Kapilavastu

Kapilvastu (Sanskrit ), or Kapilbastu Kapilvattu ( Pali ) is a town in the Terai in Nepal in the same district, about 40 km west of Siddharthanagar and 11 km from the Indian border. Kapilbastu walked out of the merger of the central municipality Taulihawa with some surrounding municipalities forth. In 2011 it had 30 428 inhabitants. Kapilbastu was once the capital of the small state of the Shakya clan in northern India.

Importance

Kapilvastu, about 25 km west of Lumbini and 250 km from Kathmandu, is thought to be the place, spent his youth at the Siddhartha Gautama, the future Buddha. In his father's Shuddhodana, who was the ruler (Raja ) of this small kingdom there palace, the marriage to Yasodhara and the birth of their son, Rahula was held. In particular, the legend of the three exits, where the Prince of the fact of old age, sickness and death looked into the eye, also makes Kapilvastu a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists. From his native city from the young Siddhartha joined at the age of 29 years on the way into homelessness to find as an ascetic path to liberation from suffering and finally enlightenment.

History

Fa -hsien, a Chinese pilgrim from the 5th century, described Kapilavastu (Chinese迦 毗罗 卫) as " a great scenery of emptiness and abandonment, " inhabited by a few monks, one or two families and dangerous animals such as lions and white elephants. Fa -hsien visited the lesser known venues such as the Palace of the Shakya clan, where the characteristics of the bodhisattva child were discovered, and the garden of Lumbini east of the city, where the mother of the future Buddha bathed and niederkam. Hill, stupas and other ruins testify to the former wealth of Buddhism.

Emperor Ashoka is said to have visited in the 3rd century BC in Nepal, where he built a stupa and a pillar with an inscription. Recent excavations uncovered stupas, monastic houses, and the well-preserved floor plan of the swimming pool. The rediscovered in 1896, split by a lightning bolt in two parts Ashoka Pillar may also be visited in Lumbini. In recent decades, Tibetan and Theravada monasteries were built in the vicinity of Lumbini; the place again developed into a significant, albeit remote pilgrimage center.

The tourist appeal of the historic village, in the area known today as Lumbini and the situation on the border of present-day India with Nepal, explains the controversy as to whether the historical palace of Kapilavastu was now situated within or beyond the border.

Remains of the East- gate in Kapilvastu.

Remains of the West Gate in Kapilvastu.