Chapter 2 - Country of Kie-pi-lo-fa-su-tu (Kapilavastu)

Note: Kapilavastu (Kie-pi-lo-fa-su-tu) is the country of Buddha’s birth and represents the tract of land lying be tween the Ghāgrā river and the Gaṇḍakā, from Faīzābād to the confluence of these rivers.^[1]

This country is about 4000 li circuit. There are some ten desert^[2] cities in this country, wholly desolate and ruined. The capital is overthrown and in ruins. Its circuit cannot be accurately measured. The royal precincts^[3] within the city measure some 14 or 15 li round. They were all built of brick. The foundation walls are still strong and high. It has been long deserted. The peopled villages^[4] are few and waste.

There is no supreme ruler; each of the towns appoints its own ruler. The ground is rich and fertile, and is cultivated according to the regular season. The climate is uniform, the manners of the people soft and obliging. There are 1000 or more ruined saṅghārāmas remaining; by the side of the royal precincts there is still a saṅghārāma with about 3000 (read 30) followers in it, who study the Little Vehicle of the Saṃmatīya school.

There are a couple of Deva temples, in which various sectaries worship (live). Within the royal precincts are some ruined foundation walls; these are the remains of the proper^[5] palace of śuddhodana-rāja; above is built a vihāra in which is a statue of the king. Not far from this is a ruined foundation, which represents the sleeping palace of Mahāmāyā,^[6] the queen. Above this they have erected a vihāra in which is a figure of the queen.

By the side of this is a vihāra;^[7] this is where Bodhisattya descended spiritually into the womb of his mother. There is a representation of this scene^[8] drawn in the vihāra. The Mahāsthavira school say that Bodhisattva was conceived on the 30th night of the month U-ta-lo-'an-sha-cha (Uttarāṣādha). This is the 15th day of the 5th month (with us). The other schools fix the event on the 23d day of the same month. This would be the 8th day of the 5th month (with us).

To the north-east of the palace of the spiritual conception is a stūpa; this is the place where Asita the Rishi prognosticated the fortune (took the horoscope or signs of) the royal prince.^[9] On the day when the Bodhisattva was born there was a gathering (a succession) of lucky indications. Then śuddhodana-rāja summoned all the sooth-sayers, and addressing them said, "With respect to this child, what are the fortunate and what the evil (signs)? As it is right, so do you clearly answer me." In reply they said, "According to the record of the former saints the signs are especially fortunate: If he remains in secular life he will be a Chakravartin monarch; if he leaves his home he will become a Buddha."^[10]

At this time the Rishi Asita, coming from afar, stood before the door,^[11] and requested to see the king. The king, overjoyed, went forth to meet and reverence him, and requested him to be seated on a precious chair; then addressing him he said, "It is not without an object that the Great Rishi has condescended to visit me this day." The Rishi said, "I was quietly resting (or, observing the summer rest) in the palace of the Devas, when I suddenly saw the multitude of the Devas dancing together for joy.^[12] I forthwith asked why they rejoiced in this extravagant way, on which they said, 'Great Rishi, you should know that to-day is born in Jambudvīpa, of Māyā, the first queen of śuddhodana-rāja of the śākya line, a royal son, who shall attain the complete enlightenment of sambodhi, and become all-wise.'^[13] Hearing this, I have come accordingly to behold the child; alas! that my age should prevent me awaiting the holy fruit."^[14]

At the south gate of the city is a stūpa. This is where the royal prince, when contending with the śākya princes, cast the elephant away.^[15] The royal prince having contended in the public competition (of arts and athletic exercises), was left entirely alone (without compeer) among them all, (or, in every exercise). And now the Mahārāja śuddhodana, after receiving congratulations (or, congratulating him), was about to go back to the city.^[16]

