The pidgeon monastery of lord Buddha. This is the report I gave to the Archaeological survey of India pertaining to the pidgeon monastery visited by Huen Tsang

(7)Mathokhar Duh/ Kapotika which was Lord Buddhas pigeon monastery: (Si-Yu-Ki page 182 to 184) From Indrasailaguha mountain or Natsar Huen Tsang travels 150 or 160 Li’s or twenty eight miles east to what he calls Kapotika or the pigeon monastery. I will quote the second paragraph of page 182 of Si-Yu-Ki. Huen Tsang writes, “Going 150 or 160 li to the north east of Indrasailaguha mountain, we come to the Kapotika (pigeon) convent. There are about 200 priests, who study the principle of the Sarvastava school of Buddhism.” This is Mathokhar Duh of today which sounds similar to Huen Tsangs Kapotika. The monastery is 2 to 3 Li’s or 2800 ft south west of the lonely hill. I will quote the second paragraph of page 183 of Si-Yu-Ki. Huen Tsang writes, “To the south of this 2 or 3 li’s we come to a solitary hill, which is of great height, and covered with forests and jungle.” The lonely hill is Mathokhar hill where stone quarrying is taking place and must be stopped. Huen Tsang states that there was an Ashokan stupa east of the monastery and a Sri Lankan monastery on the lonely hill or the Mathokhar hill. I realized Huen Tsang called it the lonely hill because it stood alone at a distance from the range of Sheikhpura hills. Mathokhar today has two parallel mud mounds about two thousand feet long with a beautiful lake in between. This lake isn’t mentioned by the Chinese traveler so I suspect it was made after him. Infact I suspect it was dug up to hide the ruins of the Sanghdharma. Huen Tsang stated there were 200 priests who study the principles of Sarvastavada school of Buddhism. That meant to house 200 priests the Sanghdharma must have been big. Today there is an Ashokan stupa to the west of the Sanghdharma. Here Huen Tsang makes a slight mistake in his bearing. He is very accurate in his long distance bearings but in short distances like 2 or 3 Li’s he is inaccurate. Basically the reader will realize the Chinese traveler has been reaching holy Buddhist places without any hindrance or without a hitch despite being a foreigner. He doesn’t stray off the road or search for places which is unique and is possible only if he had an escort. I suspect he wasn’t travelling alone but with an escort party on a guided tour arranged by Emperor Harsha Vardhan himself. The escort party was taking him directly to important holy Buddhist sites where he was treated well. They were looking after all his needs like food and clothing and shelter. It seems Huen Tsang asked his escort long distance bearings which he notes down accurately. In the short distance ones he gives wrong bearings. This means he avoids asking his guide the short distance bearings because short distance ones are supposed to be easy. I suspect the latter might think him illiterate. Another example of giving wrong short distance bearings is in Pataliputra. Ashokas hell, the Ghanta stupa, and Dheebar are all to the west of Ashokas palace. These are all at short distances. Surprisingly he states they are to the north when the palace is on the banks of the Ganges itself. This means he was embarrassed to ask close range bearings thinking his escort would think him to be illiterate. So instead of giving the bearing of the Ashokan stupa in Mathokhar as west to the sanghdharma he gives it to the east. This must have happened in Pataliputra too. That means he was looking in the opposite direction when he gave the bearing. Today there is a mosque and five Muslim graves on the Ashokan stupa in Mathokhar. Next to the stupa is a hillock on which there is a rock with shadows of footmarks on the rock. The Muslims claim it is the Muslim dargah baba’s footmark. Huen Tsangs story tallies with the local folk lore of the place. According to him the Buddha preached here for a day. There was a bird catcher who caught and ate birds. One day he didn’t catch a bird. He thought it was a magic of the Buddha so he went to the latter and complained that he and his family were hungry. The Buddha told him to light a fire. The bird catcher did as asked and a dove seemed to drop into the fire. The bird catcher cooked it and fed his family. But he came back and repented for killing and became a holy man who never went back home. He stayed back in the Sanghdharma and became a learned Bhikshu and an arhat. The villagers of Mathokhar have a similar story to tell. Instead of the Buddha the Dargah Baba was camping there. He wanted to drink milk so he asked a milk man. The latter told him to milk a cow that never gave milk. But the Dargah Baba successfully milked it so the surprised Jadav boiled the milk and made Kheer and fed the Baba. The Jadavs name was Chulhai. After that he realized the dargah Baba was special. He repented and stayed back and never went home. He became a learned man. I believe the Ashokan stupa is dedicated to him. This story compared to Huen Tsangs story and the accurate Li’s from the Indrasailaguha mountain proves Mathokhar is Kapotika. On top of the Mathokhar hill is a rocky stupa which the locals pray to and call Rani Machola. This is the Sinhalese monastery Huen Tsang writes about. Another Buddhist stupa has been blown away by the stone quarriors. Huen Tsang had written about other monasteries on the hill. All these seem to have been quarried. Rani Machola proves that Mathokhar hill is Huen Tsangs lonely hill. Every Thursday and Friday villagers assemble on the Ashokan stupa and sacrifice goats and chickens to the Dargah Baba and cook it on the stupa itself. They are repeating the act of the bird catcher who cooked the dove.

