Kapilavastu was an ancient city in the eastern Gangetic plains of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

which was the capital of the clan ''

gaṇasaṅgha Gana-Sangha (People's Union) or Gana-Rajya (People's Rule) was a type of Gana, tribe and clan structure of aristocratic republics in janapadas, ancient India. Etymology The word (; Sanskrit: गण) in Sanskrit and Pali means group or commu ...

'' or "republic" of the

Shakya Shakya (Pali, Pāḷi: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan clan of the northeastern region of South Asia, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age in India, Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised into a Gaṇasaṅgha, (an Aristocrac ...

s in the late

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, around the 6th and 5th centuries BC. King

Śuddhodana Śuddhodana (; Pali: ''Suddhodana''), meaning "he who grows pure rice," was the father of Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha. He was a leader of the Shakya, who lived in an Oligarchy, oligarchic republic, with their capital at Kapil ...

and Queen Māyā are believed to have lived at Kapilavastu, as did their son Prince Siddartha Gautama (

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

) until he left the palace at the age of 29. Buddhist

texts Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory), any object that can be read, including: **Religious text, a writing that a religious tradition considers to be sacred **Text, a verse or passage from scripture used in expository preachin ...

such as the

Pāli Canon The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...

say that Kapilavastu was the childhood home of Gautama Buddha, on account of it being the capital of the Shakyas, over whom his father ruled. Kapilavastu is the place where Siddhartha Gautama spent the first 29 years of his life. According to Buddhist sources the name Kapilvatthu means "tawny area", due to the abundance of reddish sand in the area. Most foreign accounts from the medieval period, particularly from China, described Kapilavastu as being part of "Central India". Kapilavastu never became a major pilgrimage site like Buddha's birthplace at Lumbini not far away, which would have left unmistakable remains. The settlement was probably never as large as depictions in early

Buddhist art Buddhist art is visual art produced in the context of Buddhism. It includes Buddha in art, depictions of Gautama Buddha and other Buddhas and bodhisattvas in art, Buddhas and bodhisattvas, notable Buddhist figures both historical and mythical, ...

suggest, and after the decline of Buddhism in India its location faded into obscurity. There are now two sites near the border between

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

which are claimed as Kapilavastu —

Piprahwa Piprahwa is a village near Siddharthnagar city in Siddharthnagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Kalanamak rice, a scented and spicy variety, is grown in this area. It lies in the heart of the historical Buddha's homeland and ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, India and Tilaurakot in Nepal. Finds at the Piprahwa (including a

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''Chasse (casket), chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported ...

found inside a mud

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

) indicate Buddhist activity dating to the 5th–4th century BCE, around the time of the death of the Buddha.

Search for Kapilavastu

The 19th-century search for the historical site of Kapilavastu followed the accounts left by

Faxian Faxian (337–), formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Fa-hien and Fa-hsien, was a Han Chinese, Chinese Chinese Buddhism, Buddhist bhikkhu, monk and translator who traveled on foot from Eastern Jin dynasty, Jin China to medieval India t ...

and later by

Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...

, who were Chinese

Buddhist monks A ''bhikkhu'' (, ) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male, and female monastics (''bhikkhunī''), are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the prātimo ...

who made early pilgrimages to the site. Some archaeologists have identified present-day Tilaurakot,

, while others have identified present-day

as the location for the historical site of Kapilavastu, the seat of governance of the Shakya state that would have covered the region. Both sites contain archaeological ruins. Those at Piprahwa show it was a significant early Buddhist site with a

and monasteries, and probably relics of the Buddha.

Proposed sites

Suddhodana Palace-east gate.JPG, Proposed site of Suddhodanda's Palace at Tilaurakot File:Stupas-Original-00020.jpg, Stupa at

Ancient depictions

File:Maya's dream Sanchi Stupa 1 Eastern gateway.jpg, Maya's dream of an elephant during her conception of the Buddha, an identifier of the city of Kapilavastu. File:Departure_of_the_Buddha_from_Kapilavastu_Sanchi_Stupa_1_Northern_Gate.jpg, The departure of the Buddha from Kapilavastu,

Sanchi Sanchi Stupa is a Buddhist art, Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the States and territories of India, State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometers from Raisen ...

, Stupa 1, Northern Gate.

Notable people

* Puṇṇa Mantānīputta – one of

the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

's ten principal disciples *

Anuruddha Anuruddha (; ) was one of the ten principal disciples and a cousin of Gautama Buddha. Early years Anuruddha was the son of Amitodana and brother to Mahanama and princess Rohini (Buddha's disciple). Since Amitodana was the brother of Suddh ...

– among the ten principal disciples and also a cousin of the Buddha *

Rāhula Rahul (Pāli) or Rāhula (Sanskrit; born ) was the only son of Siddhārtha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha, and his wife, princess Yaśodharā. He is mentioned in numerous Buddhist texts, from the early period onward. Accounts about R ...

– the only son of the Buddha * Ānanda – primary attendant of the Buddha and among the ten principal disciples

References

Bibliography

* {{cite book, last1=Coningham, first1=Robin , author1link=Robin Coningham , last2=Young, first2=Ruth , title=The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c.6500 BCE–200 CE, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yaJrCgAAQBAJ&dq=Coningham+Tilaurakot&pg=PA440, year=2015, publisher=Cambridge University Press, isbn=978-1-316-41898-7, pages=438–440 History of Buddhism Ancient Indian cities Buddhist pilgrimages Shakyas