Kapilavastu (ancient city)

Overview

Kapilavastu was an ancient city in the eastern Indian subcontinent that served as the capital of the Shakya republic (or Shakya gaṇa-saṅgha) during the late Vedic and early historic period. It is widely regarded in Buddhist tradition as the city in which Siddhartha Gautama, who later became the Buddha, spent his early life as a prince before renouncing the household life. Kapilavastu is therefore one of the principal sites associated with the life of the Buddha and is venerated as a place of pilgrimage by Buddhists worldwide.

Key facts

Background

According to Buddhist textual sources, including the Pali Canon and later commentarial literature, Kapilavastu was ruled by the Shakya clan, a kshatriya community organised as an oligarchic republic rather than a monarchy. The city is named after the sage Kapila, who is said in tradition to have indicated the site to the founders of the settlement. The Shakyas were politically affiliated with the larger kingdom of Kosala, to which they paid allegiance.

The city is described as the residence of Suddhodana, the elected chief of the Shakyas, his consort Maya, and their son Siddhartha. Other relatives of the Buddha associated with Kapilavastu include Mahapajapati Gotami, Yashodhara, Rahula, Ananda, Anuruddha and Devadatta.

Geography and identification

Kapilavastu lay in the foothills of the Himalayas, in the Terai region. The precise identification of the site has been debated among archaeologists since the late 19th century, and two principal candidates have emerged:

• Tilaurakot, in the Kapilvastu District of Lumbini Province, Nepal, identified by some scholars on the basis of its fortifications, ring-wells and pottery sequence.
• Piprahwa, in the Siddharthnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, India, where excavations conducted by W. C. Peppé in 1898 uncovered a large stupa containing a steatite reliquary inscribed in Brahmi, interpreted by many scholars as referring to a relic deposit of the Buddha by his Shakya kinsmen. Further excavations in the 1970s by K. M. Srivastava of the Archaeological Survey of India revealed monastic remains and sealings reading Kapilavastu.

Both sites lie within a short distance of Lumbini, the traditional birthplace of the Buddha, and are sometimes regarded as components of a wider Shakya cultural landscape.

Historical timeline

1. c. 8th–7th century BCE: Earliest occupation layers at the candidate sites, contemporary with the rise of the mahājanapadas.
2. c. 6th–5th century BCE: Floruit of the Shakya republic; traditional dates for the life of Gautama Buddha. Kapilavastu serves as the political and ceremonial centre of the Shakyas.
3. Late 5th century BCE (traditional): Conquest and destruction of the Shakyas by Vidudabha, king of Kosala, as recorded in Buddhist sources.
4. 3rd century BCE: The region falls within the Mauryan Empire; Emperor Ashoka visits the Buddhist holy places, as commemorated by the nearby Lumbini pillar inscription.
5. 5th and 7th centuries CE: The Chinese pilgrims Faxian and Xuanzang visit Kapilavastu, leaving descriptions of ruined stup