Religion and Society of Kaushambi

The religious and social life of the people of the Vatsa janapada had almost the same features as obtained in the other contiguous janapadas of Magadha and Kosala. From the time of the Buddha upto the Gupta period, Kaushambi remained one of the main centres of the Brahminical religion. Vedic rituals of various nature were performed here and people had great respect for the Brahmanas. When the Buddha resided at Kaushambi, a section of the people, particularly the setthi class, was attracted towards Buddhism. According to some Buddhist texts out of 227 rules of the Patimokkha sutta, 198 were framed at Kaushambi, Sravasti, Varanasi and Kapilvastu. Four well known Buddhist monasteries were established at Kaushambi. Their names were Ghositarama', Kukkutarama, MadaiKarama and Pavarika-Ambavan.

According to the Buddhist texts Samavati, a queen of Udayana and her female companions used to pay respect to the Buddha. This is said to have enraged Udayana. later on, however, he changed his mind. Devadatta and Channa, the two known adversaries of Gautama Buddha, resided at Kaushambi.^[1]

During the time of Ashoka, Buddhism spread in various parts of northern India, including Kaushambi. Two minor edicts of Ashoka were incised on a pillar at Kaushambi. One of these is addressed to the officials of Kaushambi. The other edict indicates that during Ashoka's time some tendencies had grown among the monks to disrupt the Buddhist Sangha. From this later edict we learn that a strict warning was administered by Ashoka to the people who tried to break up the Sangha. This kind of warning is also found in the pillar edict at Sarnath and Sanchi.

After Ashoka, Buddhism continued to be popular with a section of the people at Kaushambi, A good number of statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas found at Kaushambi attest to this fact. Under the rule of the sungas a Buddhist stupa was erected at Bharhut. During the reign of Dhanabhuti, king of Kaushambi, the eastern gateway of the stupa was erected.

A headless Buddha image dated in the year 2 of Kaniska was found at Kaushambi. During the recent excavations an inscribed image of Buddha bearing the names of Bhikshu Bala and his lady disciple Buddhamitra, has been discovered. Right upto the Gupta period Buddhism lingered on at Kaushambi in some form or the other.

Like Kosala, the Vatsa janapada was a great centre of Brahminical religion during the period under review. Remains of Brahminical temples and sculptures have been unearthed at Kaushambi. Images of Harití, Lakshmi, Durga, Siva and Kartikeya have been found here attesting to the popularity of various Brahminical pantheons. The yaksa and Naga cults were very popular here. The symbols found on the coins, seals and sealings of Kaushambi represent Lakshmi, Nandi buli, Vajra, Indrachwaja, Kalpa-Vriksha-in-railing, etc. These are indicative of the fact that the Vedic religion was quite popular with the ruling princes and the people of Kaushambi.

Some fragments of Jaina Ayagapattas and statues of TirthanKaras have also been found at Kaushambi. According to the Jaina traditions the city became sacrad on account of its association with Chandraprabhu and some other Tirthankaras.

Society:

Due to the prevalance of the Brahmanical faith the Varnashrama system seems to have been quite popular in Kaushambi during the period of our study. The archaeological remains found in the form of stone sculptures, terracottas, coins and sealings offer an interesting material for the study of dresses and ornaments of the Various classes of people. Both male and female were interested in ornaments of numerous types. Scenes of Dance and music depicted on a large number of terracotta figurines attest to the popularity of these fine arts. Musical instruments of Various types have also been found depicted on these figures. Clay carts and other toys for the children have also been found in large numbers. Some of the terracotta figures represent foreigners, particularly the Greeks and Sythians, who seems to have resided at Kaushambi for various reasons.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

B. Dutt & K.D. Bajpal, Development of Buddhism in U.P., pp. 151-153