Kapilavastu

Kapilvastu Nagarpalika कपिलवस्तु Taulīhawā तौलीहवा
Municipality
Entrance gate to Kapilavastu city (formerly Taulihawa), Kapilvastu District, Nepal
Kapilvastu Nagarpalika Location in Nepal
Coordinates: 27°32′N 83°3′E / 27.533°N 83.050°ECoordinates: 27°32′N 83°3′E / 27.533°N 83.050°E
Country	Nepal
Zone	Lumbini Zone
District	Kapilvastu District
Elevation	107 m (351 ft)
Population (2001)census
• Total	27,170
Time zone	Nepal Time (UTC+5:45)
Postal code	32800
Area code(s)	076

Kapilavastu (Nepali; Pali: Kapilavatthu), formerly Taulihawa, is a municipality and administrative center of Kapilvastu District in Province No. 5 of southern Nepal. It is located roughly 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the south-west of Lumbini, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the birthplace of Gautama Buddha.^[1][2]

The municipality lies at an altitude of 107 metres (351 ft) above sea level^[3] on Nepal's southern border across from Khunwa, Uttar Pradesh state, India. There is a customs checkpoint for goods while movement of Indian and Nepalese nationals across the border is unrestricted.

In ancient times Kapilavastu was the capital city of the Shakya kingdom. King Śuddhodana and Queen Māyā are believed to have lived at Kapilavastu, as did their son Prince Siddartha Gautama until he left the palace at the age of 29.^[4]

Kapilavastu had a population of 27,170 at the time of the 2001 Nepal census.

History

The east gate at Tilaurakot archaeological site in Kapilavastu municipality, Kapilvastu District, Nepal.

Buddhist sources present Kapila as a well-known Vedic sage whose students built the city of Kapilavastu. Buddhist texts such as the Pāli Canon claim that Kapilavastu was the childhood home of Gautama Buddha, on account of it being the capital of the Shakyas, over whom his father ruled.^[4]

The 19th-century search for the historical site of Kapilavastu followed the accounts left by Faxian and later by Xuanzang, who were Chinese Buddhist monks who made early pilgrimages to the site.^[5][6][7][8] Some archaeologists have identified the Tilaurakot archeological site as the location for the historical site of Kapilavastu,^[9][10] while others claim it was at Piprahwa in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Historical sites

Tauleshwor Nath Temple

There are many sites of historical interest in or very close to Kapilavastu, including:

• Amaulikot
• Arourakot Darbar
• Bardahawa
• Bargadawa Stupa
• Bikulikot
• Derwa Stupa
• Dohanikot
• Gotihawa, birthplace of Kakusandha Buddha, marked by an Ashoka pillar
• Jagdishpur Reservoir
• Kanthak Stupa
• Kapilvastu Museum
• Kopawa Stupa
• Kudan (ruins of a Buddhist monastery where Buddha stayed when visiting Kapilavastu)
• Lohasariya Stupa
• Lumbini, birthplace of Gautama Buddha
• Nigalikot, birthplace of Koṇāgamana Buddha, marked by an Ashoka pillar
• Paltimai Temple
• Pipara Stupa
• Pipari
• Premnagar Stupa
• Rampur Siddhipur Stupa
• Sagarahawa Reservoir
• Sarkup Pokhari
• Semara Shiv Mandir
• Sihokhor Stupa
• Siseniya Stupa
• Tauleshwor Nath Mandir (Shree Tauleshwor Nath Mandir) is a devotional temple for Hindus. Many Hindus come here to worship Lord Shiva during the Maha Shivaratri festival.^[15]
• Tilaurakot
• Twin Stupa

Notes

1. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "UNESCO World Heritage Centre - World Heritage Committee Inscribes 46 New Sites on World Heritage List". unesco.org. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
2. "Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha". UNESCO. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
3. "Taulihawa". fallingrain.com. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
4. Trainor, K (2010). "Kapilavastu". In Keown, D; Prebish, CS. Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Milton Park, UK: Routledge. pp. 436–7. ISBN 978-0-415-55624-8.
5. Beal, Samuel (1884). Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, by Hiuen Tsiang. 2 vols. Translated by Samuel Beal. London. 1884. Reprint: Delhi. Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. 1969. Volume 1
6. Beal, Samuel (1911). The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang. Translated from the Chinese of Shaman (monk) Hwui Li by Samuel Beal. London. 1911. Reprint Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi. 1973. Internet Archive
7. Li, Rongxi (translator) (1995). The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. Berkeley, California. ISBN 1-886439-02-8
8. Watters, Thomas (1904). On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629-645 A.D. Volume1. Royal Asiatic Society, London.
9. Tuladhar, Swoyambhu D. (November 2002), "The Ancient City of Kapilvastu - Revisited" (PDF), Ancient Nepal (151): 1–7
10. Chris Hellier (March 2001). "Competing Claims on Buddha's Hometown". Archaeology. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
11. Srivastava, KM (1980). "Archaeological Excavations at Piprāhwā and Ganwaria and the Identification of Kapilavastu". The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 13 (1): 103–10.
12. "UP’s Piprahwa is Buddha’s Kapilvastu?".
13. "Kapilavastu". Retrieved 1 March 2011.
14. Huntington, John C (1986), "Sowing the Seeds of the Lotus" (PDF), Orientations, September 1986: 54–56, archived from the original (PDF) on Nov 28, 2014
15. "Nepal Census 2001". Nepal's Village Development Committees. Digital Himalaya. Retrieved 14 December 2008.

External links

• Lumbini On Trial: The Untold Story by Terry Phelps. See Section 'The Kapilavastu of the Chinese Pilgrims' and following passage also.

• Description of Kapilavastu by the Chinese pilgrim monk Faxian (399-414 AC)

• Suttas spoken by Gautama Buddha concerning Kapilavatthu: (more)

1. Cula-dukkhakkhandha Sutta - The Lesser Mass of Stress
2. Sakka Sutta - To the Sakyans (on the Uposatha)''