Alexander Cunningham came here and wrote about the place in his report of Sheikhpura. He failed to realize Mathokar matched with Huen Tsangs mis-pronounced Kapotika. Cunningham went on to report that this was the Deva temples Huen Tsang had written about south of the Ganges. The Ganges is nowhere near Mathokhar. He identifies Parvati hill as Kapotika. I will quote page six of Cunninghams report in, “A tour in Bihar and Bengal in 1879-80.” It is the sixth page and the chapter on ‘Parbati’. He writes, “On leaving Indrasailaguha or Indras cave, Huen Tsang says he traveled 150 to 160 Li’s to the north east to the Kapotika or pigeon monastery close to which on the south there was a steep isolated hill covered with holy buildings. Now there is clearly some error in the distance as a journey of some 25 to 27 miles would have taken the pilgrim into the old bed of the Ganges, now called the Halohar river and at least twelve miles away from the nearest hills of Sheikhpura. I propose therefore to read 50 to 60 li; a distance which would suit either for the hill of Bihar or for that of Parbati.” The reader will realize Cunningham and other orientalists were guessing. He was measuring from Giryek village which he had wrongly identified as the Indrasaila Guha mountain. The British orientalists were reducing and increasing Li’s to suit their finds while all the time proving Huen Tsang wrong when they were wrong themselves. All this and much more is available in the video in my youtube channel “Buddha Exhumed.”

The link:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtZbD2jl9Rk

(16) Vaishali: Pidhauli/ Fe-she-li or so called Vaishali: (Si-Yu-Ki page 66 to 73)This is another big blunder by historians. In page 66 second para Huen Tsang writes, “Going north east from this (Drona stupa) and crossing the Ganges, after travelling 140 or 150 Li, we come to the country of Fe-she-li (Vaishali).” Now 150 li is equal to approximately 42 kilometers. In satellite maps when we calculate 42 kilometers north east from Desna we pass over Pandarak village, cross the Ganges as stated by Huen Tsang, and reach Pidhauli village. The 42 kilometers north east from Desna as the crow flies ends perfectly across the Ganges in Pidhauli village. That means Pidhauli is definitely Huen Tsangs ‘Fe-she-li.’ When I was exploring Huen Tsangs Pataliputra in Pandarak village, I examined King Ashokas first Buddha relic stupa according to Huen Tsangs description. It is now a Hindu sun temple. The local people showed me a rock on the banks of the Ganges with the footmarks of the Buddha on it before he crossed the river on his way to Vaishali and further on to his nirvana. Huen Tsang had mentioned this rock with the footmark. The villagers call it ‘Koyla Rani’ (translated Coal Queen) as it is made of black stone. So that meant Pandarak village was the fording point for the Buddha when he wanted to cross the river to go to Vaishali from Magadh. On scrutinizing the other side of the river in satellite maps, the word Pidhauli popped up. I realized Huen Tsangs mis-pronounced ‘Fe-she-li’ wasn’t the Vaishali in Laalgunj but Pidhauli village just across the Ganges from Pandarak village. I then examined the surrounding villages and found each and every spot exactly according to Huen Tsangs accurate bearings. These are the places Huen Tsang visited in Pidhauli or his ‘Fe-she-li.’

