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Kapilavastu is the name of an region of ancient Shakya
Shakya

Shakya was an ancient janapada of Iron Age India. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word which means capable, able. In Buddhism texts, the are mentioned as a clan....
 kingdom that is considered a holy pilgrimage place for Buddhists, located close to Lumbini
Lumbini

Lumbini is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Kapilavastu district of Nepal, near the Indian border. It is the place where Queen Mayadevi is said to have given birth to Siddhartha Gautama, who in turn, as the Gautama Buddha, gave birth to the Buddhism....
. The result of years of excavation and research by numerous international teams have concluded that Kapilavastu is in Nepal and is acknowledged by UNESCO as well as the government of India.

The search for Buddha's birthplace following the accounts left by Xuanzang
Xuanzang

Xuanzang [602 ? - 664] was a famous China Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator that brought up the interaction between History of China and History of India in the early Tang Dynasty period....
 and Faxian
Faxian

Fa Xian was a Chinese Buddhist monk who traveled to Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka to acquire Buddhist scriptures between 399 and 412 . His journey is described in his work A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms, Being an Account by the Chinese Monk Fa-Hien of his Travels in India and Sri Lanka in Search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline....
 involved various searches in the late 19th century.

Tilaurakot
Tilaurakot had been the citadel complex of the larger surrounding Kapilvastu Kingdom, founded by Lord Buddha's father Suddhodana, the chief of the Shakya
Shakya

Shakya was an ancient janapada of Iron Age India. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word which means capable, able. In Buddhism texts, the are mentioned as a clan....
 nation, one of several ancient tribes in the growing state of Kosala.






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Kapilavastu is the name of an region of ancient Shakya
Shakya

Shakya was an ancient janapada of Iron Age India. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word which means capable, able. In Buddhism texts, the are mentioned as a clan....
 kingdom that is considered a holy pilgrimage place for Buddhists, located close to Lumbini
Lumbini

Lumbini is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Kapilavastu district of Nepal, near the Indian border. It is the place where Queen Mayadevi is said to have given birth to Siddhartha Gautama, who in turn, as the Gautama Buddha, gave birth to the Buddhism....
. The result of years of excavation and research by numerous international teams have concluded that Kapilavastu is in Nepal and is acknowledged by UNESCO as well as the government of India.

The search for Buddha's birthplace following the accounts left by Xuanzang
Xuanzang

Xuanzang [602 ? - 664] was a famous China Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator that brought up the interaction between History of China and History of India in the early Tang Dynasty period....
 and Faxian
Faxian

Fa Xian was a Chinese Buddhist monk who traveled to Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka to acquire Buddhist scriptures between 399 and 412 . His journey is described in his work A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms, Being an Account by the Chinese Monk Fa-Hien of his Travels in India and Sri Lanka in Search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline....
 involved various searches in the late 19th century.

Tilaurakot


Tilaurakot had been the citadel complex of the larger surrounding Kapilvastu Kingdom, founded by Lord Buddha's father Suddhodana, the chief of the Shakya
Shakya

Shakya was an ancient janapada of Iron Age India. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word which means capable, able. In Buddhism texts, the are mentioned as a clan....
 nation, one of several ancient tribes in the growing state of Kosala. "kot" in Tilaurakot is Nepalese denoting fortress. It lies approximately five kilometers north of Taulihawa, the modern district center of Kapilbastu District, (approx. 30,000 inhabitants). Tilaurakot was excavated by Robin Coningham and Armin Schmidt. The excavation revealed a considerable walled fortress approximately 300 meters long and 200 meters wide and containing exposed foundations of several building complexes. Some 150 meters before Tilaurakot's western gate (the modern main entrance) lies a small, neglected, but quaint museum housing coins, painted grey ware and northern black polished ware pottery, and toys excavated from the site dating between the seventh century BC and fourth century AD. The museum also has good collection of jewellery and other ornaments of that period.

