Lumbini & Buddha : लुम्वीनी कहाँ छ र वुद्ध को हो थाहा नहुने लाई थाहा दिन सक्दो शेयर गरौँ !! Buddha can refer to the historical Buddha Shakyamuni or to anyone who has attained full enlightenment. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso explains in Introduction to Buddhism: In general, Buddha means Awakened One, someone who has awakened from the sleep of ignorance and sees things as they really are. A Buddha is a person who is completely free from all faults and mental obstructions. There are many people who have become Buddhas in the past, and many people will become Buddhas in the future….There is nothing that Buddha does not know. Because he has awakened from the sleep of ignorance and has removed all obstructions from his mind, he knows everything of the past, present, and future, directly and simultaneously. Moreover, Buddha has great compassion which is completely impartial, embracing all living beings without discrimination. He benefits all living beings without exception by emanating various forms throughout the universe, and by bestowing his blessings on their minds. Through receiving Buddhas blessings, all being, even the lowliest animals, sometimes develop peaceful and virtuous states of mind. Eventually, through meeting an emanation of Buddha in the form of a Spiritual Guide, everyone will have the opportunity to enter the path to liberation and enlightenment. As the great Buddhist scholar Nagarjuna said, there is no one who has not received help from Buddha. It is impossible to describe all the good qualities of a Buddha. A Buddhas compassion, wisdom, and power are completely beyond conception. With nothing left to obscure his mind, he sees all phenomena throughout the universe as clearly as he sees a jewel held in the palm of his hand. Through the force of his or her compassion, a Buddha spontaneously does whatever is appropriate to benefit others. He has no need to think about what is the best way to help living beings - he naturally and effortlessly acts in the most beneficial way. Just as the sun does not need to motivate itself to radiate light and heat but does so simply because light and heat are its very nature, so a Buddha does not need to motivate himself to benefit others but does so simply because being beneficial is his very nature. Like the reflections of the moon that effortlessly appear in any body of still water, a Buddhas emanations spontaneously appear wherever living beings minds are capable of perceiving them. Buddhas can emanate in any form whatsoever to help living beings. Sometimes they manifest as Buddhists and sometimes as non-Buddhists. They can manifest as women or men, monarchs or tramps, law-abiding citizens or criminals. They can even manifest as animals, as wind or rain, or as mountains or islands. Unless we are a Buddha ourself we cannot possibly say who or what is an emanation of a Buddha. Of all the ways in which a Buddha helps living beings, the supreme way is by emanation as a Spiritual Guide. Through his or her teachings and immaculate example, an authentic Spiritual Guide leas his or her disciples along the spiritual path to liberation and enlightenment. If we meet a qualified Mahayana Spiritual Guide and put into practice everything he or she teaches, we shall definitely attain full enlightenment and become a Conqueror Buddha. We shall then be in a position to repay the kindness of all living beings by liberating them from the sufferings of samsara and leading them to the supreme bliss of Buddhahood. About Lumbini : Lumbini, the birth place of Lord Buddha, is about 300 km. west of capital city Kathmandu. Kapilvastu, Rupandehi and Nawalparasi,Palpa,Arghakhanchi,Gulmi districts of Lumbini Zone are around. Buddha, Known as the Lord of Asia, was born in Lumbini during the full moon day in the month of Baisakh in 623 BC. He was born under a sal (Shorea robusta) tree when Mayadevi was going to her maternal town on the occasion of delivery. Suttanipata has mentioned the earliest description of the birth of Buddha in Lumbini. After the birth of Buddha he took seven steps towards north and, looking in all directions, he declared that I am the foremost of all creatures to cross the riddle of the ocean of the existence, this is my last birth and here after, I will not be born again . The site is spelt as Rummindei or Rupandei (beautiful lady), the perverted form of Rupa devi, the queen Anjana of the king of Devadaha which was situated to the east of Kapilvastu in ancient time. The site is called Lun- min and La-Fa-Ni by the Chinese pilgrims Fa- Hien and Hiuen- Tsiang respectively. In course of exploration of the ancient Buddhist sites General Cunningham has mentioned La-Fa-Ni is Sanskrit Lavani, a beautiful lady. In Buddhist literature it is known as Pradimoksa