The Indrasala Cave, also called Indrasila Guha or Indrasaila Cave, is a cave site mentioned in
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
texts. It is stated in Buddhist mythology to be the cave where
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
lived for a while, and gave the sermon called the ''Sakkapañha Sutta'' to deity
Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
. This ''Sutta'' is found as chapter II.21 of ''
Dīgha Nikāya
The Digha Nikaya (dīghanikāya; "Collection of Long Discourses") is a Buddhist scriptures collection, the first of the five Nikāyas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of ...
''.
[; For one Theravada tradition translation of D II.21]
Upalavanna
Legend
In the ''Sakkapañha Sutta'' sermon, the Buddha addresses
Sakra (also known as
Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
) accompanied by
Pancasikha
Pancasikha (Sanskrit: ''Pañcaśikha''; Pali: ''Pañcasikha'') is a gandharva in the Buddhist pantheon.
Character
Pañcaśikha is the god who receives messages from the Four Heavenly Kings and their ministers regarding the deeds done in the hum ...
(also known as Kubera).
After some harp-playing by Pancasikha, Indra asks 42 questions to the Buddha, which he answers. The teachings in this Indrasala Cave ''Sutta'' is, in part, the basis for the
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
tradition of ''punna'' (earning merit) and'' varam'' (favor)''.
''
Location
Buddhist texts mention the Indrasala Cave to be in the Vediya or Vediyaka mountain, to the north of Ambasanda, near
Rajagrha
Rajgir, meaning "The City of Kings," is a historic List of towns in India by population, town in the Nalanda district, district of Nalanda in Bihar, India. As the ancient seat and capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Briha ...
.
Since the 19th century, many scholars had attempted to identify this hill and the location of the Indrasala Cave where Buddha lived.
Alexander Cunningham
Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly ...
believed it to be in modern
Giryak.
More recently, a cave on the solitary hill in Parbati village (also known as Parwati or Parwatipur) in
Nawada
Nawada is a city and a municipality in Bihar, India. It is also the headquarters of the Nawada district.
It is the headquarters of the subdivision of the same name, lying on both sides of the Khuri River( also known as Sakri river in some part ...
has been favoured, which is situated north to the village of Apsarh (modern-day Ambasanda
).
Depictions
Numerous depictions of the scene are known, the earliest being those of the
Mahabodhi Temple
The Mahabodhi Temple (literally: "Great Awakening Temple") or the Mahābodhi Mahāvihāra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an ancient, but rebuilt and restored Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, marking the location where the Buddha ...
at
Bodh Gaya
Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous as it is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment ( pi, ...
, circa 150 BCE. In a Gandhara artwork dated to 89 CE, the scene "Visit to the Indrasala Cave" is depicted with Indra identifiable with his elephant seated to the right, the Buddha is shown living in a cave by the wavy rocky landscape with wild animals above.
File:Bodh Gaya Jataka medallion.jpg, Visit of Indra to the Indrasala cave. The Buddha is symbolized by his throne in the cave (Mahabodhi Temple
The Mahabodhi Temple (literally: "Great Awakening Temple") or the Mahābodhi Mahāvihāra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an ancient, but rebuilt and restored Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, marking the location where the Buddha ...
, Bodh Gaya
Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous as it is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment ( pi, ...
, circa 150 BCE).
File:Indrasala Buddha with Indra, Mathura 50-100 CE.jpg, The same scene in a 50-100 CE relief, Mathura art
The Art of Mathura refers to a particular school of Indian art, almost entirely surviving in the form of sculpture, starting in the 2nd century BCE, which centered on the city of Mathura, in central northern India, during a period in which Bud ...
File:Indrasala cave, Loriyan Tangai.jpg, The same scene in a c. 2nd-century relief from Loriyan Tangai
Loriyan Tangai is an archaeological site in the Gandhara area of Pakistan, consisting of many stupas and religious buildings where many Buddhist statues were discovered.
The stupas were excavated by Alexander Caddy in 1896, and the many statues o ...
, Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...
. The Buddha is shown in Indrasala cave.
File:Cambogia, frontone con la visita di indra a buddha nella grotta d'indrasaila, da preah khan, stile di bayon, 1190-1210 ca..JPG, Indra visiting the Buddha in the Indrasala cave, Preah Khan, style of the Bayon
The Bayon ( km, ប្រាសាទបាយ័ន, ) is a richly decorated Khmer temple related to Buddhism at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the state temple of the King Jayavarman VII ( km, ព្រះ ...
, Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, 1190-1210 CE.
See also
*
Vulture Peak
The Vulture Peak (Pali: गिज्झकूट, Sanskrit: गृद्धकूट), also known as the Holy Eagle Peak or Gridhakūta (or Gādhrakūta), was the Buddha's favorite retreat in Rajagaha (now Rajgir, or Rajagrih). It was the scene ...
References
{{Indian Buddhist Caves
*
Indian rock-cut architecture
Gautama Buddha