Gautam Buddha was born. According to Hiuen Tsang proceeding from Sravasti
and going south-east 500 li or so the country of Kapilavastu appeared. Taking
Sravasti as a point and calculating the distance given by both the Chinese
pilgrims and considering the location of
Ashokan pillar edicts at these places we find Kapilavastu in Nepal Tarai zone
and not in India
proper.
On the basis of the Piprahwa
seals K.M.Srivastava identified ancient Kapilavastu with Piprahwa. His famous
work Buddha`s Relics from Kapilavastu (Agam kala Prakashan, Delhi, 1986) refers
to some important sealings in this context. After excavation of this area some
seals were found which contain inscriptions. One inscription of the seals
states-Devaputravihara, Kapilavastu Bhikhu Sangha and another states-Maha
Kapilavastu Bhikku Sangha. On the basis of these inscriptions Srivastava was
inclined to identify Kapilavastu in Piprahwa zone thereby presenting the
location of Kapilavastu in India .
A careful study of these inscriptions do not support the great conclusion of
Srivastava. The description of Kapialvastu Bhikkhu Sangha and Devaputravihara indicates that both are
distinct terms. It might be that Kapilavastu Bhikhu Sangha was very active in
the monastery called Devaputra vihara for some years or so. It does not
conclusively state that Kapilavastu Bhikhu Sangha was a part of Devaputra
vihara. On the other hand that sangha called Maha Kapilavastu Bhikku Sangha or
Kailavastu Bhikku Sangha was there to
perform some ritual works at Devaputra vihara. It only points out that
Kapilavastu was probably located nearby or far way zone of Devaputra vihara. It
does not deny the possibility that Kapilavastu was included in the area called
Tilaurkot of Nepal and as Piprahwa is a nearby zone Kapilavastu Samgha-a
premier Buddhist organization of Tilaurkot was active there for ritual and
other works. The interpretation of the inscription supports the thesis that
Kapilavastu Bhikhu Sangha was not an original part of the Devaputra Vihara; its
existence beyond Devaputra vihara is more clear. On the basis of this inscription
we can only conclude that the name Kapilavastu was well known then and a
Buddhist sangha was active in that zone. It might have been a part of the
original Kapilavastu which had then existed beyond Piprahwa.
On the basis of the Ashokan edicts at Paderia and
Nigliva and their location along with reports of Rohan L. Jayetilleke(Article
in The Himalayan Voice, March 12, 2010 )
and Robin Coningham of Bradford university we can accept
the location of Kapilavastu in Nepal Tarai zone. In this context the view of Charles Allen in his famous text
The Buddha And Dr Fuhrer ( Penguin Books, 2010) is very interesting. According
to Allen-The best hypothesis we are ever likely to arrive on the basis of what
we know at present is that the Kapilavastu in which the prince Siddhartha grew
to manhood was a settlement enclosed within a walled palisade beside the modern
river Banganga,pretty much where the ruins of Tilaurakot are to-day. Hiuen
Tsang saw the city in Tilaurakot. The ancient sites currently lying neglected east
of the river Banganga between Sagarwa lake and the Indian border need to be
excavated for this purpose. The Ganwaria-Piprahwa complex was essentially a
Buddhsit monastic site that was in full developmet from the Maurya phase to the
Kushan phase. The entry of Kapilavastu Sangha in this zone was for the progress
of the Buddhit site and this connection is not an important factor to identify Piprahwa zone with ancient
Kapilavastu, the land of the Sakyas and Gautam Buddha.
@ The author is Reader in
History, Binayak Acharya
Govt. College Odisha , India