Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s2.t2: Kapilvastu
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s2.t2
- Language
- English
Kapilvastu
v1.c7.s2.t2.1
Kapilvastu, located in the western part of present day Nepal and bordering India, is most famous as a Buddhist site linked with the childhood of Siddharth Gautam (Buddha) and the early phase of his life after attaining enlightenment. Born in nearby Lumbini village, Siddharth Gautam is believed to have spent first 29 years of his life here. It was then the capital of ancient Shakya Republic of which Siddharth Gautam's father, Shuddhodana, was an elected king. Considered among the earliest republics of the world, the Shakyas belonged to the 16 *mahajanpadas* (republics) of the 6^th century BCE.
v1.c7.s2.t2.2
The discovery of the exact site of Kapilvastu owes to the travel records of Faxian and Xuanzang. During their visit, both these Chinese travellers found the capital city and the surrounding towns destroyed, desolate and only sparsely populated for long. The whole region was divided into many small states ruled by several kings. The land was fertile and the people peaceful. They located the remains of old palatial buildings as well as about 1,000 sites of a monastery. By the time of Xuznzang's visit there were about 30 monks of the Hinyana sect living in a monastery and there were two non-Buddhist [Śaiva ?] temples. Faxian refers to remains of drawn images, erected topes and constructed marks/ *chaitya* related to the narratives of the early life of Siddharth Gautam. On the basis of these records, archaeologists have located the site at Tilaurakut in Nepal.
v1.c7.s2.t2.3
Yet recently, some archaeologists have made claims that Piparhawa, in the border-district of Siddharthnagar in India and about 40 km from Tilaurakut in Nepal, is the site of historical Kapilvastu. Remains of a large Asokan Stupa over a Shakyan stupa with Buddha's urns in it and an inscription proclaiming it to be the the Kapilvastu Buddhist Mahavihara were found there. Some historians link Kapileshwar in Orissa (now Odisha) with historical Kapilvastu. The controversy remains unresolved. Near ancient Kapilvastu was Nigrodhārāma (in the present village of Kudan which is about 6 km from Tilaurakaot, Nepal) where archaeologists have found a site of monastery. According to several accounts, Buddha was provided a residential place here in the banyan grove by a Shakyan-turned-Buddhist monk to stay during his visits to his home town. It is believed that he preached cula *dukkhakkhandha sutta*, *sakka sutta*, *madhupindika sutta* and promulgated several *vinaya* rules here. Yet in the absence of further concrete evidences, Tilaurakut in Nepal is widely believed to be historical Kapilavastu and the site at Piparhawa was located, an extension of large Kapilvastu kingdom where a large Shakyan Monastery under the control of Buddhist *sangha*.
v1.c7.s2.t2.4
Ruins of Kapilavastu