________________
160 ]
[ The Birth place of Lord Mahavira
of that place. He says that Siddhartha was a small chieften of Kshatriya Kunda. According to Dr. Hoernle's researches, it is said that Vaniya Grama was another name of Vaishali and that Kshatri Kunda Grama was a separate city in the neighbourhood of Vaishali. He bases his argument on the Kalpa Sutra of the Jain religion, and says that the Vaishali of those days was a vey very large city.
Further Dr. Hoernle says that at the time of the visit of the Chinese Pilgrim Hicsen Tsang to India, Vaishaliextended over a length of about 12 miles and was divided into three great parts, namely Ksatriya Kunda Grama ( modern Vishnu Kunda) 2. Brahmana kunda Grama or Vaniya Grama ( Modern Baisura ) and 3 Vaishali proper. The first of these divisions was in the north, the second in the south, and the third in the middle of the city. Vaishali proper was the capital of the Licchavi Kshtriyas, under whom Sidhartha was a feudatory chief of Ksatriya Kunda Grama. But the whole city was called by the name of Vaishali for the simple reason only that one part of it which bore the name of Vaishali was the capital of famous dynasty of rulers. True it is, the value of a thing depends upon the conditions of men. It is also seen that a man living in one quarter of a place is said to be the resident of that village and not a resident of that quarter or Moholla. It is quite possible that the Jaina Scriptures might have followed this vey principle. Had it not been so, this should not have depicted Lord Mahavira as a resident of Vaishali, instead of calling him am resident of village Kshatriya Kunda. In a legend of Buddha's life it is said that Vaishali was divided into three parts.
The North Eastern portion of Kshatriya Kunda was
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
