![Piprawa vase with relics of the Buddha](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Piprawa_vase_with_relics_of_the_Buddha.jpg)
Piprahwa is a village near
Siddharthnagar city in
Siddharthnagar district
Siddharthnagar district is one of the 75 districts of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh also known as the birthplace of Gautama Buddha. Siddharthnagar is the district headquarters. Siddharthnagar district is a part of Basti division. It was unde ...
of the
Indian state
India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions.
History
Pre-indepen ...
of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
.
Kalanamak rice
Kalanamak is a scented rice of Nepal and India . Its name means black husk (kala = black; the suffix ‘namak’ means salt). This variety has been in cultivation since the original Buddhist period (600 BC). It is popular in Himalayan Tarai of N ...
, a scented and spicy variety of rice is grown in this area. It lies in the heart of the historical Buddha's homeland and is 12 miles from the world heritage site of
Lumbini
Lumbinī ( ne, लुम्बिनी, IPA=ˈlumbini , "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. It is the place where, according to Buddhist tradition, Queen Mahamayadevi gave birth ...
that is believed to be the place of
Gautama Buddha's birth.
Piprahwa is best known for its archaeological site and excavations that suggest that it may have been the burial place of the portion of the Buddha's ashes that were given to his own
Shakya
Shakya ( Pāḷi: ; sa, शाक्य, translit=Śākya) was an ancient eastern sub-Himalayan ethnicity and clan of north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised ...
clan. A large
stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circumamb ...
and the ruins of several monasteries as well as a museum are located within the site. Ancient residential complexes and shrines were uncovered at the adjacent mound of
Ganwaria.
Excavation by William Claxton Peppe
A buried stupa was discovered by
William Claxton Peppe, a
British colonial engineer and landowner of an estate at Piprahwa in January 1898. Following the
severe famine that decimated Northern India in 1897, Peppe led a team in excavating a large earthen mound on his land. Having cleared away scrub and jungle, they set to work building a deep trench through the mound. After digging through 18 feet of solid brickwork, they came to a large stone
coffer
A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault.
A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also ...
which contained five small vases containing bone fragments, ashes, and jewels. On one of the vases was a
Brahmi script
Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' o ...
which was translated by
Georg Bühler
Professor Johann Georg Bühler (July 19, 1837 – April 8, 1898) was a scholar of ancient Indian languages and law.
Early life and education
Bühler was born to Rev. Johann G. Bühler in Borstel, Hanover, attended grammar school in Hanover, whe ...
, a leading European
epigraphist
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
of the time, to mean:
''Sukiti-bhatinaṃ sabhaginikanam sa-puta-dalanam iyaṃ salila-nidhane Budhasa bhagavate sakiyanam''
"This relic-shrine of divine Buddha (is the donation) of the Sakya-Sukiti brothers, associated with their sisters, sons, and wives,''
This inscription implied that the bone fragments were part of the remains of Gautama Buddha, the founder of
Buddhism
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 gra ...
. Throughout the following decade or so, epigraphists debated the precise meaning of the inscription.
Vincent Smith, William Hoey,
Thomas Rhys Davids
Thomas William Rhys Davids (12 May 1843 – 27 December 1922) was an English scholar of the Pāli language and founder of the Pāli Text Society. He took an active part in founding the British Academy and London School for Oriental Studies.
...
, and Emile Senart all translated the inscription to confirm that these were
relics of the Buddha.
In 1905,
John Fleet, a former epigraphist of the Government of India, published a translation that agreed with this interpretation. However, on assuming the role of Secretary of the
Royal Asiatic Society
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...
from Thomas Rhys Davids, Fleet proposed a different reading:
"This is a deposit of relics of the brethen of Sukiti, kinsmen of Buddha the Blessed One, with their sisters, their children and wives."
![Piprawa note by W](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Piprawa_note_by_W.C._Peppe_1898.jpg)
This interpretation was firmly rejected by his contemporaries. Following such criticism Fleet wrote: "I now abandon my opinion". Epigraphists of the time subscribed instead to the translation by
Auguste Barth
Auguste Barth (born in Strasbourg 22 May 1834; died in Paris 15 April 1916) was a French orientalist.
Biography
He is best known by his work in connection with the religions of India. His volume, ''Les religions de l'Inde'' (Paris, 1879), was ...
