Kapilvastu Municipality

History

Tilaurakot located in Kapilavastu municipality (Taulihawa) may have been the ancient city of Kapilavastu. On the other hand, nearby Piprahwa in India has also been proposed as the location for the historical site of Kapilavastu.

The 19th-century search for the historical site of Kapilavastu followed the accounts left by Faxian and later by Xuanzang, who were Chinese Buddhist monks who made early pilgrimages to the site. Kapilavastu was an ancient city and the capital city of the Shakya kingdom. King Śuddhodana and Queen Māyā are believed to have lived at Kapilavastu, as did their son Prince Siddartha Gautama until he left the palace at the age of 29.

Historical sites

There are many sites of historical interest in or very close to Kapilavastu, including:

• Amaulikot
• Arourakot Darbar
• Bardahawa
• Bargadawa Stupa
• Bikulikot
• Derwa Stupa
• Dohanikot
• Gotihawa, birthplace of Kakusandha Buddha, marked by an Ashoka pillar
• Jagdishpur Reservoir
• Kanthak Stupa
• Kapilvastu Museum
• Kopawa Stupa
• Nigrodharama, the ruins of a Buddhist monastery where Gautama Buddha is believed to have stayed when visiting Kapilavastu
• Lohasariya Stupa
• Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautama Buddha
• Nigali Sagar, an archeological site in Nigalihawa, birthplace of Koṇāgamana Buddha, marked by an Ashoka pillar
• Paltimai Temple
• Pipara Stupa
• Pipari
• Piprahwa, a village and archaeological site in Siddharthnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, India that may be one of the burial sites of a portion of the ashes of Gautama Buddha
• Premnagar Stupa
• Ramagrama stupa, believed to be the only intact and original stupa containing relics of Buddha
• Rampur Siddhipur Stupa
• Sagarahawa Reservoir
• Sarkup Pokhari
• Semara Shiv Mandir
• Sihokhor Stupa
• Siseniya Stupa
• Tauleshwor Nath Mandir (Shree Tauleshwor Nath Mandir) is a devotional temple for Hindus. Many Hindus come here to worship Shiva during the Maha Shivaratri festival.
• Tilaurakot
• Twin Stupa

Notes

References

1. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "UNESCO World Heritage Centre - World Heritage Committee Inscribes 46 New Sites on World Heritage List". unesco.org.
2. "Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha". UNESCO.
3. "Brief Introduction of Kapilvastu Municipality".
4. (10 March 2017). "New local level structure comes into effect from today". [[The Himalayan Times]].
5. (11 March 2017). "New local level units come into existence".
6. "Taulihawa". fallingrain.com.
7. Tuladhar, Swoyambhu D.. (November 2002). "The Ancient City of Kapilvastu - Revisited". Ancient Nepal.
8. Chris Hellier. (March 2001). "Competing Claims on Buddha's Hometown". Archaeology.
9. Beal, Samuel (1884). ''Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, by Hiuen Tsiang''. 2 vols. Translated by Samuel Beal. London. 1884. Reprint: Delhi. Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. 1969. [https://archive.org/details/siyukibuddhistre01hsuoft Volume 1]
10. Beal, Samuel (1911). ''The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang. Translated from the Chinese of Shaman (monk) Hwui Li'' by Samuel Beal. London. 1911. Reprint Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi. 1973. [https://archive.org/details/ajf4729.0001.001.umich.edu Internet Archive]
11. Li, Rongxi (translator) (1995). ''The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions''. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. Berkeley, California. {{ISBN. 1-886439-02-8
12. Watters, Thomas. (1904). "On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629-645 A.D. Volume1". Royal Asiatic Society, London.
13. Trainor, K. (2010). "Encyclopedia of Buddhism". Routledge.
14. UNESCO. (2014). "Ramagrama, the relic stupa of Lord Buddha". UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
15. "Nepal Census 2001". [[Digital Himalaya]].