Kukkutarama was a Buddhist monastery in

Pataliputra Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, Bihar, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE, as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliput ...

in eastern India, which is famous as the location of various "Discourses at the Kukkutarama Monastery", and for the eponymous "Kukkutarama

sutra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...

". Kukkutarama was also a Buddhist in

Kosambi Kosambi (Pali) or Kaushambi (Sanskrit) was an ancient city in India, characterized by its importance as a trading center along the Ganges Plain and its status as the capital of the Vatsa Kingdom, one of the sixteen mahajanapadas. It was loca ...

. Charles Allen writes that Ashoka built this Monastery and that the Amalaka stupa outside the monastery was built to commemorate his death. Xuanzang and Faxian mentioned the monastery as well. According to an ''

Ashokavadana The Ashokavadana (; ; "Narrative of Ashoka") is an Indian Sanskrit-language text that describes the birth and reign of the third Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. It glorifies Ashoka as a Buddhist emperor whose only ambition was to spread Buddhism far an ...

'' legend, the

Shunga is a type of Japanese erotic art typically executed as a kind of ukiyo-e, often in Woodcut, woodblock print format. While rare, there are also extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate ukiyo-e. Translated literally, the Japanese word '' ...

king Pushyamitra tried to destroy the monastery, but it was saved by a miracle. Mahadeva is said to have received his ordination at Kukkutarama (Pataliputta), before becoming the head of the

sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...

References

Bibliography

* History of Bihar Archaeological sites in Bihar Buddhist monasteries in India Buddhist sites in Bihar {{India-religious-struct-stub