:
"This receptacle of relics of the blessed Buddha of the Śākyas (is the pious gift) of the brothers of Sukīrti, jointly with their sisters, with their sons and their wives."
Over a hundred years later, in the 2013 documentary, ''
Bones of the Buddha
''Secrets of the Dead'', produced by WNET 13 New York, is an ongoing Public Broadcasting Service, PBS television series which began in 2000. The show generally follows an investigator or team of investigators exploring what modern science can tell ...
'', epigraphist Harry Falk of
Freie Universität Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...
confirmed the original interpretation that the depositors believed these to be the remains of the Buddha himself. Falk translated the inscription as "these are the relics of the Buddha, the Lord" and concluded that the reliquary found at Piprahwa did contain a portion of the ashes of the Buddha and that the inscription is authentic.
In 1997,
epigraphist
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
and archaeologist
Ahmad Hasan Dani
Ahmad Hassan Dani (Urdu: احمد حسن دانی) FRAS, SI, HI (20 June 1920 – 26 January 2009) was a Pakistani archaeologist, historian, and linguist. He was among the foremost authorities on Central Asian and South Asian archaeology ...
noted the challenges that isolated finds present to paleographical study and to dating materials. He concluded that "the inscription may be confidently dated to the earlier half of the second century B.C." but noted that "the Piprahwa vase, found in the Basti District, U.P. (Uttar Pradesh), has an inscription scratched on the steatite stone in a careless manner. As the inscription refers to the remains of the Buddha, it was originally dated to the pre-
Mauryan
The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until ...
period, but it has been brought down to the third century B.C. on a comparison with
Asokan Brahmi. The style of writing is very poor, and there is nothing in it that speaks of the hand of the
Asokan scribes". Dani's dating of the inscription puts it around 250 years after the generally agreed 480 BCE death of the historical Buddha which suggests that the ''
stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circumamb ...
'' itself was built after the Buddha's lifetime. The time difference is most likely explained by the
Emperor Ashoka
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...
’s sudden conversion to Buddhism. After slaughtering tens of thousands to secure his kingdom, Ashoka issued a decree to build ''stupas'' and redistribute the Buddha’s remains across his kingdom.
Although there was some initial uncertainty about the translation, there is no record of any challenge to the authenticity of the find at the time. However, in introducing the discovery to the members of the Royal Asiatic Society in April 1900, its secretary,
Thomas Rhys Davids
Thomas William Rhys Davids (12 May 1843 – 27 December 1922) was an English scholar of the Pāli language and founder of the Pāli Text Society. He took an active part in founding the British Academy and London School for Oriental Studies.
...
, stressed that 'the hypothesis of forgery in this case is simply unthinkable'. Over a century later some have assumed that such doubts must have therefore existed most likely because government archaeologist,
A.A. Führer, had been working in the region and had recently been exposed for plagiarism and forgery. The possibility of forgery was explored by writer and historian Charles Allen in his book ''The Buddha and Dr. Fuhrer'' and in his documentary ''
Bones of the Buddha
''Secrets of the Dead'', produced by WNET 13 New York, is an ongoing Public Broadcasting Service, PBS television series which began in 2000. The show generally follows an investigator or team of investigators exploring what modern science can tell ...
''. He researches the unfolding of events at Piprahwa based on the letters of W.C. Péppe, Vincent Smith, and
A.A. Führer, and concludes that Führer was unable to interfere with the discovery of the inscription made by W.C. Péppe.
Harry Falk, professor of
Indology
Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the History of India, history and Culture of India, cultures, Languages of South Asia, languages, and Indian literature, literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a ...
at the
Freie Universität in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, stated in the documentary that Führer could not have forged the Piprahwa reliquary inscription. Richard Salomon of the University of Washington notes that 'Forgeries tend to be either blatant imitations of genuine inscriptions, or totally aberrant texts, and if the Piprahwa inscription were a forgery - which I am certain is not the case - it would belong to the latter category.' He goes on 'the Piprahwa inscription rings true in all regards'.
