Landmarks in life of Buddha and Kalinga
Goutam later known as the Buddha was born to father Suddhodana and mother Mahamaya (Maya Devi) in Kapilavastu, which was the capital of Lumbini estate in the then Kalinga empire in the year 569 BC. Now Kapilavastu is known as Kapileswar, which has become a part of Bhubaneswar old town.
In the year 550 BC, he was married with Gopa the princess of Devadaha, then neighbouring estate of Lumbini belonging to Kolas in the Toshali region of the Kalinga empire. He was then 19.
In 540 BC at the age of 29, Goutam left home, renounced the world, accepted asceticism and met Bimbisara, Emperor of Magadha and took to meditation. For seven years he moved in deep forests from place to place and conducted deep penance.
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Parents - Suddhodan and Maya Devi
Suddhodan, the father of Buddhadeva was earlier known as the King of the Lumbini region of which Kapilavastu was the capital. The Sakya dynasty was actually never a great dynasty and Suddhodana was the son of a small estate owner or a Zamindar as described by Dharmananda Kosambi in his book "Bhagaban Buddha" at P. 131. It is quite evident that Suddhodana was a proprietor of a small estate in the vast Kalinga kingdom of Brahmadutta.
It is written in the Mahapadan Sutta of Mahavagga that Lumbini was a small estate of the father of Buddha. It is known from the famous Tripitaka that Suddhodan was one of the owners of a small estate named Lumbini in a vast empire. Suddhodan's father-in-law's estate Devadaha was adjacent to Lumbini. In between the two estates was the river Rohini. This river, much of which has been merged in Kuakhai, a branch of Mahanadi can still be seen in many places between Andharua near Bhubaneswar and Puri.
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Magadha & Kalinga
Goutam went from Kapilavastu to Devadaha (Gobindapur) and then to Keshaputta(Keshapur) and Dharmasila (Dharmasala). Then he went through the present Jajpur Road and crossed Anandapur, Keonjhargarh, Champua, Chainbasa, Kharasuan and reached Rajagriha in Magadha. While he was wandering aimlessly he had met Bimbisara, the Emperor of Magadha in Rajagriha.
When Bimbisara, the Emperor saw him he was astonished at this most handsome young ascetic and asked about his ancestry and whereabouts. Buddha replied calmly "There is O' King, straight from here a country at the slope of the Hemagiri, rich in wealth and heroes who dwell among the Tolashas, I come from." This reply has been described in Prabbajja Sutta and in Suttanipata, published by Pali Publication Board. Bhubaneswar was known as Hemagiri as can be seen from Kavya Chandrabhaga by Radhanath Ray and Kirtibasa Daitya Badha a portion of Sharala Mahabharata by Sharala Das, Kedar Gouri by Radhanath Ray and from the Sanskrit book Swarnadri Mahodaya.
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A Prince Dies
Dharmananda Kosambi in his book "Bhagawan Buddha" has written that the Sakyas and Buddha belonged to Aditya clan who were of solar origin. Sakyas belonged to the Aditya clan.
Translated into English it means that, "I am a descendant of the Sun, Aditya by clan and Sakya by birth. From that family I have gone out having no longing for sensual desires." This explanation he has given to Bimbisara, the then Emperor of Magadha. It is very amazing to note that still Aditya clan can be seen in Orissa among the Kshyatriyas. The feudatory king of Narasinghpur, ex-princely state of Orissa in Cuttack district and Kshatriyas of Kujanga in Jagatsinghpur district belong to the Aditya clan, known in the history as solar kings. The Vaneswara valley site of Narasinghpur (now a Block and Tahasil in Cuttack district) contains images of of Prajnaparamita, Tara, Buddhadeva, Padmapani Avalokiteswara etc.
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Kapileswara & Konarka
The first Kapileswara Linga was previously worshipped by the sage Kapila and then by Suddhodan father of Gautam Buddha. The second Kapileswara Linga was installed by the Mallas who were worshipping the sacred relics of their beloved Buddha in a stupa. After the stupa and then the pillar erected by Ashoka was destroyed by the religious fanatics, the vase containing the relics of Buddha was removed and it still lies vacant, and on it a Linga is installed which is the third Linga of Kapileswara. It is like a coverlid and bears a hole and reminds the Mallias the birth place of Buddha, as mentioned by A. Barth and Dr. A.Cunningham in their book 'Religions of India' published by the Archaeological Survey of India. The Mallias who are the main worshippers now claim that the outlet was aimed at respiration of Linga. Now only the third Linga is worshipped.
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Nepal at the time of Ashoka
Why was there delay on the part of Ahsoka to go to the birth place of Buddha? This doubt can be removed only by the assumption that Ahsoka was very much hesitatant to enter the war ravaged Kalinga immediately after accepting Buddhism. He had to wait for a long period of 12 years to come to the birth place of Buddha, because by that time, the situation in war-ravaged Kalinga had changed for the better because of Ashoka's love for peace, efficient and gist administration, and his affectionate messages to the people. Ashoka never had a battle with Nepal. If Buddha was born in Nepal, after embracing Buddhism, Ashoka would have visited Nepal more than once in 12 years. There is no record of his visit even once in his life.
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The Kapileswara Plate
Many historians are of opinion that the scripts found in the Tarai inscription have no similarity with the script of other inscriptions of Asoka's time. If scholars take up the study of this Tarai inscription with all seriousness, it will be crystal clear that this inscription does not belong to the time of Asoka, nor does the pillar containing the inscription.
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