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________________ Vaisali the Birthplace of Lord Mahavira 255 of Vaisali; and Mabavira could rightly be called that when Kundagrama was a suburb of Vaisali. Siddhartha's wife Trisala was sister to Cetaka, king of Vaisali. She is called Vaidehi or Videbadatta, because she belonged to the reigning line of Videha, (Thus Mabavira was connected by blood with the important republican chiefs of the time). Again, on the death of Mahavira the eighteen confederate kings (of Kasi and Kogala, the Licchavis and Mallakis,] instituted a festival to be held in memory of that event. We are enabled to understand why the Buddhists took no notice of Cetaka, as his influence was not very great, and besides, was used in the interest of their rivals. But the 'Jainas cherished the memory of the maternal uncle and patron of their prophet, to whose influence we must attribute the fact, that Vaisali used to be a stronghold of Jainism, while being looked upon by the Buddhists as a seminary of heresies and dissent." The same authority, writing about Mabavira in Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. 7, p. 466 (s. v. Jainism), says : "He was a Ksatriya of the Joata clan and a native of Kundagrama, a suburb of the town Vaisali (the modern Basadha, some 27 miles north of Patna). Kundaggama and Vaniyaggama, both suburbs o: Vesali, have been identified by Hotrnle with the modern villages, Baniya and Basukunda." 2. Dr. A. F. Rudolf Hoernle, in whose masterly address delivered to the Asiatic Aociety of Bengal on the 2nd February, 1898 a convenient summary of the Jaina traditions with references to the original sources will be found, in his Translation of the Uvasa gadasao (Bibliotheca Indica Series) has clearly shown (pages 3-6) that modern Basadha is the birthplace of Lord Mabavira. He says: "Vaniyagama, Skr. Vanijyagrama; another name of the well-known city of Vesali (Skr. Vaisali), the capital of the Licchavi .country. In the Kalpa Sutra, $ 122, it is mentioned separately, but in close conjunction with Vesali. The fact is, that the city commonly called Vesali occupied a very extended area, which included with its circuit, besides Vesali proper (now Besaph), several other places. Among the latter were Vaniyagama and Kundagama or Kundagama or Kundapura. These still exist as villages under the names of Baniya and Basukunda. Hence the joint-city might be called, according to circumstances, by any of the names of its constituent parts....... Under the name of Kundagama, the city of Vesali is mentioned as the birthplace of Maba vira, who hence is sometimes called Vesalie or the 'man of Vesali'........... Mahavira's father, Siddhartha, was the
| SR No. | 012088 |
| Book Title | Vaishali Abhinandan Granth |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Yogendra Mishra |
| Publisher | Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology and Ahimsa |
| Publication Year | 1985 |
| Total Pages | 592 |
| Language | Hindi, English |
| Classification | Smruti_Granth |
| File Size | 17 MB |