vana blessed with various trees and flowers, which is compared to the Chittalata grove of Indras paradise in heaven. The earliest Pali text Suttanipata has mentioned that, The wisdom- child, that Jewel so precious, which can not be matched, has been born at Lumbini, in the Sakya land for well being and joy in the world of men . A Muslim historian of India named Abul Fazal has called Mokta. It is also known as Paderiya (Parariya) where the Asokan pillar is located in the Nepalese Terai. The name of the site is spelt Lumminigame and Lumbini Vana in the Asokan pillar Edict still standing at the same place. Mukherji has also mentioned the name Rummin-dei in his report. In the Magadhi language, being used in the north-eastern pillar edicts in India and Nepal, la is invariable substituted for ra. The location of Lumbini is pointed out in the Buddhist literature, as well as, in the records of the Chinese pilgrims who visited India in the fifth and seventh centuries AD. As mentioned in Jataka story this sal garden was in joint possession of the Sakayas and Koliyas during the life time of Buddha. The Mahavamsa, a Ceylones chronicle, and Nidana katha have also located it between Kapilvastu and Devadaha. The sal garden was the place of recreation during the reign of the Sakayas and Koliyas. Buddha charita of Asvaghosa describes Lumbini as gay like the garden of caitra ratha with trees of every kind. According to Fa- Hien it is located about 50 li east of Kapilvastu. Hiuen- Tsiang had also pointed out that it was about 80 or 90 li.(21.729 or 24.445 km.) north-east of arrow-well. It was linked through popular Uttara path to Kapilvastu, Ramagrama and other important cities during the Buddhist period. The present location of Lumbini, the exact birth place of Lord Buddha, is absolutely clear. Historical survey A brief historical survey of the region is mentioned in order to follow the chronological framework of the study of sacred complex. Preliminary stages of the history of Sakyas and Koliyas are categorized under proto-history. Thereafter, the historical age begins in the area as we start getting evidences in the form of inscription, seals and sealing. The history of the area is divided into ancient, medieval and modern periods. The purpose of this short description is to delineate the cultural history, the life style of the people in the area, and to trace the dynamic cultural process of Lumbini. Pre History On the basis of variation in shape, size, polish and their usage of stone tools, the period is divided into traditional three ages. Paleolithic Age Pre-historic men used to live in the foothills of the Siwalika ranges in this area. Most of the valleys of this range are formed of the sedimentary rocks of the Miocene and Pleistocene era containing shale, sand and pebble beds. Due to deforestation and landslides the range has no human habitation and is naked at present. River terraces are composed of gravels. Stone tool industries found in the gravels are of considerable importance to the pre-historian. A river cuts away its banks and carries the material along with it upto the sea where it is deposited. But all this depends on the velocity and volume of the flow. Some of the material is left only on the way. In this context, the rivers KoÅ£hi, Ghagara, Tinau, Rohiņi, etc. are very important as the pre-historic dwelling sites in the region. In December 1980, a team of scholars from U.S.A. and Nepal, under the leadership of Dr. J.H. Hutchison, of which other members were Dr. James Munthe, Mrs. Dr. K. Munthe, Dr. R.M. West and Mr. Vishnu Dangol, T.U., fossil remains of Ramapithecus were found in a place near Butwal on the bank of the river Tinau attached to the rocks cliff. A piece of the upper left jaw which is 1 cm. in width and more than 1 cm. in length is kept in the Natural Museum in Kathmandu. It was dated approximately eleven million years old on the basis of palaeomagnetic dating method. This hominoid finding is own as the oldest in Asia and the second oldest in the world. Its life style and civilization was similar to the Kenyapithecus and Brahmapithecus of Asia. Having been great forest area the pre-historic men used to live by hunting and gathering wild fruits in the neighborhood of Lumbini. Mesolithic Age The stone tools of the Mesolithic age are found in limited number in Nepal. However, some evidences of this phase have come to light in the region. In course of excavation and exploration to the north-west of Kapilvastu district, Surahi-naka area, G.Corvinus, a German scholar, has discovered many prehistoric sites in the beds of the Surai khola107. There were workshop sites, camping sites, simple flaking and small activity spots. A lot of plant fossils of leaf impressions, fossilized carbonized wood and leaf