At this time the coachman was leading out the elephant and just about to leave the city. Devadatta, confident as ever in his brute strength, was just entering the gate from without; forthwith he asked the coachman, "Who is going to ride on this gaily caparisoned elephant?" He said, "The royal prince is just about to return, therefore I am going to meet him." Devadatta, in an excited manner, pulled the elephant down, and struck his forehead and kicked his belly, and left him lying senseless, blocking the way so that no one could pass. As they could not move him out of the way, the passers-by were stopped on their route. Nanda coming afterwards, asked, "Who has killed the elephant?" They said, "It was Devadatta." Forthwith he (Nanda) drew it on one side of the road. The prince-royal then coming, again asked, "Who had done the foul deed of killing the elephant?" They replied, "Devadatta killed it and blocked up the gate with it, and Nanda drew it on one side to clear the road." The royal prince then lifted the elephant on high and threw it across the city moat; the elephant falling on the ground caused a deep and wide ditch; the people since then have commonly called it "the fallen-elephant ditch."^[17]

By the side of this is a vihāra in which is a figure of the royal prince. By the side of this again is a vihāra; this was the sleeping apartment of the queen and the prince; in it is a likeness of Yaśodharā and (the child) Rāhula. By the side of the queen's Chamber is a vihāra with a figure of a pupil receiving his lessons; this indicates the old foundation of the school-house of the royal prince.

At the south-east angle of the city is a vihāra in which is the figure of the royal prince riding a white and high-prancing horse;^[18] this was the place where he left the city. Outside each of the four gates of the city there is a vihāra in which there are respectively figures of an old man, a diseased man, a dead man, and a śramaṇ.^[19] It was in these places the royal prince, on going his rounds, beheld the various indications, on which he received an increase of (religious) feeling, and deeper disgust at the world and its pleasures; and, filled with this conviction, he ordered his coachman to return and go home again.

To the south of the city going 50 li or so, we come to an old town where there is a stūpa. This is the place where Krakuchchhanda Buddha was born, during the Bhadra-kalpa when men lived to 60,000 years.^[20]

To the south of the city, not far, there is a stūpa; this is the place where, having arrived at complete enlightenment, he met his father.

To the south-east of the city is a stūpa where are that Tathāgata's relics (of his bequeathed body); before it is erected a stone pillar about 30 feet high, on the top of which is carved a lion.^[21] By its side (or, on its side) is a record relating the circumstances of his Nirvāṇa. It was erected by Aśoka-rāja.

To the north-east of the town of Krakuchchhanda Buddha, going about 30 li, we come to an old capital (or, great city) in which there is a stūpa. This is to commemorate the spot where, in the Bhadra-kalpa when men lived to the age of 40,000 years, Kanakamuni Buddha was born.^[22]

To the north-east of the city, not far, is a stūpa; it was here, having arrived at complete enlightenment, he met his father.

Farther north there is a stūpa containing the relics of his bequeathed body; in front of it is a stone pillar with a lion on the top, and about 20 feet high; on this is inscribed a record of the events connected with his Nirvāṇa; this was built by Aśoka-rāja.

To the north-east of the city about 40 li is a stūpa. This is the spot where the prince sat in the shade of a tree to watch the ploughing festival. Here he engaged in profound meditation and reached the condition of "absence of desire."^[23] The king seeing the prince in the shade of the tree and engrossed in quiet contemplation, and observing that whilst the sun's rays shed their bright light around him, yet the shadow of the tree did not move, his heart, recognising the spiritual character of the prince, was deeply reverent.

To the north-west of the capital there are several hundreds and thousands of stūpas, indicating the spot where the members of the śākya tribe were slaughtered. Virūdhaka-rāja having subdued the śākyas, and captured the members of their tribe to the number of 9990 myriads of people, then ordered them to be slaughtered.^[24] They piled their bodies like straw, and their blood was collected in lakes. The Devas moved the hearts of men to collect their bones and bury them.

To the south-west of the place of massacre are four little stūpas. This is the place where the four śākyas withstood an army. When first Prasenajita became king, he sought an alliance by marriage with the śākya race. The śākyas despised him as not of their family, and so deceived him by giving him as a wife a child of a servant, whom they largely endowed. Prasenajita-rāja established her as his principal queen, and she brought forth in due time a son, who was called Virūdhaka-rāja. And now Virūdhaka was desirous to go to the family of his maternal uncles to pursue his studies under their direction. Having come to the south part of the city, he there saw a new preaching-hall, and there he stopped his chariot. The śākyas hearing of it, forthwith drove him away, saying, "How dare you, base-born fellow occupy this abode, an abode built by the śākyas, in appearance (or, intended for) an abode of Buddha? "

After Virūdhaka had succeeded to the throne he longed to revenge his former insult; he therefore raised an army and occupied this place with his troops, who took possession of the fields. Four men of the śākyas who were engaged in ploughing between the watercourses^[25] immediately opposed the progress of the soldiers, and having scattered them, entered the town. Their clansmen, considering that their tribe was one in which there had been a long succession of universal monarchs, and that the honourable children of such righteous kings^[26] had dared to act cruelly and impetuously, and without patience to kill and slay, and so had brought disgrace on their family, drove them away from their home.

