In The Footsteps Of The Buddha — Part II
You have to be truly fortunate to have walked on the same earth where the Buddha once lived.
The present-day Bihar, UP and Nepal is where Gautam Buddha lived for eighty years. I am blessed to have been able to undertake this journey and not only that, I have come back richer knowing how Siddhartha transformed into the Buddha. I have tried to jot down how the trip unfolded for me and I really hope that my blog is of some help to those who would wish to embark on this journey some day.
The write-up is not in the chronology of different events in the life of Gautam Buddha but in the sequence of how the IRCTC had planned our itinerary.
Day 1 : Bodh Gaya
The Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya lies 16 km from city of Gaya, on the banks of River Niranjana which later joins River Mohana to form River Falgu that flows through Gaya. It is one of the four holy sites related to the life of the Lord Buddha, and is the place where the Buddha attained Enlightenment.
This temple was first built by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE and the present structure is from the Gupta period during 5th – 6th centuries CE.
Ashoka was the most ardent follower of Buddha and it is he who has built temples and stupas in almost every place of significance that Buddha is connected with. The inscriptions in Pali on the Pillars erected by him at different places have formed an important part of the documented history that we read to day. Chinese travellers like Fa Hien and Hiuen Tsang have recorded their observations in detail during their visits to these places.
One of the first temples to be built in burnt brick and covered with stucco, still standing tall, it is a mix of North & South Indian styles of architecture. A Kalash made of gold sits on top of the temple Shikhar. The temple complex consists of the main shrine, the Vajrasana or the Diamond Platform, the sacred Bodhi Tree and six other sacred sites related to Buddha’s early days of Enlightenment.
Buddha attained Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, the direct descendant of which stands at that place now. The Vajrasana is at the exact spot under the Bodhi Tree where the Buddha would meditate. It was built by Ashoka, and along with the Bodhi Tree, this spot is the holiest of all in the entire Buddhist world. Buddha spent his First Week after Enlightenment under this tree.
Close to the main shrine is Animeshlochan Chaitya where Buddha is believed to have spent the Second Week gazing uninterrupted at the Bodhi tree.
Chankramana marks the spot where Buddha performed meditative perambulations in the Third Week after his enlightenment. It is believed that wherever Buddha stepped, a lotus bloomed. A raised structure with lotus flowers carved out of stone known as the Jewel Promenade shrine, has been built here.
Ratanaghar Chaitya, also called the Jewel House, is the place where Buddha spent the Fourth Week in meditation. A ray of six colours is said to have emerged from his body during this time and Buddhists have designed their flag in these colours.
Ajapala Nigrodha is where Buddha spent the Fifth Week of meditation. A stone pillar standing at the spot marks the banyan tree.
Muchalinda Sarovar is where Buddha spent the Sixth Week after his enlightenment. It is believed that once during meditation, a severe thunderstorm broke out and Buddha got badly drenched. The serpent king called Muchalinda, spread his hood over Buddha to protect him. A statue of Buddha with the hood of a snake above his head stands here.
The Seventh Week was spent under the Rajyatana tree and Buddha answered the queries of passersby here.
The temple has beautiful stone carvings of flowers, geese and images of the Buddha. In the sanctum, is a gilded statue of the seated Buddha touching the earth in Bhumisparsh Mudra. Near the main temple is a small shrine with a standing Buddha at the back with his footprints or Padas carved in black stone, dating from the 3rd century BC.
The complex has dozens of different types of stupas. One can sit and pray at any of these places especially near the Bodhi Tree where pilgrims meditate or chant mantras. One experiences complete bliss and divinity all around.
Bodh Gaya has several beautiful temples and monasteries built by different Buddhist nations across Asia — Myanmar, Thailand, Japan, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and many more.
Day 2 : Rajgir
Rajgir was the first capital of the ancient kingdom of Magadha state that eventually evolved into the Mauryan empire. It finds mention in India’s renowned literary epic, the Mahabharata, through its king Jarasandha. Although the town’s date of origin is unknown, however, ceramic artefacts from around about 1000 BC have been found here. A huge 2,500-year-old Cyclopean wall still exists here which has been made just by interlocking stones.
Bimbisara (558–491 BC) was the king of Rajgir and a contemporary of Buddha. His son Ajatshatru later kept him in captivity and announced himself as king. It is said that Bimbisara chose his place of captivity as from that place he could see Buddha go up and down the Griddhakuta hill where he meditated. You can still see the Bimbisara jail ruins.
