Tribes in Ancient India c50.313

c50.313

The Veluvana or Veṇuvana was a charming garden, park or grove at Rājagṛha, surrounded by bamboos.¹ The name may be translated ‘Bamboo Grove’ or ‘Bamboo Park’. The land was received as a gift by the Buddha. The fuller name of the site was Veluvana Kalandakanivāpa, the second part of the name indicating that here the Kalandakas or Kalakas (squirrels or jays) roamed about freely and found a nice feeding ground. In the Pāli accounts King Bimbisāra figures as the donor of the garden. It is certain that the site was outside the ‘inner city’. Fā-Hien definitely informs us that the Karanda Bamboo Garden stood to the north of the old city, over 300 paces from the gate, on the west side of the road.² Hsüan Tsang adds further details regarding its site.³