Kapilvastu (also known by name of Taulihawa) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and administrative center of

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 ...

Lumbini Province Lumbini Province ( ne, लुम्बिनी प्रदेश, Lumbinī pradēśa) is a province in western Nepal. It borders Gandaki Province and Karnali Province to the north, Sudurpashchim Province to the west, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar o ...

of southern

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

. The municipality is located roughly to the south-west 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 ...

, a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

and the birthplace of

Gautama Buddha 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 ...

. Kapilvastu Municipality was established in 1982 with the name of Taulihawa Nagarpanchayat merging Baragdawa, Maalpara, Pipari, Kapilvastu Adarsh Gaau and some portion of Tilaurakot, Gotihawa and Gobari Gaunpanchayat. Later on 7 November 2014 remaining region of

Gotihawa Gotihawa (formerly called Gutivā in Western sources) is a village development committee located about southeast of Kapilavastu, in Kapilvastu District, in the Lumbini Zone of southern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a popu ...

and Tilaurakot VDC were included making total 19 wards within this Municipality. On March 10, 2017, the

Government of Nepal The Government of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल सरकार) is the federal executive authority of Nepal. Prior to the abolition of the Nepali monarchy in 2006 (became republic in 2008), it was officially known as His Majesty's Government. T ...

restructured the local level bodies into 753 new local level structures. The previous Taulihawa Municipality with Dharampaniya, Dohani, Jahadi, Nigalihawa and Sauraha VDCs were merged to form Kapilvastu Municipality. Now total area of the municipality is and total population is 76,394. The municipality is now divided into 12 wards. The municipality lies at an altitude of above sea level

History

Many historians claim Tilaurakot located in Kapilavastu municipality (Taulihawa) to be the ancient city of Kapilavastu. On the other hand, some other archaeologists have identified present-day

Piprahwa Piprahwa is a village near Siddharthnagar city in Siddharthnagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Kalanamak rice, a scented and spicy variety of rice is grown in this area. It lies in the heart of the historical Buddha's homela ...

, India 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 Faxian (法顯 ; 337 CE – c. 422 CE), also referred to as Fa-Hien, Fa-hsien and Sehi, was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled by foot from China to India to acquire Buddhist texts. Starting his arduous journey about age 60, h ...

and later by

Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...

, who were Chinese

Buddhist monks A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...

who made early pilgrimages to the site. Kapilavastu was an ancient city and the capital city 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 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 *

, birthplace of

Kakusandha Buddha Kakusandha (Pāli), or Krakucchaṃda in Sanskrit, is one of the ancient Buddhas whose biography is chronicled in chapter 22 of the '' Buddhavaṃsa'', one of the books of the Pali Canon. According to Theravāda Buddhist tradition, Kakusandha is t ...

, marked by an

Ashoka pillar The pillars of Ashoka are a series of monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka during his reign from c. 268 to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the express ...

* 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 *

, the birthplace of

Nigali Sagar Nigali Sagar (also called Nigliva, Nigali Sagar pillar, Nighihawa pillar, Nigliva pillar, or Araurakot pillar) is an archaeological site in Nepal containing the remains of a pillar of Ashoka. The site is located in Nigalihawa, about 20 kilometers ...

, an archeological site in Nigalihawa, birthplace of

Koṇāgamana Buddha Koṇāgamana (Pāli), also known as Kanakamuni in Sanskrit or alternatively Koṇāgon or Kanakagamana, is one of the ancient Buddhas whose biography is chronicled in chapter 23 of the '' Buddhavaṃsa'', one of the books of the Pali Canon. ...

, marked by an

* Paltimai Temple * Pipara Stupa * Pipari *

, 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 Ramagrama stupa ( ne, रामग्राम नगरपालिका, also Ramgram, Rāmgrām, Rāmagrāma) is a stupa located in Ramgram Municipality, in the Parasi District of Nepal. This Buddhist pilgrimage site containing relics of Ga ...

, 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 Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

during the

Maha Shivaratri Maha Shivaratri ( IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar Hindu ...

festival. * Tilaurakot * Twin Stupa

Notes

External links

Lumbini On Trial: The Untold Story
by Terry Phelps. See Section 'The Kapilavastu of the Chinese Pilgrims' and following passage also. {{Buddhism topics Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Nepal Gautama Buddha Populated places in Kapilvastu District Transit and customs posts along the India–Nepal border Municipalities in Lumbini Province Nepal municipalities established in 1982 Archaeological sites in Nepal

History

Historical sites

See also

Notes

External links