Gautama Buddha spent several months meditating and preaching at Griddhakuta or the Vulture Peak. The peak is called so because the rock is in the shape of a vulture. One can sense very positive energy in the place, which is surrounded by hills on all sides. Buddha delivered some of his famous sermons like the Lotus Sermon here. He also initiated Bimbisara and others to Buddhism at Rajgir.
On the same hill, as you climb up, you first see the Ananda cave on your right and a little further is Sariputta’s cave. Both were Buddha’s disciples and meditated here. The Vulture Peak is further up from Sariputta’s cave.
On one of the hills called Songiri is the Saptaparini Cave where the First Buddhist Council was held under the monk Mahakassapa.
Nalanda Mahavihara
Nalanda was one of ancient India’s greatest cultural institutions. It flourished between 5th-12th centuries CE. The campus had many temples, stupas and monasteries where thousands of students lived and pursued various courses. Ruins of these structures can be seen even now as they have been properly preserved. It functioned as a prominent place of Buddhist learning and was not known just for its immense size but also for the sizeable number of resident monks who studied and taught there.
The Monastery no. 3 deserves a special mention. Although there is no strong evidence but many Buddhist religious narratives attribute the founding of this monastery to Ashoka. It is believed that it began as a modest monastery and its only in the 5th century CE that King Kumaragupta established the university.
The future dynasties continued developing it further until the Afghan military commander Bakhtiyar Khilji ransacked the university in 1193 CE.
Right outside the university campus is the Nalanda Museum which is definitely worth a visit.
Day 3 : Sarnath (Varanasi)
Sarnath is located 10 kilometres from Varanasi near the confluence of the Asi and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pradesh.
Sarnath is also known as Rishipatana, “the place where sages descend.” It is here in Mrigadava or the Deer Park where the Shakyamuni, sage of the Shakya clan, gave his first sermon. In 528 BCE, at 35 years of age, Gautam Buddha delivered the sermon to his five companions (later followers) — Kaundinya, Assaji, Bhaddiya, Vappa and Mahanama — after attaining Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. It is also where the Buddhist Sangha first came into existence.
One can see the Mulagandha Kuti – the quarters where the Buddha spent his days in Sarnath. The hut is called Mulagandha because a fragrant, flower-like smell always emanated from it. Hereafter, whichever hut he lived in, it always smelled fragrant and was called Gandhakuti!
In this deer park, Ashoka built the 141 ft tall Dhamek Stupa in 249 BCE at the spot where the Buddha delivered his First Sermon of Dharma Chakra or Wheel Of Law to his five disciples.
The Chaukhandi Stupa in Sarnath (not within the Deer Park) was built as a terraced temple in the 7th or 8th century CE to commemorate the meeting of the Buddha with his five followers when he reached from Gaya to Sarnath. This stupa was later modified by Govardhan, the son of Todar Mal, by giving it an octagonal tower, to mark Humayun’s visit to Sarnath.
The park also houses the Ashoka Pillar (in three broken parts). The exquisitely carved and highly polished Lion Capital made out of a single block of sandstone, once stood attached to the top of this pillar. It is now showcased in the museum outside the park. The Dharamchakra or the Wheel of Law with its 32 spokes is also on display in the museum.
The national emblem of India is adopted from the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath. It features four Asiatic lions standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. At the bottom is a horse and a bull with the Dharma Chakra at the centre.
A visit to the museum is a must. It has some of the most stunning sculptures of Buddha, Hindu Gods and other excavated artefacts from the ancient and medieval times.
Three main type of stupas are seen in all Buddhist sites, including this one — Uddeshika or Commemorative Stupa (in the memory of an event related to Buddha), Sariraka or Relic Stupa (containing the ashes of the Buddha), Paribhogika or Object Stupa (containing an object belonging to the Budhdha).
Although Ganga Aarti isn’t a part of the Buddhist track but when in Varanasi, one cannot miss praying to the Goddess, therefore, it is a part of the itinerary.
Day 4 : Lumbini
Lumbinī is in the Rupandehi district in Nepal. This is where Queen Maya gave birth to Siddhartha around 566 BCE. His mother passed away seven days later and thereafter his aunt Gautami raised him, so he was known as Gautam as well.