The four men, having been banished, went to the north among the Snowy Mountains; one became king of the country of Bamyān, one of Udyāna, one of Himatala, one of śāmbi (Kauśāmbī?). They have transmitted their kingly authority from generation to generation without any interruption.^[27]

To the south of the city 3 or 4 li is a grove of Nyagrodha trees in which is a stūpa built by Aśoka-rāja. This is the place where śākya Tathāgata, having returned to his country after his enlightenment, met his father and preached the law.^[28] śuddhodana-rāja, knowing that Tathāgata had defeated Māra and was engaged in travelling about, leading people to the truth and converting them, was moved by a strong desire to see him, and considered how he could pay him the reverence due to him. He therefore sent a messenger to invite Tathāgata, saying, "Formerly you promised, when you had completed your purpose to become a Buddha, to return to your native place. These are your words still unperformed; now then is the time for you to condescend to visit me." The messenger having come to the place where Buddha was, expressed to him the king's desire (mind). Tathāgata in reply said, "After seven days I will return to my native place." The messenger returning, acquainted the king with the news, on which śuddhodana-rāja ordered his subjects to prepare the way by watering and sweeping it, and to adorn the road with incense and flowers; and then, accompanied by his officers of state, he proceeded 40 li beyond the city, and there drew up his chariot to await his arrival. Then Tathāgata with a great multitude advanced; the eight Vajrapāṇis surrounded him as an escort, the four heavenly kings went before him; divine śakra with a multitude of Devas belonging to the world of desires (Kāma-loka), took their place on the left hand; Brahmā-rāja with Devas of Rūpa-loka accompanied him on the right. The Bhikṣu priests walked in order behind, Buddha by himself, as the full moon among the stars, stood in the midst; his supreme spiritual presence shook the three worlds, the brightness of his person exceeded that of the seven lights;^[29] and thus traversing the air he approached his native country.^[30] The king and ministers having reverenced him, again returned to the kingdom, and they located themselves in this Nyagrodha grove.

By the side of the saṅghārāma, and not far from it, is a stūpa; this is the spot where Tathāgata sat beneath a great tree with his face to the east and received from his aunt a golden-tissued kaṣāya garment.^[31] A little farther on is another stūpa; this is the place where Tathāgata converted eight king's sons and 5OO śākyas.

Within the eastern gate of the city, on the left of the road, is a stūpa; this is where the Prince Siddārtha practised (athletic sports and competitive) arts.

Outside the gate is the temple of Īśvara-deva. In the temple is a figure of the Deva made of stone, which has the appearance of rising in a bent position.^[32] This is the temple which the royal prince when an infant (in swaddling clothes) entered. King śuddhodana was returning from the Lumbinī (Lavaṇī—La-fa-ni) garden,^[33] after having gone to meet the prince. Passing by this temple the king said, "This temple is noted for its many spiritual exhibitions (miracles). The śākya children,^[34] who here seek divine protection always obtain what they ask; we must take the royal prince to this place and offer up our worship." At this time the nurse (foster-mother), carrying the child in her arms, entered the temple; then the stone image raised itself and saluted the prince. When the prince left, the image again seated itself.

Outside the south gate of the city, on the left of the road, is a stūpa; it was here the royal prince contended with the śākyas in athletic sports (arts) and pierced with his arrows the iron targets.^[35]

From this 30 li south-east is a small stūpa.^[36] Here there is a fountain, the waters of which are as clear as a mirror. Here it was, during the athletic contest, that the arrow of the prince, after penetrating the targets fell and buried itself up to the feather in the ground, causing a clear spring of water to flow forth. Common tradition has called this the arrow fountain (Sarakūpa); persons who are sick by drinking the water of this spring are mostly restored to health; and so people coming from a distance taking back, with them some of the mud (moist earth) of this place, and applying it to the part where they suffer pain, mostly recover from their ailments.