(a) Godhna village: In page 67 first line Huen Tsang writes, “north west of the royal city 5 or 6 Li’s is a sanghramma with a few disciples. They study the teachings of the little vehicle according to the Sammatiya school.” I chose Godhna village to be the sangharamma because it is on high ground which will have ancient structures below. This village is exactly two kilometers north east of Pidhauli village which I strongly believe is Huen Tsangs ‘Fe-she-li’. Chasing Huen Tsang a pattern has emerged which makes it easy to do some guesswork. In Mathokhar village or Huen Tsangs mispronounced Kapotika or pidgeon monastery lives the Goraiya sub cast of the Jadav clan. They pray to the ‘Gor’ or feet which I suspect is the Lord Buddhas feet. They call the temples in which the feet have pride of place a ‘Goraiya.’ Now Godhna which is north east of Pidhauli sounds very similar to Goraiya, because here too Jadavs reside. So Godhna will be the sanghramma Huen Tsang mentions. By fixing Godhna as the sanghramma all the other villages fit into Huen Tsangs description.

(b) Amjadpur Bithouri: In page 67 second para Huen Tsang writes, “By the side of it is a stupa. It was here that Tathagat delivered the Vimalakirti sutra (Pi-mo-lo-kie-king), and the son of a household Ratnakar, and others offered precious parasols to the Buddha.” Amjadpur may be a new name added to Bithouri after the coming of Muslims. Bithouri is an ancient Bihari word. Vimalakirti or Huen Tsangs mispronounced ‘Pi-mo-lo-kie-king’ could be a foreign mispronounciation of Vithouri or Bithouri. People today sometimes mispronounce the letter V with a B. Amjadpur Bithouri village is certainly on a low stupa.

(c) Navada village: In page 67 second para second last line Huen Tsang writes. “To the east of this is a stupa.  It was here Sariputra and others obtained perfect exemption (became Arahats).” Exactly 1200 meters east of Amjadpur Bithouri is the village called Navada. This is the sanghramma in which Sariputra and the others became arhats. I came to this decision because Navada is east to Amjadpur Bithouri and the name pops up regularly when Huen Tsang writes about a sanghramma. This village is next to the railway line and the next description of Huen Tsang will prove my choice of this village as Sariputras sanghramma was accurate.

(c) Bhagwatpur Teai: In page 67 third para Huen Tsang writes, “To the south east of this last spot is a stupa; This was built by a king of Vaishali. After the nirvana of the Buddha, a former king of the country, obtained a portion of the relics of his body, and to honour them as highly as possible raised this (building).” The reader will realize this is no doubt Bhagwatpur Teai. It is about 8oo meters to the south east of Navada just as Huen Tsang states. The village is settled on a huge mud stupa which is perfectly round in shape. Infact. I think I recognized two stupas. The older (original) one is smaller in size and has an ancient well on it. This is most probably the original stupa built by the Lichavi king. Later King Ashoka took out the relics and built a second stupa which is huge in size and has an entire village settled on it. In satellite pictures you can see the perfectly circular shape of the village. The name Bhagwat itself may be an ancient rendering of the word Bhagwan or God. Teai too could be an ancient form of the rural Bihari word Tiage. Tiage means sacrifice. We all know that the Buddha sacrificed himself and died. The stupa that was excavated in modern day Vaishali is hardly a tenth of the size of this stupa. The next two spots described by Huen Tsang prove’s the accuracy of my decision to choose Bhagwatpur Teai as the original Lichavi Buddha relic stupa which King Ashoka opened. The Buddha relic stupa in Vaishali is a big laugh compared to the original one in Bhagwatpur Teai. The Vaishali stupa that was excavated certainly isn’t an Ashokan stupa. British archaeologists and historians identified Lalgunj area and named it Vaishali on the basis of the pillar they found nearby. Historians seemed to forget that King Shashank destroyed Ashokan pillars in all the major spots. If Ashokan pillars were left untouched, they were in vague places. The British historians found one of these not so important pillars which king Shashank missed and identified the place as Vaishali. Basically the place was Pidhauli.

