Book Title: Vaishali Institute Research Bulletin 4 Author(s): R P Poddar Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa MujjaffarpurPage 25
________________ 16 Vaishali Institute Research Bulletin No. 4 basement contains broken inscriptions in post-Gupta Brahmi character. This village has been tentatively identified with the ancient Karmāra Grāma (Settlement of the Artisans), which too, like Vanijya Grama, lay in the vicinity of the ancient city of Vaisāli. It has been said that the Lord after his initiation into the order of monks, proceeded from Jñatṛişanda-the place where he was initiated, and reached Kammāra-Grāma before sunset. There was a waterway from Ksatriya Kuṇḍagrāma (or Jnätṛṣaṇḍa) to Karmara Grama and also a land-route running through the bank. The Lord preferred the land route. The present Kammana Chapra is hardly at a distance of one kilo. meter from Basokunda. (v) In the present village of Basokunda there is a patch of land, about two acres in area, which was not being cultivated by the villagers. The saying goes that the villagers regarded this patch of land with reverence. Probably this patch of land marks the exact location of Lord Mahavira's birthplace. In this way some enthusiasts have not only discovered the locality but also the exact place of Lord Mahavira's birth. But till now this discovery has not received the degree of applause or even approbation which such a discovery should receive. The reason is that there remains ample scope for raising doubts, some of which may be listed as follows: (i) Siddhartha, the father of Lord Mahavira, was a king. Now, if he ruled here, his kingdom lay merely at a distance of two kms. from the capital of the Licchavis. The present ruins of Vaisali are barely at a distance of two kilometers as the crow flies, from the present village of Bāsokuṇḍa. It is not plausible that there should be a kingdom ruled by the chief of another clan, so close to the capital of the Licchavis. Siddhartha belonged to the Jñatṛ (Naya or Nata) clan and was in marital relation with the Licchavis, his wife Trisala being the daughter of the Licchavi king Cetaka. (ii) The present Kammana Chapra is at a distance of one kilometer only from the present Basokunda. It is not plausible that the Lord ended his day's journey merely at a distance of one kilometer. (iii) There is no trace of any waterway between Bāsokuṇḍa and Kammana Chapra, nor is there any such trace in the neighbourhood of Bāsokuṇḍa. (iv) The present village of Basokunda is a very small one, with a population of approximately two thousand. The whole village is almost Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.orgPage Navigation
1 ... 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 ... 288