To the north-east of the arrow well about 80 or 90 li, we come to the Lumbinī (Lavaṇī) garden. Here is the bathing tank of the śākyas, the water of which is bright and clear as a mirror, and the surface covered with a mixture of flowers.

To the north of this 24 or 25 paces there is an Aśoka-flower tree,^[37] which is now decayed; this is the place where Bodhisattva was born on the eighth day of the second half of the month called Vaiśākha, which corresponds with us to the eighth day of the third month. The school of the Sthāviras (Shang-tso-pu) say it was on the fifteenth day of the second half of the same month, corresponding to the fifteenth day of the third month with us. East from this is a stūpa built by Aśoka-rāja, on the spot where the two dragons bathed the body of the prince.^[38] When Bodhisattva was born, he walked without assistance in the direction of the four quarters, seven paces in each direction, and said, "I am the only lord in heaven and earth; from this time forth my births are finished." Where his feet had trod there sprang up great lotus flowers. Moreover, two dragons sprang forth, and, fixed in the air, poured down the one a cold and the other a warm water stream from his mouth, to wash the prince.

To the east of this stūpa are two fountains of pure water, by the side of which have been built two stūpas. This is the place where two dragons appeared from the earth. When Bodhisattva was born, the attendants and household relations hastened in every direction to find water for the use of the child. At this time two springs gurgled forth from the earth just before the queen, the one cold, the other warm, using which they bathed him.

To the south of this is a stūpa. This is the spot where śakra, the lord of Devas, received Bodhisattva in his arms. When Bodhisattva was born, then śakra, the king of Devas, took him and wrapped him in an exquisite and divine robe.

Close to this there are four stūpas to denote the place where the four heavenly kings received Bodhisattva in their arms. When Bodhisattva was born from the right side of his mother, the four kings wrapped him in a golden-coloured cotton vestment, and placing him on a golden slab (bench) and bringing him to his mother, they said, "The queen may rejoice indeed at having given birth to such a fortunate child!" If the Devas rejoiced at the event, how much more should men!

By the side of these stūpas and not far from them is a great stone pillar, on the top of which is the figure of a horse, which was built by Aśoka-rāja. Afterwards, by the contrivance of a wicked dragon, it was broken off in the middle and fell to the ground. By the side of it is a little river which flows to the south-east. The people of the place call it the river of oil.^[39] This is the stream which the Devas caused to appear as a pure and glistening pool for the queen, when she had brought forth her child to wash and purify herself in. Now it is changed and become a river, the stream of which is still unctuous.

From this going east 300 li or so, across a wild and deserted jungle, we arrive at the kingdom of Lan-mo (Rāmagrāma).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

This is the country of Buddha's birth. The story of his ancestors' occupation of this district will be found in Sp. Hardy, Man. of Budh., chap. vi., and elsewhere. Speaking generally, the country of Kapilavastu is the tract of land lying be tween the Ghāgrā river and the Gaṇḍakā, from Faīzābād to the confluence of these rivers. The direct measurement gives a circuit of 550 miles, which would represent upwards of 600 miles by road. Hiuen Tsiang estimates the circuit at 4000 li. The capital of the country, called by the same name, bas been identified by Mr. Carlleyle, with a site called Bhuila, in the north-western part of the Basti district, about 25 miles north-east from Faīzābād. It is plain that if this is so, the distance from śrāvastī given by Hiuen Tsiang is much in excess of the actual distance. See Arch. Survey of lndia, vol. xii. p. 83.

[2]:

The expressions used in the text are very marked; the pilgrim says "desert cities ten in number are waste and desolate to the highest degree."

[3]:

Here we have again the expression "kung shing" to denote the fortified part of the town, within which was the palace and its surroundings. This is in agreement with Dr. Carlleyle's remark in Archæolog. Survey of India, vol. xii. p. 144

[4]:

Or, the inhabited suburbs or streets.

[5]:

It may be either "the proper," i.e., private, or "the principal" palace (ching). From Mr. Carlleyle's remarks we may perhaps conclude that this palace was situated in the southern portion of the enclosed precinct. The vihāra had evidently been built after the palace was in ruins The statue of the king seems to have been there in Hiuen Tsiang's time.