(d) Chatri Tola and Durga Sthan monkey pond Teai:  This section is very important in proving Pidhauli and the area around it is Huen Tsangs ‘Fe-she-li’. It also proves that Bhagwatpur Teai is the Lichavis Buddha relic stupa. Huen Tsang writes in page 67 last para, “To the northwest is a stupa built by Ashoka Raja; by the side of it is a stone pillar about 50 or 60 feet high, with a figure of a lion on the top. To the south of the stone pillar is a tank. This was dug by a band of monkeys for the Buddhas use.” North east of Bhagwatpur Teai is Jama masjid Chatri Tola. Chatri Tola seems to be the original name of this place. This could be the spot where Huen Tsangs pillar was as the name Chatri Tola suggests it. The area is on a stupa no doubt. The name Chatri tells it all. It means a sort of umbrella. Umbrellas are on a stick just like the animals on Ashokan pillars. There was the figure of a lion on King Ashokas pillar. This could be the ancient Chatri or umbrella. Thorough search of the area will throw up remnants of the pillar. South of Jama Masjid Chatri Tola is Durga sthan temple next to a pond. Huen Tsang states that a pond made by monkeys was situated south to the Ashokan piller that had a figure of a lion on top. According to Huen Tsang monkeys dug up this pond for the Buddhas use. This pond is famous in the area as the monkey pond. Local folk lore states that in ancient times hundreds of monkey lived here. This pond tallies exactly with Huen Tsangs statement. Only the villagers don’t know that the monkeys made it for the Buddhas use. This pond proves that Chatri Tola to the north and Bhagwatpur Teai to the south west of Jama Masjid Chatri Tola fits in exactly with Huen Tsangs statement about the whereabouts of the Lichavi Buddha relic stupa.

(e) Madhusudan: Huen Tsang further writes in page 68 first para third last line, “Not far to the south of this tank is a stupa; it was here the monkeys taking the alms bowl of Tathagat, climbed a tree and gathered him some honey.” This will be Chak Madsudan. Chak means a stupa and Madsudan sounds similar to Madh which means honey in sanskrit. I haven’t visited this place but it is there in google pictures.

(f) Chak Kaem: In page 68 third para Huen Tsang writes, “To the north east of the sanghrama 3 or 4 li’s is a stupa. This is the old site of the house of Vimalakirti.” This will be Chak Kaem which may be the short form of ‘Malakirti’ because this stupa now has a village on it with the name Chak Kaem and is approximately 3000 meters north east of Dularpur Mutt. This is the ancient sanghrama Huen Tsang speaks about which is now a Hindu temple. The priest told me how the huge Shiva linga was dragged here in ancient times. That means before the Shiva Linga was dragged here it was a Buddhist sangharama. Today a Brahmin is the priest in charge.

(g) Bhairav Mandir: In page 68 fourth para Huen Tsang writes, “Not far from this is a spirit dwelling, its shape like a pile of bricks. Tradition speaks this stone pile is where the householder Vimalakirti preached the law when he was sick.” This is the Bhairo Baba temple east of the Dularpur Mutt and slightly south of Chak Kaem. This is the sira which every village in rural Bihar is supposed to have in which the spirit of an ancient highly revered person or ancestor of the village resides. My theory is all the siras or spirit homes of rural Bihar were once Buddhist monks. Just like the one here. This sira or spirit house belongs to Chak Kaem and Dularpur village’s which is populated by Brahmins who were foremost in challenging Buddhism in Bihar and north India. These Brahmins proudly state that they were Shaiv Brahmins who challenged the Vaishnavs who were followers of the Buddha. But the sira or the village spirit dwelling place is according to Huen Tsang the dwelling place of Vimalakirti’s spirit who preached here when he was sick. Vimalakirti was Buddhist that means the sira was Buddhist. In the old days most of the rural village spirit dwelling places were simply a pile of loosely thrown bricks like what Huen Tsang described. But now the trend is to convert them into swanky marble temples. This is exactly what happened to this spirit house or Bhairo Baba Mandir. It is now a swanky marble temple. Bhairav mandir proves that Chak Kaem nearby is on top of a stupa that marks Vimalakirti’s house.