material were found in the fine clastic deposits of clay stones and mudstones in the older period. In course of rock-cutting, a large bedding plane of a mudstone was exposed, on which a set of animal footprints of some smaller artiodactyls animals were seen. In course of the examination of these findings a profile column of 5500m. of Siwalik deposits was recorded with all the details of palaeontological and sedimentological data . Palaeontological and magnetostratigraphical studies along the Surai khola, north-west of Kapilvastu district, suggests dates on the basis of major lithological units that it is not so different from those found in Pakistan by Johnson, et al. and in western India by Ranga Rao. Above-mentioned evidences reveal that microlithic industries as will as Mesolithic tools had been used by the prehistoric man on the northwest of Lumbini. Neolithic Age The Neolithic culture of the Terai region is presented by surface collection. The warmer climates of the sheltered valleys of the Terai region were ideally suited for the habitat of the prehistoric man. The Neolithic culture presents a change. Permanent habitation, start of agricultural activities, animal husbandry, industries of pottery and polished microlithic stone tools were the main features of the Neolithic man. The culture associated with food-production and self-dependence was also developed in the western Terai region of Nepal. Proto-history Lumbini was a part of Kapilvastu of the Sakyas in the western Terai region of Nepal. The Sakya kingdom was formed here by the vanished sons and daughters of the Kosala king Okkaka. According to the Divyadana the town of Kapilvastu was situated by the side of Bhagirathi (Ganges), close to the ashrama of Rishi Kapilmuni. According to the LalitavistÄr in course of ages it was organized into a big town as other people came from other sites to dwell in the new settlement. Two theories have been propounded regarding the origin of the tribal name Sakya-the first is based on the name of the sal forest (Shorea robusta), where Kapila used to live, and the second theory is based upon the legend of the banished sons and daughters who married each other to protect the purity of their blood. The four brothers married to the four younger sisters and appointed the eldest sister as queen mother (Rockhill, 1972:11). When the father of the children came to know about them, it is said, he delightedly exclaimed: Sakya vata-bho-kumara-parama Sakya-vata-bho kumara (Aha! smart men indeed, Sakya indeed are the princes, very smart men). So the endogamous tribe is known as Sakya. Different sources have incorporated different names of the Sakya kings. According to Lalitavistara, Opura was the first king of Kapilvastu and Suddhodana belonged to this dynasty. He became the king in the seventh generation (descent) after him (Oldenberg, 1971:94-99). Mahavamsa has mentioned that Ulkamukha was the first king of Kapilvastu and after several generations, Jayasena became the king of Kapilvastu. He was succeeded by his son Simhahanu, father of Suddhodhana. Simhahanu had five sons namely Suddhodana, Dhautodana, Shakradana, Sulkodana and AmÅ—itodan and two daughters named Amrita and Pramita. Princess AmÅ—ita was married to Prince Suprabuddha of Devadaha, the father of Yasodhar. MahÄvamsa refers that Mayadevi and Prajapati were the daughter of Anjana, Sakya chief of Devadaha (Rockhill, 1972:19-21). Suffering from leprosy the queen mother, Priya, resided in a cave in the forest, where the king of Varanasi, Ram, also resided as he was suffering from the same disease. After sitting under a Kolan (nauclea Cordifalia) tree they got cured and both of them were married. To the east of Kapilvastu they organised the town named Devadaha and procreated the race of Koliyas. It is known as Devadaha, Vyaghrapur, Kolinagara or Ramagrama. The Sakyas of Kapilvastu and the Koliyas of Devadaha had established matrimonial relations in future as well. King Suddhodana of Kapilvastu had married Mayadevi and Gautami, the princess of Devadaha. Siddhartha Gautam was born from the womb of Mayadevi in Lumbini. Thus, the ancient Buddhist literature reveals that the present study area was inhabited by the Sakyas. In course of exploration and excavation of the region, a lot of art remains, structural remains as well as habitation depositions are found. In 1964 Deo has discovered a few rammed-up clay walls of plain huts from the low flattish heavily eroded mounds of Banjarahi, near Lumbini. Habitation deposits on the opposite bank of the Dano River has yielded similar evidences indicating that the ancient habitation deposit were bifurcated by the river. According to the excavator it is dated from 700 to 600 BC. The pottery of P.G.W, Red ware and N.B.P. ware are also found in