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________________ Vaisali the Birthplace of Lord Mahavira 255 the Monkey Tank called Kollua or Kolbua, on the eastern side of which a large mound exists. ***..Kundagama, the Brahmman section of Vaisali, may be represented by the bamlet called Basukunda." The same authority, writing in 1921 in Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. 12, pp. 567-68 (s. v. Vaisali), says: "The ancient city of Vaisali was equally sacred to the Jains and the Buddhists long ago. It is now represented unquestionably by the village named Basarh situated in the Hajipur sub-division of the Muzaffarpur district. The identity of Vaisali with the group of remains associated with the village of Basaph is conclusively proved (i) by the survival of the ancient name with only slight modifications ; (ii) by geographical bearings taken from Patoa and other place; (iii) by topographical details as compared with the description recorded by Hiuen Tsiang, the Chinese pilgrim in the 7th cent.; and (iv) by the finding on the spot of sealings of letters inscribed with the name Vesali. Few places in India have stronger claims upon the veneration of both Jains and Buddhists. Vardhamana Mahavira, commonly spoken of as the founder of the Jain Church, belonged to a noble family of Vaisali, where he was born and spent all his earlier life. After he had entered upon the ascetic career, he is said to have resided in bis native town or the immediate neighbourhood for twelve rainy seasons. The Jain scriptures often mention Vaigali. The archaeologists have not sought for Jain remains on the site, and nothing in their reports would lead the reader to suppose that the Basarb area was the birthplace of Jainism, as it is knowa to the moderns." 5. Dr. Jarl Charpentier, Ph. D., University of Upsala, writes in the Cambridge History of India, Vol. I, p. 157 : "Just outside Vaisali lay the suburb Kundagrama-probably surviving in the modern village of Basukunda-and here lived a wealthy poble man Siddbartha, head of a certain warrior-clan called the Jaatrikas. This Siddhartha was the father of Vardhamana Mabavira." . 6. A Buddhist tradition quoted by Rockhill (Life of Buddha, p. 62) mentions the city of Vesali as consisting of three districts ;-"There were three districts in Vesali. In the first district were 7000 houses with golden towers, in the middle district were 14000 houses with silver towers,
| 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 |