(f) Rautgaon: In page 68 second last para Huen Tsang writes, “Not far from this is a stupa; this is the site of the old residence of Ratnakara.” This will be Rautgaon village on top of a mud stupa. I have pinpointed this village because it is near Bhairo Bab Mandir or the spirit house Huen Tsang mentions. It is also close to Chak Amra which Huen Tsang mentions in the next para. Verbally ‘Raut’ sounds very similar and like a short form of ‘Ratnakara’.

(g) Chak Amla: In the last para of page 68 Huen Tsang states, “Not far from this is a stupa; This is the old house of the lady Amra. It was here the aunt of Buddha and other Bhikshunis obtained nirvana.” Chak Amla falls in line according to Huen Tsangs description. We see him moving south wards placing the villages next to each other very accurately. The names are there according to his description. Chak Amra is no doubt Huen Tsangs lady Amra. This is the spot Buddha’s aunt and other bhikshunis died.

(h) Chak Rukiya: In page 69 first para Huen Tsang writes, “To the north of the sanghrama 3 or 4 Li is a stupa: this indicates the place where Tathagat stopped when about to advance to Kusinagara to die, whilst men and Kinnaras followed him.” This is a clean case. Chak Rukiya is the stupa. Rukiya means to stop in the local Bihari language. Satellite pictures show this place to the east of the railway line.

(h) Garahiya Chak and Gahuni village: In page 69 first para fourth line Huen Tsang writes, “From this not far to the northwest is a stupa; here Buddha for the very last time gazed upon the city of Vaishali.” From the phrase ‘From this’ we realize that Huen Tsang means from Chak Rukiya where the villagers stopped the Buddha, not far to the northwest is a stupa where the Buddha gazed for the last time at Vaishali. Exactly northwest of Chak Rukiya are two places with the same meaning. First is Garahiya Chak. Garahiya sounds verbally similar to the word ‘gaharaie’ which means to concentrate or gaze at something. Gahuni is a rural Bihari word to concentrate on something. The village will be on top of a stupa by the name of Gahuni.

(i) Bhikhan Chak: In page 69, first para sixth line Huen Tsang states, “Not far to the south of this is a vihara before which is built a stupa, this is the site of the garden of the Amra girl which she gave in charity to the Buddha.” Exactly south of Garahiya Chak and Gahuni village is Bhikhan Chak. It is a perfect rural word for charity or alms. Bhikhan Chak is to the west of the highway so is in the south western extreme of the area of Pidhauli. It is outside the dam that protects these villages from Gangetic floods since the Ganges flows nearby. Bhikhan Chak was a favorite relaxing place of the Buddha and Buddhist records say it was next to the Ganges. There are records of Amrapali coming here to pay homage to the Buddha.

(j) Chak Mehro: In page 69 second para Huen Tsang writes, “By the side of the garden is a stupa; this is the place where Tathagat announced his death.” This is Chak Mehhro no doubt as the Buddha announces his death to Mara. Mara could be a foreign Buddhist mis pronounciation of Mehro. We must remember that Buddhism was lost to India. The records came back from foreign countries. Many of the words will have been mis pronounced through the centuries by different linguistic Asian people using it. Huen Tsang here tells the story of how the Buddha asks Anand three questions about himself and his life span. Anand fails to answer as he is concentrating on Mara. He is infatuated by Mara. Mara comes and reminds the Buddha that he had stated that when he succeeds in accomplishing all that he had come to the world to do he, the Buddha, would die and leave the earth. Now since the Buddha had accomplished all he had come to achive, when will he die? The Buddhas reply is unique. He picks up some dust on his nails and asks Mara if the dust on his nail is more or the dust on the earth. Mara replies that the dust on the earth is more. The Buddha then tells him that the grains of earth on his nail is similar to those who are saved by his teaching and are following the correct path. The grains of earth on the ground are much more and are like those who haven’t heard his teaching so may not be following the correct path. But finally he assures Mara that he will die in three months. Mara goes away delighted. The reader will realize this story deals entirely with the Buddhas interaction with Mara so Chak Mehro is most probably the stupa that marks the spot of this interaction.

