Gautam Ashram () was a gurukul of the ancient Indian philosopher

Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

. It is located at the west bank of Khiroi river in Brahmpur village of Jale block of

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth-largest city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Bihar situated centrally in Mithila region. Darbhanga is the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. It was the seat of the erst ...

district in

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

. It is only at a seven kilometres distance from Kamtaul railway station.

Background

It is believed that Aksapada Gautama wrote his famous book Nyaya Shastra at this place. There is also a very famous pond known as Gautam Kund, where Gautam Rishi took his bath daily. Aksapada Gautama was the Acharya of the

Ancient Mithila University Ancient Mithila University was an Indian historical university famous for Nyaya Shastra and logical sciences. Background Gurukuls of the Vedic period in India can be called the ancient form of university because they had a system of higher ...

. He taught Nyaya Shastra to his disciples. So this place was also a Gurukul of the Ancient Mithila University. Nearby the ashram, there is Ahilya Sthan related to

Ahilya In Hinduism, Ahalyā ( sa, अहल्या, IAST: Ahalyā) also known as Ahilya, is the wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi. Many Hindu scriptures say that she was seduced by Indra (the king of gods), cursed by her husband for infidelity, ...

. Ahilya was the wife of Gautam Rishi. Gautam Ashram and Ahilya Sthan have a great importance in the history of ancient Mithila.

Seven Days Conference in the Ashram

A very famous conference of Philosophical discussion and debate was held by Aksapada Gautama at his Ashram. He was the Kulpati of his Ashram. The scholars and Kulpaties of different Ashrams from different parts of

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepal ...

and outside Mithila region gathered here to deliver lectures and participate in discussion on the knotty problem of the day, spiritualism and many mysteries of the nature. Scholars and Kulpaties of different Ashrams brought hundreds of new books on spiritualism and philosophies. Aksapada Gautama was very curious to copy all these books. He copied some of them. But he was very busy in welcoming the Scholars and Kulpaties of different Ashrams who came there, so his entrusted the task of copying the books to the

Acharya In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a ti ...

s and Brahmcharies of his own Ashram. Seerdhawaja

Janaka Janaka is a character who appears in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is an ancient Hindu king of Videha, which was located in the Mithila region. His name at birth was Sīradhvaja, and he had a brother named Kushadhvaja. His father's name was Hr ...

, the Emperor of Mithila and Devraj Indra also arrived in this conference. Seerdhawaja Janaka was also the Kuladhipati of all the Kulpaties of the Ashrams in his kingdom. He ensured to Aksapada Gautama for the funding and security of the Ashram. Then the Ashram was decorated very beautiful to welcome Devraj Indra.

References

{{Reflist Ancient Indian philosophers Indian philosophy Tourist attractions in Darbhanga district Hindu educational institutions