[6]:

Mr. Carlleyle excavated a site which he thinks represents this "bed-chamber." If we may judge from the size of the building (71 feet square), it would represent the palace of the king and the chamber of the queen. The fact of its being built of "very large ancient bricks" certainly favours the identification of the place with the inner city described by Hiuen Tsiang.

[7]:

Mr. Carlleyle places this vihāra about 50 feet W.N.W. from the bed-chamber ruins, the stūpa of Asita being situated to the north-east of it

[8]:

This representative scene is one of the best known of the Buddhist sculptures. See Tree and Serpent Worship, pl. xxxiii.; Stpūa of Bharhut, pl. xxviii.; Lalita Vistara (Foucaux), pl. v.

[9]:

The horoscope cast by Asita the soothsayer is another well-known incident in the Buddhist legend Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king, vv. 70 ff. For an interesting representation of it see Mrs. Speirs' Life in Ancient India, p. 248, also Burgess, Cave Temples (Ajaṇṭā), p. 308. The stūpa of Asita is supposed by Mr. Carlleyle to be the solid brick structure he found about 400 feet N.N.E.1/2 N. from the bed-chamber of Māyā This may be so; but the horoscope was actually cast within the palace.

[10]:

Arrive at complete, equal, perfect, wisdom. "To leave his home" means, if he becomes a hermit or ascetic. The signs on the child's body are alluded to in ver. 45 of the Buddha-charita (Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king), and the exact words of the prediction in the following verse, 46.

[11]:

From this it is plain that the site on which the stūpa was afterwards built was originally a part of the palace.

[12]:

Shau mo tsuh to, moving their hands and feet. Such a scene among the Devas will be found in it Tree and Serpents Worship, pl. lxxiii. fig. 2.

[13]:

Julien remarks in a note that this phrase "yeh tsai chi" (Sambuddhasa) corresponds to the name given to the prince, viz., Sarvārthasiddha, but this signifies "possessed of every excellency" (yih tsai yau i).

[14]:

That is, either seeing him arrived at the holy fruit of a Buddha, or myself arriving at the holy fruit or an Arhat by his teaching.

[15]:

The spot should be just inside the southern gate of the city, not necessarily the royal city or the palace precincts, but the entire city. The story as it is generally received is that the elephant when it fell blocked the gate entrance, and that Nanda pulled it off the road and left it on one side. The prince then flung the elephant across the moat. It must, therefore, have been within the moat.

[16]:

Julien makes this return refer to the prince. But there is no mention made of him, but of the king.

[17]:

That is, the "Hastigarta." There is a circular tank about 340 feet to the south of the ditch of Bhuila a which is still called the "Hāthi Kund" or "Hāthi Gadhe." General Cunningham is perfectly convinced that this is the spot indicated in the text (Arch. Surv., vol. xii. Introd.) But, of course, the whole matter is legendary. The vihāras by the side of this ditch, and said to be built on the site of the palace of the prince and his wife, would indicate that his palace was outside the walls; how, then, are we to explain the story of his flight from the palace?

[18]:

Julien gives "a white elephant."

[19]:

That is, the sights which met the prince's gaze when he left the city on his excursion. These predictive signs are well known. They are found also in the History of Barlaam and Joasaph (Bodhisat), to which I called attention in the year 1869, Buddhist Pilgrims p. 86, n. Mr. Carlleyle notices four mounds outside the citadel of Bhuila corresponding with the sites of these virāras.

[20]:

Krakuchchhanda was the first of the five Baddhas of the Bhadra kalpa. The fabled birthplace of this Buddha must be sought about a yojana (8 miles) to the south-west of Kapilavastu, and not, as Mr. Carlleyle indicates, at Nagra, 7.5 miles to the north-west of that place. Fa-hian visited this place after leaving śrāvastī, then went north about 8 miles, then east 8 miles to Kapilavastu. Ind. Ant., vol. xi. P. 293.

[21]:

Mr. Carlleyle, when at Nagra, thought he had discovered the pedestal on which this pillar stood; the pillar was gone and the natives denied all knowledge of it or its history. Their ignorance is not to be wondered at, considering they lived 16 or 18 miles from the site named by Hiuen Tsiang.

