Xuanzang was Chinese "Marco Polo"
Hiuen Tsang's Route in South Bihar : an Identification of the Buddhavana Mountain and a Discussion of the Most Probable Site of the Kukkutapagiri
Buddhavana- a very significant place associated with Lord Buddha - as mentioned by famous Chinese monk and scholar Xuanzang in 7th century AD, has finally been located in Gaya district.
"The
description of distance and direction of 'Buddhavana' mentioned by
Xuanzang brings us exactly to village Ayer, barely 10km west of Jethian
in Gaya district.
Jethian is a small village situated near Rajgir town of Bihar, India. In the ancient time, it used to be known as Lativana, or the Palm Grove. In 7th century AD Jethian also served as the seat of influence of Jayasena, the famous saint. Even Hiuen Tsang, the famous Chinese traveler, spent two years of his stay in India here, studying as a disciple Jayasena. Apart from that, it was in Jethian that Lord Buddha met King Bimbisara for the first time. Infact, there is a small story behind the meeting of Lord Buddha and King Bimbisara.
It is said that after coming from Sarnath and Bodhgaya, Lord Buddha left for Rajgir, in order to meet King Bimbasara. As soon as the King came to know of this, he went to the outskirts of the city, along with his entire staff, to welcome Him. There are numerous Buddhist structures as well as Buddha statues in and around Jethian. As you move towards this village, you will come across a large mound with a tank. The mound is believed to be the remains of the stupa built over the Supatittha Cetiya, the place where Lord Buddha stayed, when he was in Jethian.
Beside the mound, is a huge and impressive statue of Lord Buddha. Then, there are the statues of Padmapani and Buddha, situated very close to the mound. Not to be missed is the Chandu Hill, located at a distance of approximately 3 km from Jethian. This hill is quite popular as it houses the large cave of Rajpind (the cave mentioned in the Tripitaka).
Ayer is situated by a hill and the antiquities at the place perfectly match the Xuanzang's description," claimed Deepak Anand, a young research scholar associated with Nava Nalanda Mahavihara (NNM), a deemed university at Nalanda.
"Though the place was discovered last week, we were making efforts for the last two years to identify the places associated with Buddha's wandering as mentioned by Xuanzang. In the process, we visited many villages in and around Nalanda and Gaya,"
Residents of Ayer village are very happy with this find and have now found the answer to why so many antiquities are found near the cave. The local village community has already made a move to safeguard the antiquities, said a villager.
With the discovery of Buddhavana, one big void in Buddha's wandering stretch seems to have been filled. "An important thing about this new find is that now we have two sites, namely 'Yasthivana'
(present Jethian) and 'Buddhavana' (present Ayer), both associated with Buddha, in the picturesque Jethian Valley. This provides us an opportunity to develop the whole valley as a major attraction for Buddhists as well as tourists from all over the world," said Ravindra Panth, director of the NNM.
The cave by the steep side of the hill is surrounded by many brick stupas of various dimensions from ancient times. The whole hill has many scattered sandstone Buddha images. A couple of images even have inscriptions. At the base of the hill is a mound which is pregnant with antiquities.
For the last couple of years, explorations were being made for correct identification of Buddhavana and a few other significant places mentioned by Xuanzang in and around Nalanda in Magadh region. "The site needs some more exploration and immediate excavation," said Panth.
Under the "Revival of Ancient Buddhist Pilgrimage in Bihar" project by NNM and the department of youth, art and culture, government of Bihar, effort is being made in the first phase to revive the 'pilgrimage path' from Bodh Gaya to Parwati connecting Pragbodhi, Gurpa, Jethian, Rajgir and Nalanda (within a radius of nearly 100km from Nalanda and Gaya) taken by the Chinese traveller.
Already, CM Nitish Kumar has revived the ancient pilgrimage path from Rajgir to Jethian, a 14km stretch through the Rajgir valley. He himself visited Jethian on several occasions. In the coming years, the pilgrimage path may be extended to the 'Buddhavana cave' at Ayer village, said an expert.
Jethian is a small village situated near Rajgir town of Bihar, India. In the ancient time, it used to be known as Lativana, or the Palm Grove. In 7th century AD Jethian also served as the seat of influence of Jayasena, the famous saint. Even Hiuen Tsang, the famous Chinese traveler, spent two years of his stay in India here, studying as a disciple Jayasena. Apart from that, it was in Jethian that Lord Buddha met King Bimbisara for the first time. Infact, there is a small story behind the meeting of Lord Buddha and King Bimbisara.
It is said that after coming from Sarnath and Bodhgaya, Lord Buddha left for Rajgir, in order to meet King Bimbasara. As soon as the King came to know of this, he went to the outskirts of the city, along with his entire staff, to welcome Him. There are numerous Buddhist structures as well as Buddha statues in and around Jethian. As you move towards this village, you will come across a large mound with a tank. The mound is believed to be the remains of the stupa built over the Supatittha Cetiya, the place where Lord Buddha stayed, when he was in Jethian.
Beside the mound, is a huge and impressive statue of Lord Buddha. Then, there are the statues of Padmapani and Buddha, situated very close to the mound. Not to be missed is the Chandu Hill, located at a distance of approximately 3 km from Jethian. This hill is quite popular as it houses the large cave of Rajpind (the cave mentioned in the Tripitaka).
Ayer is situated by a hill and the antiquities at the place perfectly match the Xuanzang's description," claimed Deepak Anand, a young research scholar associated with Nava Nalanda Mahavihara (NNM), a deemed university at Nalanda.
"Though the place was discovered last week, we were making efforts for the last two years to identify the places associated with Buddha's wandering as mentioned by Xuanzang. In the process, we visited many villages in and around Nalanda and Gaya,"
Residents of Ayer village are very happy with this find and have now found the answer to why so many antiquities are found near the cave. The local village community has already made a move to safeguard the antiquities, said a villager.
With the discovery of Buddhavana, one big void in Buddha's wandering stretch seems to have been filled. "An important thing about this new find is that now we have two sites, namely 'Yasthivana'
(present Jethian) and 'Buddhavana' (present Ayer), both associated with Buddha, in the picturesque Jethian Valley. This provides us an opportunity to develop the whole valley as a major attraction for Buddhists as well as tourists from all over the world," said Ravindra Panth, director of the NNM.
The cave by the steep side of the hill is surrounded by many brick stupas of various dimensions from ancient times. The whole hill has many scattered sandstone Buddha images. A couple of images even have inscriptions. At the base of the hill is a mound which is pregnant with antiquities.
For the last couple of years, explorations were being made for correct identification of Buddhavana and a few other significant places mentioned by Xuanzang in and around Nalanda in Magadh region. "The site needs some more exploration and immediate excavation," said Panth.
Under the "Revival of Ancient Buddhist Pilgrimage in Bihar" project by NNM and the department of youth, art and culture, government of Bihar, effort is being made in the first phase to revive the 'pilgrimage path' from Bodh Gaya to Parwati connecting Pragbodhi, Gurpa, Jethian, Rajgir and Nalanda (within a radius of nearly 100km from Nalanda and Gaya) taken by the Chinese traveller.
Already, CM Nitish Kumar has revived the ancient pilgrimage path from Rajgir to Jethian, a 14km stretch through the Rajgir valley. He himself visited Jethian on several occasions. In the coming years, the pilgrimage path may be extended to the 'Buddhavana cave' at Ayer village, said an expert.
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