Tilaurakot lies 25 kilometers east of Lumbini
Lumbini

Lumbini is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Kapilavastu district of Nepal, near the Indian border. It is the place where Queen Mayadevi is said to have given birth to Siddhartha Gautama, who in turn, as the Gautama Buddha, gave birth to the Buddhism....
 of the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama
Gautama Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama was a Spirituality teacher in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is generally seen by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddhahood of our age....
. The Buddha grew up and lived in Tilaurakot/Kapilvastu Kingdom to the age of 29. Siddhartha spent his early life in Kapilavastu as a prince, mostly oblivious of worldly miseries. He was married to Yashodhara
Yashodhara

Princess Yasodhara was the daughter of King Suppabuddha , and Pamita, sister of the Gautama Buddha's father, King Suddhodana.The meaning of the name Yasodhara [from yasas glory, splendor + dhara bearing from the verbal root dhri to bear, support] is Bearer of glory....
 and had a son named Rahula
Rahula

Rahula was the only son of Siddhartha Gautama , and Princess Yasodhara. He was born on the same day that Prince Siddhartha Gautama left the palace to seek Enlightenment and later become the Gautama Buddha....
. Upon confronting worldly miseries such as disease, aging and death, he left Kapilavastu in search of enlightenment and in quest of answers to his questions about such miseries, pain and sufferings.

Thirty five kilometers to the west lies Gautam Buddha Airport
Gautam Buddha Airport

Gautam Buddha Airport , also known as Bhairahawa Airport, is an airport serving Bhairahawa in Nepal....
, in Bhairahawa (Siddharthanagar
Siddharthanagar

This article is on the Nepalese town. For the district in Uttar Pradesh, see Siddharthnagar District.Siddharthanagar is a town and municipality and seat of Rupandehi District in the Lumbini Zone of southern Nepal, located near the southwestern border with India....
) Nepal, built for pilgrims to Lumbini and Kapilavastu with daily multiple flights to Kathmandu.

The location of Tilaurakot is at the following coordinates: .

Picture Gallery of Kapilavastu (Tilaurakot)


Controversies

The location of ancient Kapilavastu is still not accepted by some scholars in India although recognized by UNESCO to be in Nepal. Generally, Indian guidebooks and historians consider Piprahwa
Piprahwa

Piprahwa is a village in the area of Kapilavastu, north of Birdpur in the Siddharthnagar District, Uttar Pradesh, India. There is a stupa and some old walls and wells....
 to be the real Kapilavastu, while other guidebooks and historians consider Tilaurakot
Tilaurakot

Tilaurakot is a Village Development Committee in Kapilvastu District in the Lumbini Zone of southern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 5684 people residing in 944 individual households....
 to be the real Kapilavastu.

The Archaeological Survey of Nepal (ASI) has a board outside KKK, an archaeological site in Nepal(south of Lumbini), which claims the site as the historic Kapilavastu. It has a large relic stupa, in which relic caskets with Buddha-relics were found. The UNESCO
UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945....
 has declared 'Nepalese' Kapilavastu
Kapilavastu

Kapilavastu is the name of an region of ancient Shakya kingdom that is considered a holy pilgrimage place for Buddhists, located close to Lumbini....
, along with Lumbini
Lumbini

Lumbini is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Kapilavastu district of Nepal, near the Indian border. It is the place where Queen Mayadevi is said to have given birth to Siddhartha Gautama, who in turn, as the Gautama Buddha, gave birth to the Buddhism....
, as a World Heritage site.

See also

  • Lumbini
    Lumbini

    Lumbini is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Kapilavastu district of Nepal, near the Indian border. It is the place where Queen Mayadevi is said to have given birth to Siddhartha Gautama, who in turn, as the Gautama Buddha, gave birth to the Buddhism....
    , the site of birth of Gautama Buddha.
  • Nigrodharama
    Nigrodharama

    Nigrodharama was a Banyan grove near Kapilavastu, where a residence was provided for the Gautama Buddha when he visited the city in the first year after his Enlightenment....
    , a Buddhist Monastery close to Kapilavastu, where Buddha used to live when visiting Kapilavastu.


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