[22]:

Kanakamuni, a mythological person, the second of the five Buddhas of the Bhadra-kalpa. His birthplace is identified by Mr. Carlleyle with a village called Kanakpur, about a yojana to the west of Kapilavastu. As this distance and bearing agree with Fa-hian's account, and nearly 80 with that of Hiuen Tsiang, it may be correct.

[23]:

This incident is recorded in all the Lives of Buddha. See Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king, vv. 330 ff. The figure of the prince lost in meditation under the Jambu tree will be found in Tree and Serpent Worship, pl. xxv. fig. 1, where the leaves or flowers of the tree are bent down to cover the young prince, from the top of whose head the light of profound meditation proceeds, whilst the figures searching throughout the garden, and looking in at the three palaces of the prince, denote the perplexity of his attendants and father, as to his whereabouts. See the particulars in the Romantic Legend of Buddha.

[24]:

The enmity of Virūdhaka (Pi-lu-tse-kia) was owing to the insult the śākyas had paid his father in wedding him to a slave, and also to the epithet "base born" they applied to him (see ante, vol. i. p. 128) His father, Prasenajita, was not a kinsman of the śākyas (as Mr. Carlleyle states, p. 173), but an alien. The position the śākyas held as "a holy family" is a peculiarity not yet thoroughly understood. The site of the slaughter has been identified with a place called Bhatā or Badhā, about 8 miles to the north-west of Bhuila.

[25]:

"Hun man", the rills dividing fields.

[26]:

This is a difficult passage, and the translation doubtful, but it is less obscure than that in the French. The idea is that śākya children, descended from holy kings, ought not to have resisted even an invader.

[27]:

This story of the banishment of the śākya youths is met with in the Southern records (Mahāvaṃśa). See Max Müller, Hist. Anc. Sansk. Lit. p. 285. The story of the king of Udyāna and the Nāga girl occurs above, Book iii., vol. i. p. 129.

[28]:

For this part of Buddha's history see Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king, varga 19.

[29]:

Sun, moon, and five planets.

[30]:

The exaggeration found in the visit of Buddha to his native country is common to all the records.

[31]:

This is the garment supposed to be kept by the great Kāśyapa in the Cock's-foot Mountain for Maitreya. Buddha's aunt was Mahāprajāpatī, who was at the head of the female disciples.

[32]:

This is, as it seems, the meaning of the passage, literally, "the appearance of rising, bendingly," i.e., rising and bending. This rendering, which differs so widely from Julien's, is confirmed by the scene found in Tree and Serpent Worship, pl. lxix. (upper disc), where the large figure "rising bendingly" is that of Īśvara, and the cloth with the feet marked on it represents the infant Buddha. Suddhodana and Māyā (or Prajāpatī) are also represented.

[33]:

This garden was Buddha's birthplace. The name Lumbinī is said to have been derived from that of the wife of Suprabuddha; his daughter was Māyā, the mother of Buddha. The Chinese equivalent in the text, La-fa-ni, may possibly be connected with the Sanskrit lāvaṇa saline; but Lavaṇī is a feminine personal name.

[34]:

In the plate referred to above, there are none but women present (except Suddhodana), as if they were praying for their children.

[35]:

The account of the contest with the śākya princes will be found in the Romantic Legend of Buddha. See also Fa-hian, p. 86, n. 3. The spot is identified by Mr. Carlleyle; Report, p. 187.

[36]:

Fa-hian places this stūpa at the same distance and in the same direction. It has been identified with a spot called Sur-kuiā, a corruption of śara-kūpa (arrow well), about 4 1/8 miles due south of the former stūpa (Arch. Survey, vol. xii. p. 188). The bearing does not, however, correspond with that given by the Chinese pilgrims. The story of the arrow is given in the Lalita Vistara p. 149.

[37]:

Wu-yu-shu. It is curious that it should be so frequently stated that the child was born under a sal tree (Carlleyle, op. cit., p. 200, and elsewhere); S. Hardy, Man. Bud. p. 167.

[38]:

For all these events the ordinary Lives of Buddha may be consulted. I have been unable to follow Mr. Carlleyle in his various identifications of the spots named in the text.

[39]:

It is plain from this that "the river of oil" was close to the spot where the child was born, and flowed through the garden.