course of excavation from the site (Deo, 1968:3-7). In the sixth century BC, Siddhartha was born in Lumbini garden under a sÄl or Asoka or pipal tree, which is comparable to the Chittalata grove of Indras paradise in heaven in the Sakya land. Lord Buddha himself had advised the monks and followers from his death bed at Kusinagar to visit the four places, viz. Lumbini, Bodhagaya, Saranatha and Kusinagar. So, Lumbini remained not only as a pleasure garden, but it also developed as a place of pilgrimage after the birth of Lord Buddha (Fuhrer, 1972:63). Structural remains as well as artifacts found from Lumbini reveal that monks and his followers used to stay here from the beginning of the Buddhas enlightenment. The excavation conducted in 1970-71 has indicated that the earliest human habitation in ancient Lumbini grama must have started in N.B.P. period (Rijal, 1975-77:30). The site seems to have been occupied from the time of Lord Buddha, i.e. the sixth century BC. The successive human deposite in the southern mound of Lumbini dates from sixth century BC to the Gupta period on the basic of its antiquities. King Vidudhabha of Kosala had attacked Kapilvastu four times. Buddha saved three times from the attack; but, at last, Buddha did not interfere. During the attack several Sakyas were massacred and stone slabes of the mote hall was washed with their blood. The Sakyas, who saved their lives, fled in different directions, some to Nepal (Kathmandu), some to RajgÅ—iha and Vaisali, some to Vedi, some to Pippalivan. Thus, the city of Kapilvastu came to an end during the life time of Buddha, i.e. 500 BC (Upadhyaya, 2018:291). The Mauryan Period. According to the Kundavadana of Divyavadana, having led King Asoka in to the Lumbini jungle, the Venerable Upagupta pointed out with his right hand and said, oh! great king here the Buddha was born . Thereafter king Asoka made an offering of one hundred thousand gold coins and established the first pagodas (ceitiya) in the twentieth year of his reign. Thus, the above-mentioned documentary and circumstantial evidences reveal that Lumbini region was absolutely developed as the Buddhist pilgrimage site during the Mauryan period. Mauryan terracotta human and animal figurines, stone sculptures and structural remains, viz. vihar, temple foundation, stupas and bricks are found here. Condition After Asoka. Almost all the habitational sites had been deserted, but the religious complex and some portion of the region had been actively mobilized during the Sunga, Kushana and the Gupta periods. During these periods terracotta human and animal figurines, stone sculptures, beads, bangles, seals, sealing as well as architectural monuments, viz. vihar, stupa Buddhist temples and loose bricks are found. Various art remains of the region are assignable, on the basis of comparative study with the Magadha antiquities, to fourth century AD. Accounts of the Chinese Pilgrims. In the fifth century AD Fa-Hien had seen some monks and a few families of the common people living at Kapilvastu. He mentions that Fifty li to the east of the city (Kapilvastu) is the royal garden called Lum-min (Lumbini); it was here the queen entered the bath to wash herself, and, having come out on the northern side, advanced twenty paces, and then holding a branch of the tree in her hand, as she looked to the east, brought fourth the prince. When born he walked seven steps; two dragon kings washed the princes body , the place where this occurred was afterwards converted into a well, and, here, as likewise at the pool, the water of which came down from above for washing (the child), the priests draw their drinking water (Beal,1983 ).About 80 or 90 li (21.729 or 24.445km.) to the north-east of the Arrow Fountain there were bathing tank, Asoka flower tree, two stupas, a great stone pillar surmounted with a horse figure on the top and river of oil were seen in Lumbini by Hiuen-Tsiang in the seventh century AD at the birth place of Lord Buddha (Watters,1961:15). Lumbini can be clearly identified with the site near present Bhagawanpur in Rupandehi district. 