Introduction and Identification of Kaushambi

In the annals of ancient Indian history there have been many periods of light and darkness in which the tempo of civilization sometimes rose to a-high cresends or fell to the depth of oblivion. Such is the rate of the ancient town of Kaushambi also.

The well known site of ancient Kaushambi lies 32 miles south-east of Allahabad city. It is now represented by the extensive ruins near the village Kosam. The town was situated on the left bank of the river Yamuna.

The ancient city of Kaushambi was the capital of the Vatsa janapada which was counted among the sixteen mahajanapadas of northern India in the time of the Buddha. In the sixth century B.C. king Udayana was the ruler of Vatsa. His life and romances furnished material for many authors and artists. For a long period Kaushambi was one of the nerve-centres in the political, religious and economic life of ancient India.

Kaushambi is mentioned in the later Vedic literature as the capital of the Vatsas. It is also referred to in the Atareya Brahmana, the Gopatha Brahamana, the Kaushitaki Upanishad, the Puranas, the Pali canons and in the two great epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.^[1]

According to the legendary accounts about a century after the Mahabharata War, Hastinapur was swept away by a flood in the Ganga. Nichakshu, the fifth king in the Pandava lineage shifted to Kaushambi.

Identification of Kaushambi:—

In 1871. A. Cunningham identified the present village of Kosam with the ancient city of Kaushambi on the basis of the Pali literature and the itinerary of the Chinese Pilgrim Hiuen-Tsang. The evidence on which he based his conclusion was partly traditional and partly argumentative.

Vincent Smith on the other hand, pointed out the location of Kaushambi near Satna^[2] in M.P. Watters identified it with Sravasti^[3].

The recent explorations have proved the correctness of Cunningham's identification and have set the controversy at rest. References to Kaushambi are found in various epigraphs found at Kosam and other places.

[Kaushambi in Ancient Time]

An Ashokan Pillar is standing in situ at Kosam. A Brahmi inscription is engraved on the upper part of the shaft.^[4] It mentions the name 'Koshambi'. The most important part of the inscription which identifies Kosam with Koshambi is the records and the prayers of the five leading goldsmiths with thirteen of their employess to 'Ganesa and Siva-Bhairava' for favour of goldsmiths of Kaushambi town. This proves that Kosam which contains the stone pillar referred to above and the inscription which was engraved in the reign of Akbar was known to its residents to be Kaushambi even in the sixth century A.D.

Another inscription on the Pabhosa hill dated Samvat 1889 (1832. A.D.) speaks of Pabhosa as situated out-side the city of Kaushambi.^[5] Thus half a century before Cunninghans' identification, Kaushambi was known by its ancient name.

An inscription mentioning Kaushambi was found at Kara, 41 miles from Allahabad on a piece of stone fixed on the gateway of its fort. It is dated in Samvat 1092 (A.D. 1035) and mentions the Pratihara ruler Yasahpala.

The Ghoshitarama Buddhist monastery of Kaushambi is frequently mentioned in the early Buddhist literature: It was built by Ghosita, one of the leading bankers of Kaushambi to provide lodging for the Buddha and his followers. Some of the famous sermons of Buddha, such as Kosambyi-Sutta and the Jaliya Sutta, were preached while he was staying at Ghoshitarama. The tradition avers that the first schism in the Buddhist Sangha also arose while the master was present there.

During the recent excavations at Kaushambi by the University of Allahabad a stone slab bearing the following inscription was discovered. The slab is an ayagapatta of the monastery of Ghoshitarama.

भयंतस घरस अन्तेवासिस भिक्खुस फगलस ।
बुधावासै घोषितारामे सवबुधानां पुजाये शिला ॥ का... (रापिता)

bhayaṃtasa gharasa antevāsisa bhikkhusa phagalasa |
budhāvāsai ghoṣitārāme savabudhānāṃ pujāye śilā || kā... (rāpitā)

“The Ayagapatta was established by Bhiksu Phagala, the disciple of Dhara, for the worship of all the Buddhas, in the monastery of Ghoshitarama in the abode of Buddha”.

The recent excavations at Kaushambi have also revealed the existence of a palace, which is supposed to be the palace of Udayana.^[6] According to Strati-graphical evidence, the origin of the palace goes to 600 B.C., if not a little earlier.

Several coins from Kaushambi have also been discovered bearing the ancient name of the town. The legends on these coins are Kosavi, Kasavi, Kashaviya, Koshambikanam, etc.

These coins were presumably issued by the guilds of traders of Kaushambi.

During the period under review Kaushambi was a centre of trade. Rich merchants (setthis) resided in this town and they made big business transactions. Traders from Magadha, Kosala, Avanti and other regions passed through Kaushambi, which was situated on the main routes going to various directions.^[7] A number of guilds of traders and bankers were established at Kaushambi. This is borne out by literary evidence and also by coins, seals and sealings, Traders in perfumes (gandhikas) are known to have issued coins at Kaushambi bearing the legend gandhikanam. Similarly coins with the legends Koshambikanam, Negama and also the town-name of Kaushambi, in various forms, have been discovered in the Vatsa janapada. These were issued by the economic guilds or corporations blished at Kaushambi. Sahajati (Bhita) near Allahabad was one of the main ports near Kaushambi.

The antiquities discovered at Kaushambi and the area around, in the form of coins, metal and ivory ornaments, beads of various precious and semi-precious stones and terracotta objects, attest to a high level of material life of the people of Kaushambi during the period of our study.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

B.C.Lew: Historical Geography of ancient India,ch.I,p.99; N.N. Ghosh: Early History of Kaushambi, pp. 93-97; A, Cunningham: The Ancient Geography of India, p. 454.

[2]:

J.R.A.S., 1898, p. 503.

[3]:

Watters on Yuan Chwang, p. 367-68.

[4]:

Hultzsch, C.I.I.,Vol. I, Ashokan Ins.,p. 20.; v'kksd ds vfHkys[k] p. 187.

[5]:

Ep. Ind., Vol. X,p. 32.

[6]:

G.R.Sharma, Report on Kaushambi excavations, p. 16.

[7]:

See Rhys Davids, Buddhist India, pp.02.