Birthplace of Buddha and Shakya Dynasty History of Kapilvastu

 Birthplace of Buddha and Shakya Dynasty History of Kapilvastu

Kapilvastu  was the city of Shakya kingdom, prince Siddhartha Gautam along with his parents King Suddhodhan and Queen Mahamaya Devi lived at  Kapilvastu until he left the palace at the age of 29 years. According to Buddhist sources Kapilvastu was named after Vedic sage kapila. When Queen Mahamaya Devi was going to her parent's home at Devdaha for delivery as per their family tradition, she gave birth to Siddhartha Gautam at Lumbini in 563 BC. So, Lumbini is famous all over the world as the birth place of lord Buddha which lies in Rupandehi District of Province 5, Nepal.

Origin of Shakya Dynasty

According to the Pali literature, the word "Shakya" is derived from "Shakka" which means capable or powerful. There was a king named Okkaka ruling over Saket, a state of northern India before 8th Century BC. King Okkaka is believed to be the ancestor of Shakyas. The King Okkaka had five queens. From the eldest queen Bhatra, there were four princess and five princesses. After some time, the King Okkaka fell in love with another lady and later married her as sixth queen. From the youngest queen, a prince named Jantu was born. Because of her conspiracy and trickery, the King decided to exile other princess and make her son the successor of king.

The princes also left the Kingdom obeying the decision of King and went to Banaras. Five princesses also went along with them. The banished princes and princesses reached to a place where kapila, a great sage used to live. The sage suggested them to live there by establishing a city. Then, they cleared the Sal forest and founded a state named Kapilvastu combining the words, i.e. 'Kapila' is the name of the king and 'Vastu' means place of dwelling in Sanskrit language.

After few years, King Okkaka sent his ministers to inquire about the whereabouts of his princes and princesses. The ministers later on reported the King that they were living in a Sal Jungle called 'Shaka', and the ministers too started living there. They wanted to continue their nobility and protect their traditional culture. So, the eldest princess Priya  was made 'Rajmata' of their family and the remaining princes and princesses married each other in order to grow their clan. When it was heard by the King, he dejectedly said to princes, "You are shayka".  According to the Buddhist scriptures Tripitaka, Didhanikaya and Ambastak story, after that, the Shakya clan and Kapilvastu state were originated. In this way, King Okkaka was the ancestor of Shakya clan. The eldest son of King Okkaka named Okkamukh became the founder King of Kapilvastu. Thus, Kapilvastu state was ruled by the Shakya clan before the birth of Gautam Buddha and after his salvation.

Jayasen was the King of Kapilvastu. His successor was Singhanu. King Singhanu had a queen named kanchana. Queen Kanchana gave birth to five sons including Suddhodhan, the eldest one and a daughter. As, Suddhodhan was the eldest among the brothers, he became the King of Kapilvastu, an autonomous state in the Terai region of Nepal. He ruled there about 2,600 years ago. He was very popular among the people. Lord Buddha was born as the elder son from his elder queen Mahamaya Devi. The younger queen named Prajapati Gautami also gave birth to a son named Nanda Kumar and a daughter named Nanda Kumari. Shakyas who were proud of the superiority of their blood and racial dominance used to consider themselves as descendants of the legendary King Ishvaku, belonging to Gautam clan. Shakyas of Kapilvastu and Koliya Shakyas of Devdaha had a marital relationship. Siddhartha Gautam married Yashodhara, the daughter of Shaprabuddha who was the son of Koliya King Anjan. After the birth of Siddhartha Gautam, the royal fortune teller predicted that he would attain intelligence and provide a new thought to the world. 

The Asoka Pillar

The Asoka Pillar was erected here in Lumbini by the Emperor Asoka in 249 BC to commemorate his visit to Lumbini. It consists of the inscriptions marking the location as the birthplace of Sakyamuni Buddha. The pillar is made up of sandstone and sedimentary rock. The Asoka Pillar bears the first epigraphic evidence with reference to the birthplace of Sakyamuni Buddha. The inscription is written in Brahmi script and Pali language. In 1312 AD, Ripu Malla, the king of the western Nepal paid homeage to Lumbini and engraved the following words: Om Mani Padme Hum Ripu Malla Chiran Jayatu on the eastern side of the upper part of the pillar. Erection of this pillar in Lumbini by Emperor Asoka was also described by early Chinese Travelers including Hsuan Tsang (636 AD). The pillar which was lost in the bush land after the visit of Ripu Malla was rediscovered by Dr. A. A Fuhrer and General Khadga Shumsher JBR in the excavation on 1st December 1896. The excavation work carried out by the Indian Archaeologist Mrs.  Debala Mitra confirmed that the pillar had a Mauryan polish typical of finished stone from a quarry in the neighborhood of Chunar (near Varanasi, U.P. India) . The pillar when first erected was about 40 feet long and originally had three parts (i) The monolithic pillar,  (ii) A Lotus barcket, and (iii) A Crowning figure, which was possibly a horse. The present monolithic pillar is 30 feet and 10.5 inches (9.41m) long. 

An English translation of the inscription:

King Piyadasi (Asoka) the beloved of the Gods, in the twentieth year of his reign, himself made a royal visit.

Sakyamuni Buddha was born here, therefore the (birth spot) marker stone was worshipped and  a stone pillar was erected. 

The lord having been born here, the tax of the Lumbini village reduced to the eight part (only).