Lumbini has a number of old temples, the Mayadevi temple being the most significant one. It is in the middle of a huge park, which was once a Sal forest. Buddha’s mother, Mayadevi, was on her way from her home in Kapilavastu to her parents’ place in Devdaha, when she suffered labour pains. She stopped under a Sal tree, where she then took the ritual bath in a lotus pond next to it. Soon after Siddhartha was born under this Sal tree. He too was given his first bath in the same pond.
The temple still has this sacred lotus pond (Pushkarini) next to it and a sacred garden full of different trees around it.
The temple houses the birth-marker stone (in the shape of a human foot) and the nativity sculpture signifying Siddhartha’s birth at that spot. When Ashoka went to Lumbini around 249 BCE, he got a temple built of burnt bricks to safeguard the marker stone and the nativity sculpture. He also got an Ashoka Pillar erected at the back of the temple with an inscription in Pali of all the details recorded on it.
Day 5 : Kushinagar
The ancient town of Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh is named after Kush - the son of Lord Ram who founded and ruled the city. The archeological findings from the town go back to Ashoka’s time in 3rd century BCE.
Kushinagar today is where Gautama Buddha attained the Mahaparinirvana. After 45 years of preaching Buddhism, the Buddha got severely sick with dysentery after supposedly having eaten a meal either of pork or mushrooms. He asked his disciple Ananda to lay him down on a couch under two Sal trees, where he passed at the age of eighty yrs. The Mahaparinirvana Temple houses an eighteen-foot long statue of reclining Buddha, positioned exactly as he lay when he passed, with his head to the north, on top of a couch. The statue dates back 1500 years to the Gupta period, and was sculpted from a red sandstone monolith, now gilted and wrapped in a saffron robe. On the stone couch, are carved three images of Buddha’s close followers who probably were at his side at the time of his passing. They are Vishakha, Ananda and Subhadra.
The temple and the statue were excavated by Alexander Cunningham. The statue was found broken into numerous fragments, which were put together carefully to create the original image.
Seven days after his Parinirvana, the mortal remains of the Buddha were cremated at the Rambhar Stupa. The place is also known as Mukutbandhan Chaitya.
Mathakaur Shrine in Kushinagar is where Lord Buddha gave his last sermon before he died. The temple houses a 3m tall stunning statue of Buddha from the 10th or 11th century CE, carved from a single block of bluestone brought from the Gaya region. The statue is in the Bhumisparsh Mudra which depicts the last few moments of his life just before he attained Nirvana.
Day 6 : Shravasti
The Buddha first came to Shravasti (Uttar Pradesh) at the request of Sudatta (Anantapindika), a rich merchant. A beautiful grove was bought by Sudatta from Jeta, son of King Prasenjit of Shravasti. He paid as many gold coins to Jeta as it took him to cover the park. The park came to be known as Jetavana Vihar.
Shravasti is where the Buddha gave most of his sermons. He spent twenty five Varsha Vaas or rainy seasons rainy seasons in this region preaching.
The ruins in Shravasti have several temples and monastries. It has the quarters where the Buddha lived as well as of his closest followers like Ananda, Sariputta, Moggallena and Angulimaal.
Angulimaal deserves a special mention here. He was a blood thirsty bandit who would wear a string of chopped fingers of his victims around his neck, and after meeting the Buddha, he became one of his closest followers. He,later,by his divine powers helped a helpless woman deliver a baby safely and is considered by many Buddhists as the patron saint of fertility.
Jetavana, one can see the Anandbodhi tree in its full glory. This Bodhi tree is an original descendant of the Mahabodhi tree at Bodh Gaya. It was planted by Ananda for those followers of the Buddha who would get disappointed when they would not be able to see the Buddha at Jetavana during his time away from there. They then sought his blessings by praying under the tree. Many pilgrims still meditate under the tree.
Shravasti has many outstanding temples built by many Asian countries, the oldest being the one made by Myanmar. This monastery has beautiful paintings done on its walls that depict important events from the Buddha’s life.
It also houses his precious relics and we were fortunate to have got a glimpse of it and seek his divine blessings.
Day 7 : Agra
Although Agra has no direct connection with Buddhism but a visit to the Taj Mahal is a part of the itinerary thrown in to “add value” for the foreign tourist. The Buddhist Circuit is highly popular amongst Buddhists globally.
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