Vaishali Institute Research Bulletin 4

Author(s): R P Poddar
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

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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