Nigali_Sagar_Ashokan_inscription_Budhasa_Konaakamanasa_with_rubbing

Koṇāgamana (

Pāli Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a classical Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Therav� ...

), also known as Kanakamuni in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

or alternatively Koṇāgon or Kanakagamana, is one of the ancient

Buddhas In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the supreme goal of Buddhism, variously described as awakening or enlighten ...

whose biography is chronicled in chapter 23 of the ''

Buddhavaṃsa The ''Buddhavaṃsa'' (also known as the ''Chronicle of Buddhas'') is a hagiographical Buddhist text which describes the life of Gautama Buddha and of the twenty-four Buddhas who preceded him and prophesied his attainment of Buddhahood. It is ...

'', one of the books of the

Pali Canon The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...

Buddhist tradition

According to

Theravāda ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' ( anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or '' Dhamma'' in ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

tradition, Koṇāgamana is the twenty-sixth of the twenty-nine named Buddhas, the fifth of the Seven Buddhas of Antiquity, and the second of the five Buddhas of the present

kalpa Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Kuopio, Finland at the Niiralan monttu, Olvi Areena. Team history Established in 1929 as ''Sortavalan Palloseura'' in Sortavala, the club r ...

. The present kalpa is called the ''bhadrakalpa'' (Auspicious aeon). The five Buddhas of the present kalpa are: # Kakusandha (the first Buddha of the bhadrakalpa) # Koṇāgamana (the second Buddha of the bhadrakalpa) # Kassapa (the third Buddha of the bhadrakalpa) # Gautama (the fourth and present Buddha of the bhadrakalpa) #

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...

(the fifth and future Buddha of the bhadrakalpa) Koṇāgamana is said to have been born in Subhagavati Park in Sobhavati (now known as Araurakot, located about southwest of

Nigalihawa Nigalihawa is a village development committee in Kapilvastu District in the Lumbini Zone of southern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census, it had a population of 7564 people living in 1231 individual households. History Nigalihawa was kn ...

) on Wednesday; because of this Koṇāgamana is placed on the Wednesday pedestal.

Life

Koṇāgamana Buddha was born in Sobhavati, the capital of King Sobha (present day- Nigali Sagar, Nepal) within the serene Subhagavati Park. His father was Yannadatta who was a Brahmin, and his mother was Uttara. Koṇāgamana Buddha spent three thousand years in his royal household, residing in three palaces: Tusita, Santusita, and Santuttha. According to Jataka, Koṇāgamana Buddha's height is traditionally described as 20 cubits high (approximately 30 feet or 9.14 meters). His chief wife was Rucigatta who bore him a son named Satthavaha. Koṇāgamana Buddha renounced the world on an elephant and practiced austerities for six months. He received milk-rice from Brahmin Aggisoma’s daughter and grass for his seat from the grain-watcher Tinduka. His enlightenment was attained under Udumbara tree. Koṇāgamana Buddha passed away at the age of thirty thousand in Pabbatārāma.

Historical mentions of the Koṇāgamana Buddha

Koṇāgamana is mentioned in a 3rd-century BCE inscription by

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

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 kilometer ...

, in today's

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. There is an

Ashoka pillar The pillars of Ashoka are a series of Monolith, monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected—or at least inscribed with Edicts of Ashoka, edicts—by the 3rd Mauryan Emperor Ashoka the Great, who reigned from to ...

at the site today. Ashoka's inscription in Brahmi is on the fragment of the pillar still partly buried in the ground. The inscription made when Emperor Asoka at

in 249 BCE records his visit, the enlargement of a stupa dedicated to the Kanakamuni Buddha, and the erection of a pillar: According to

Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...

, Koṇāgamana's relics were held in a stupa in

, in what is now Kapilvastu District in southern

Gallery

File:Koṇāgamana Buddha Ashoka (1).JPG,

Pillar erected by King

to commemorate the birthplace of Koṇāgamana Buddha.

, Kapilvastu District,

(inscription on the smaller fragment) File:Koṇāgamana Buddha Ashoka (2).JPG, Birthplace of Koṇāgamana Buddha. Nigalihawa, Kapilvastu District, Nepal File:Koṇāgamana Buddha Ashoka (3).JPG, Statue commemorating the birthplace of Koṇāgamana Buddha. Nigalihawa, Kapilvastu District, Nepal File:Painting of Konagamana Buddha, Wat Ho Xieng, Luang Prabang.png, Detail of a mural depicting Koṇāgamana Buddha, Wat Ho Xiang,

Luang Prabang Luang Prabang (Lao language, Lao: wikt:ຫຼວງພະບາງ, ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Lu ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

File:বুদ্ধ ধাতু জাদি মন্দির, বান্দরবান ৩.jpg, Statue of Koṇāgamana Buddha. Buddha Dhatu Jadi known as the Bandarban Golden Temple,

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

References

{{Buddhism topics Seven Buddhas of the Past

Buddhist tradition

Life

Historical mentions of the Koṇāgamana Buddha

See also

Gallery

References