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Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no, believed to be a Chinese transcription of Mṛgaśikhāvana (Mriga-shikha-vana), was the site of a Buddhist establishment in eastern India. It is mentioned in the writings of the Chinese traveler
Yijing The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
, who states that king Che-li-ki-to (identified with the 3rd century king Gupta) had constructed a temple for Chinese Buddhist pilgrims near it.


Yijing's description

Yijing mentions Mṛgaśikhāvana (as "Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no") while describing the itinerary of the earlier Korean traveler Hwui-lun alias Prajnavarma, stating that in ancient times, king Che-li-ki-to built a temple for Chinese pilgrims near it. The king is said to have endowed the temple with the revenue of 24 villages for its maintenance. Only the brick foundation of this temple survived in Yijing's time.


Location

Nalanda Nalanda (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) was a renowned Buddhism, Buddhist ''mahavihara'' (great monastery) in medieval Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha (modern-day Bihar), eastern India. Widely considered to be am ...
shown in the centre" width="400" height="400" zoom="6" longitude="85.47" latitude="25.26">


Translations of Yijing's work

Contradictory translations of
Yijing The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
's ''Kau-fa-kao-sang-chuen'', which refers to Mṛgaśikhāvana, have led to debates among historians about its exact location. Samuel Beal, in ''
The Indian Antiquary ''The Indian Antiquary: A journal of oriental research in archaeology, history, literature, language, philosophy, religion, folklore, &c, &c'' (subtitle varies) was a journal of original research relating to India, published between 1872 and 19 ...
'', translated the passage as follows: However, in his introduction of ''The Life of Hiuen Tsiang'', Beal translated the same passage as follows: Historian R. C. Majumdar's English translation of the Édouard Chavannes's French translation of the passage is as follows: Chavannes's translation is also corroborated by the Taisho edition of the text, and thus, Beal's interpretation seems to be incorrect.


Modern identification

Several historians have identified the location of Mṛgaśikhāvana in present-day
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
region, situated to the east of
Nalanda Nalanda (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) was a renowned Buddhism, Buddhist ''mahavihara'' (great monastery) in medieval Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha (modern-day Bihar), eastern India. Widely considered to be am ...
. D. C. Ganguly located Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no in Murshidabad district of
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
state of India, by taking 1 ''yojana'' as 5.71 miles. S. Chattopadhyaya identified it as a place in
Malda district Malda district, also spelt Maldah or Maldaha (, , often ), is a district in West Bengal, India. The capital of the Bengal Sultanate, Gauda and Pandua, was situated in this district. Mango, jute and silk are the most notable products of this ...
of West Bengal. According to R. C. Majumdar, it was located in either Malda district or in the
Rajshahi District Rajshahi District () is a district in mid-western Bangladesh. It is a part of Rajshahi Division. The metropolitan city of Rajshahi is in Rajshahi District. Geography Rajshahi District is bounded by Naogaon District to the north, Natore Distric ...
of Bangladesh. Majumdar interpreted "Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no" as the Chinese transcription of "Mṛgasthāpana" rather than "Mṛgaśikhāvana". According to a 1015 CE manuscript, Mṛgasthāpana was the name of a
stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...
located in the historical Varendra region, which is now a part of Bengal. Other scholars have disputed this interpretation, as "Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no" is closer to the word "Mṛgaśikhāvana". Some scholars, such as B. P. Sinha identify Mṛgaśikhāvana with the deer park of Sarnath, theorizing that Hwui-lun erroneously mentioned its location as east of Nalanda.


Significance

Modern historians generally believe Che-li-ki-to to be a Chinese transcription of "'' Śri'' Gupta". Gupta was the founder of the
Gupta dynasty The Gupta Empire was an Indian empire during the classical period of the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of the northern Indian ...
, an important imperial power of India between the 4th and the 6th centuries. The original homeland of the Gupta dynasty is uncertain, and much of the debate on this topic among modern historians hinges around the identification of Mṛgaśikhāvana's location. The identification of Che-li-ki-to with the dynasty's founder is also a factor in determining the religious affiliation of the dynasty's early kings. Historian A. K. Narain (1983) noted that contemporary scholarship is unaware of Gupta's religious affiliation, due to the lack of surviving evidence. Narain suggested that because he constructed a temple for Chinese Buddhist pilgrims, he might have been a
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 ...
himself, or a member of the
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
sect of
Vaishnavism Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...
who was tolerant of Buddhist activity in his kingdom. This latter scenario would have been comparable with the later Gupta monarchs, who were predominantly Vaishnavites, but under whose regimes heterodox religious movements such as Buddhism and
Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...
were allowed to flourish.


References


Works cited

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mrgasikhavana Buddhist temples in India