Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c12.s5.3

c12.s5.3

Among the most important uses of geographical data from inscriptions is the geographical identification of places known from literary or other nonarchaeological sources. Many important places have been successfully identified from inscriptions found at their sites; for example, Lumbinī, the traditional birthplace of the Buddha, is identified with Rummindeī in the Nepal Terai on the basis of the Aśokan pillar inscription found there which refers to the village Lummini as the Buddha’s birthplace (cf. 4.3.1.1.4). More recently, the nearby site of Piprāwā has been definitively identified by K. M. Srivastava⁷⁴ with the Kapilavastu of Buddhist tradition on the grounds of numerous inscriptions found there on seals and on a pot which contain the name Kapilavastu.⁷⁵