The main ''stupa'' at Piprahwa, one of the earliest so far discovered in India, was built in three phases. In the 6th-5th century BCE, around the time of the death of the Buddha, it was raised by piling up natural earth from the surrounding area. This was in accordance with a request of the Buddha who had asked that he be buried under the earth "heaped up as rice is heaped in an alms bowl." Phase II occurred during Ashoka’s rule (and was likely completed after his death around 235 BCE) as part of the Emperor’s mission to "distribute the relics of the exalted one." Ashoka opened up the original ''stupas'' containing the relics of the Buddha, then restored the ''stupa'' and interred a portion of what he had taken. The remaining relics were distributed to other new ''stupas''. At Piprahwa, the restoration consisted of filling thick clay over the structure and of building two tiers to reach a height of 4.55m. In phase III, during the
Kushan period, the ''stupa'' was extensively enlarged and reached a height of . The largest structure after the ''stupa'' is the Eastern Monastery that measures 45.11m x 41.14m with a courtyard and more than thirty cells around it. The complex includes an additional Southern Monastery, Western Monastery, and Northern Monastery.
Distribution of the relics
Prince Prisdang
Prince Prisdang ( th, พระวรวงศ์เธอ พระองค์เจ้าปฤษฎางค์; ; 23 February 1851 – 16 March 1935) was a member of the family of the Chakri Dynasty of Siam and a Thai diplomat.
Early life ...
(aka Jinavaravansa), a former ambassador to Siam and cousin to the
King Rama V
Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร ...
, had been ordained as a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka and arrived at Piprahwa shortly after the discovery. He soon learned that W.C. Peppe had placed his finds at the disposal of the government.
His eloquent arguments to persuade British government officials to donate the bone relics to the King of Siam to share with Buddhist communities in other countries received some support from lower level British officials and worked their way up to the Viceroy. It was an obvious solution that might appease Buddhists who were upset that the recently discovered
Bodh Gaya, believed to be the place of the Buddha's enlightenment, had remained under
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
control. It was also a gesture of goodwill to a country that was being courted by the French, Russian, and Dutch superpowers of the time. In 1899, a ceremony was held and the bone relics were handed off to an emissary of King Rama V and traveled to
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
. Prisdang’s request to be involved was not realized.
The bone relics were immediately distributed across several locations, including
Golden Mount Temple in
Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
,
Shwedagon pagoda
The Shwedagon Pagoda (, ); mnw, ကျာ်ဒဂုၚ်; officially named ''Shwedagon Zedi Daw'' ( my, ရွှေတိဂုံစေတီတော်, , ) and also known as the Great Dagon Pagoda and the Golden Pagoda is a gilded stupa ...
in
Rangoon, Myanmar
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
,
Arakan pagoda in
Mandalay, Myanmar, Dipaduttamarama Temple in
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo met ...
, Waskaduwe Vihara in
Kalutara, Sri Lanka,
[ and the Marichiwatta ''stupa'' in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
The majority of the gold and jewelry relic offerings were donated by the Indian government to the ]Indian Museum, Kolkata
The Indian Museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India, also referred to as the Imperial Museum at Calcutta in colonial-era texts, is the ninth oldest museum in the world, the oldest and largest museum in India as well as in Asia. It has rare ...
. Today, a replica urn is on display. Photographs of the items are on display at the Kapilavastu Museum at Piprahwa that is visited by Buddhist pilgrims.
W. C. Peppe was allowed to retain a number of duplicates which are exhibited in museums today. He also gave some pieces to Prince Prisdang and Prisdang's Buddhist master, Sri Subuthi. A box of 12 flowers was most likely given to Thomas Rhys Davids and the Royal Archaeological Society and discovered as part of a clean up at the Buddhist Society headquarters in London in 2004.
On 16 December 2554 ( 2011), a portion of these Kapilvatthu Buddha Relics was offered to the Sangha of Ratanawan Monastery. In January, 2012, some of these relics were enshrined in the Buddha Homage Reliquary Hall, Ratanawan Monastery, Thailand.
Many senior monks participated in this auspicious ceremony including Ajahn Sumedho
Luang Por Sumedho or Ajahn Sumedho ( th, อาจารย์สุเมโธ) (born Robert Karr Jackman, July 27, 1934) is one of the senior Western representatives of the Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism. He was abbot of Amarava ...
and Ajahn Viradhammo
Ajahn Viradhammo or Luang Por Viradhammo (born Vitauts Akers, April 27, 1947 Esslingen, Germany) is a Canadian monk in the Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism. He was ordained as a monk in 1974 by Ajahn Chah at Wat Nong Pah Pong monaste ...
.
Excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India
From 1971-1973, a team of the Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...
led by K.M. Srivastava resumed excavations at the Piprahwa stupa site. The team discovered a casket containing fragments of charred bone, at a location several feet deeper than the coffer that W.C. Peppe had previously excavated. As the relic containers were found in the deposits from the period of Northern Black Polished Ware
The Northern Black Polished Ware culture (abbreviated NBPW or NBP) is an urban Iron Age Indian culture of the Indian Subcontinent, lasting c. 700–200 BCE (proto NBPW between 1200 and 700 BCE), succeeding the Painted Grey Ware culture and Blac ...
, Srivastava dated the find to the fifth-fourth centuries BCE
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
, which would be consistent with the period in which the Buddha is believed to have lived. He also discovered 13 sealings which bore the same legend in Kushan script: 'Of the community of the monks of great Kapilavastu'. Today, the ancient sites of Piprahwa and Ganwaria host the Kapilavastu Museum, controlled by the Archaeological Survey of India.[
The bone fragments recovered by Srivastava's team are currently located at the ]National Museum, New Delhi
The National Museum in New Delhi, also known as the National Museum of India, is one of the largest museums in India. Established in 1949, it holds a variety of articles ranging from pre-historic era to modern works of art. It functions under t ...
. In 1978, the Indian government allowed their share of the discovery to be exhibited in Sri Lanka and more than 10 million people paid homage. They were also exhibited in Mongolia in 1993, Singapore in 1994, South Korea in 1995, Thailand in 1996, and again in Sri Lanka in 2012.
Location of ancient Kapilavastu
Srivastava's discovery of the terracotta sealings bearing the name Kapilavastu has led some scholars to believe that modern-day Piprahwa was the site of the ancient city of Kapilavastu, the capital of the Shakya
Shakya ( Pāḷi: ; sa, शाक्य, translit=Śākya) was an ancient eastern sub-Himalayan ethnicity and clan of north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised ...
kingdom, where Siddhartha Gautama
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a 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 born in Lu ...
spent the first 29 years of his life. Others suggest that the original site of Kapilavastu is located to the northwest, at Tilaurakot
Tilaurakot is a neighborhood in Kapilvastu Municipality in Kapilvastu District, in the Lumbini Province of southern Nepal. Previously it was a Village development committee. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 5684 people ...
, in what is currently Kapilvastu District
Kapilvastu district ( ne, कपिलवस्तु जिल्ला ), often Kapilbastu, is one of the districts of Lumbini Province, Nepal. The district, with Kapilbastu municipality as its district headquarters, covers an area of and in ...
in Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
.
This question is especially important to scholars of Buddhist history, as Kapilavastu was the capital of the Shakya
Shakya ( Pāḷi: ; sa, शाक्य, translit=Śākya) was an ancient eastern sub-Himalayan ethnicity and clan of north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised ...
kingdom. King Śuddhodana
Śuddhodana (; Pali: ''Suddhōdana''), meaning "he who grows pure rice," was the father of Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha. He was a leader of the Shakya, who lived in an oligarchic republic, with their capital at Kapilavastu.
...
and Queen Māyādevī lived at Kapilavastu, as did their son Prince Siddhartha Gautama
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a 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 born in Lu ...
until he left the palace at 29 years of age.
See also
*Bhattiprolu
Bhattiprolu is a village in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Bhattiprolu mandal in Tenali revenue division. The ''Buddhist stupa'' in the village is one of the centrally protected monuments of ...
*Bimaran casket
The Bimaran casket or Bimaran reliquary is a small gold reliquary for Buddhist relics that was found inside the stupa no.2 at Bimaran, near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan.
Discovery
When it was found by the archaeologist Charles Masson du ...
*Relics associated with Buddha
According to the '' Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta'' ( Sutta 16 of the '' Dīgha Nikāya''), after attaining ''parinirvana'', the body of Buddha was cremated and the ashes divided among his lay followers.
Division of the relics
According to the '' ...
*Sanchi
Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen town, district headquarter and north-east of Bh ...
Notes
References
Sources
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* Smith, V. A. (Oct., 1898)
The Piprāhwā Stūpa
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, p. 868
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Piprahwa Museum
ASI
{{Siddharthnagar district
Villages in Siddharthnagar district
Buddhist sites in Uttar Pradesh
Buddhist archaeological sites
Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India