300 li (81.486km.) to the east of Lumbini, he reached to the ruined town named Lan-mo (Ramagrama) where the accounts of these pilgrims are reliable excepting some events mentioned by them. There are a few differences in the details of the descriptions, such as the direction and distance of it; but such discrepancies are very negligible. Lumbini, which is the main key to identify other sites even now, has been identified on the basis of the descriptions available in the Chinese accounts. In addition, the details given in the accounts entitled Shui-Ching- Chu describes Asoka tree, Siddharthas birth under the tree, sweet-smelling flowers and Asoka had shielded the imprint of Siddharthas feet on long slab of lapis lazuli (Petch, 1950:34-35). With the help of this description it was possible to prove the real position of the conglomerate stone, discovered in the foundation of the old Mayadevi temple in Lumbini (Uesaka, 1997:15). Early Medieval Period In the early medieval period the older convention of art began to be replaced by new conceptions in the ninth century AD. After the rise of the Rajput states in different parts of the country colossal creation and cosmic conception was refined in the field of art (Agrawal, 1965:257). A lot of stone sculptures belonging to the Pala-Sena school of art of eastern India, are found from the surface of the region, and are dated in ninth and tenth century AD. King Ripu Malla, Sangrama Malla, Nagarajs descendant of Karnali region, had visited and got engraved their inscriptions on the Asokan pillars in Lumbini (Fuhrer, 1972:33). The visit indicates that this region was under the sovereignty of this dynasty and that this region was still widely known as holy place of pilgrimage. In this context various antiquities and monuments reveal that Lumbini was continuously inhabited from the sixth century BC to the fourteenth century AD. The surface collections of the site include some beads of terracotta and semi-precious stones, fragments of iron nails and small bits of bronze objects. In the fourteenth century AD after the termination of the Naga dynasty, the region was ruled by Malebom and his successors. During the period of Chaubisi it was under Tanahu principality of Magar rulers, in the fifteenth-sixteenth century (1489-1517AD). Sikandar Lodi, then Sultan of Delhi, might have conquered the weak Magar kings of Tanahu. In this connection, Lodi Sultan might have destroyed the stone sculptures as well as monuments at Lumbini and Kapilvastu in the process of propagation of Muslim movement in the region (Pradhn, 1979:30-35). A number of stone sculptures are found without leg, hand, nose, mouth, cheek, forehead, shoulder etc. It seems that they were broken by force. Muslim rulers may have been instrumental in this destructive activity in the area as it has been a case in the Northern portion of India in this period. The king of Palpa had conquered the Magar principality of Tanahu during the period of Mukunda Sen I. After the partition of the Sen kingdom, Vinayaka Sen became the king of the Terai region of Palpa, the site of the area. Mukunda Sen I had built a seasonal palace Ranga Mahala at Butwal Phulabari area. In the reign of Mukunda Sen II [1750-82AD] a conflict arose with the Nawab Vazier of Oudh. But the king of Palpa had got some terrain lands, to the west of Gandaki river, on lease due to their friendship with them later. Mahadatta Sen, son of Mukunda Sen, had also received more terrain lands including its peripheral area. The rate of the lease was cheap because it was an unhealthy, unproductive and swampy area. In1801 the British Government of India and Nawab Vazier of Oudh had imposed a treaty under which Gorakhpur, Rohilakhand and the area under study became a part of the British rule (Vajracharya and Nepal, 2014:88). In 1806 Palpa, including the Terai region, was conquered by the Government of Nepal. Thus, Nepal Government became the lessee and the British Government was a lesser of the region. Modern period After the unification of the region the Government of Nepal had established the administrative Headquarter of the region at Palpa from where all the disputes were decided and creative activities for the welfare of the people were under taken (Mishra, 1999:129-35). The Terai region of Kapilvastu and Rupandehi, including Butwal area, became the issue of debate between Nepal and British Government of India for suzerainty over it. This led to the Anglo- Nepal war in 1814-1816. At last the Treaty of Sugauli was signed on March 3, 1816, which provided the ownership of the region to the Nepal Government. This region was under the jurisdiction of Butwal, Siuraj and Khajahni districts under the overall charge of the Governor of Palpa before 1962. In rearrangement of the administrative districts, this area was incorporated in Rupandehi district of the Lumbini zone. Some monuments and sculptures are also seen in the region built under the dynamic leadership of the Sena kings of Palpa principality. Being far from the capital, a Governor from Kathmandu was appointed for the regional administration during reign of the Ranas. During all these periods kings, nobles as well as people of the area had contributed to make artifacts for the purpose of their domestic and religious life, which provide us a glimpse of the social activities of the region.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 00:39:40 +0000
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