(k) Burhi Van: The name Van means a forest. So Burhi Van means a forest called Burhi. Today the forest no longer exists though the name has stuck to the land. The land has been usurped for agriculture. It is here that Anand withdraws to think in the forest. I will quote the second para of page seventy. Huen Tsang writes, “Meantime Anand in the wood had a strange dream and coming to the Buddha told it to him.” The wood or forest is no doubt Burhi Van because it is near Chak Mehro where the Buddha predicted his own death to Mara. It was from here or Chak Mehro that Huen Tsang says Anand retired to the seclusion of a forest to think. Today there is a tiny village by the name Burhi Van. And Burhi Van village is close to Chak Mehro where the Buddha predicted his death to Mara while Anand was thinking in the forest. Anand has a bad dream in this forest. He dreams that there is a big tree in the forest with a huge canopy giving shade to everything below it. But one day a storm comes and blows it away.The Buddha replies that he had asked Anand whether he should remain in the world. But Anand was so fascinated with Mara that he didn’t reply to the Buddha. In between Mara slyly tempted him to die and the Buddha fixed a date. Anand had missed a chance to save the Buddha. This is what his dream in Burhi Van meant. The Buddha was going to die.

(l) Nandpur Saroop/Adharpur villages : This is the biggest proof of Pidhauli being the so called Vaishali. Half of Anands body relics are enshrined here in one of these two villages. That is Nandpur Saroop and Adharpur. I will quote page 73 third para. Huen Tsang writes, “By the side of the preaching hall and not far from it is a stupa which contains the relics of the half body of Anand.” (a) My first bet is on Nandpur Saroop. It is Anands stupa and the name most probably means ‘Anand Ka Swargiya Roop.’ The last three letters of the word which ends with ‘pur’ used here is the ancient ‘par’. This means on top and denotes a stupa. Nand is the short form of Anand.  Saroop is the short form of Swargiya Roop which means the ‘dead form.’ So put together Nandpur Saroop can mean the ‘dead form of Anand.’ It means how Anand looks in death. If this village is Anands relic stupa then Adharpur will be the preaching hall Huen Tsang has written about.” (b) My second guess is Adharpur village. Adhar can mean Adha which means half. We must remember Anands relics were divided into two halves. The last three letters which are ‘pur’ could be an ancient form of ‘par’ which in rural Bihari means on top and hints of a stupa because the latter is on top of a relic. But the villagers told me that Adharpur wasn’t on top of a mud mound or stupa which seemed abnormal as this is a flood prone area. Excavations of these two villages will tell the truth. I wager 80 to 1 Nandpur Saroop is Anands relic stupa. Adharpur is a standby option.

(m) Teghra village and town/To-Kio: Finally in page 73 fourth chapter Huen Tsang goes on to tell us about a few hundred stupas in a place he mispronounces as To-Kio. This is Teghra village no doubt as the last three places he mentions are south of Pidhauli village and slightly north of Teghra village. To-Kio no dounbt is Teghra town cum village. I will quote the fifth para of page 73. He says, “Not far from this are several stupas, the exact number has not been yet determined. Here a thousand Pratyeka Buddhas (To-Kio) attained nirvana. Both within and without the city of Vaisali, and all round it, the sacred vestiges are so numerous that it would be difficult to recount them all.” I agree with Huen Tsang. When I was inspecting Bhagwatpur Teai which I believe is the Lichavis Buddha relic stupa, villagers took me to a small foundation. It was ancient no doubt. Villagers told me that there were plenty of them around and were uselessly taking up agricultural land.

Here is the link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFpJojrZmhw&t=35s

Buddhist sites north of the Ganges: This is for Buddhists again. I am the only authority of Huen Tsang. I have studied him, traced his movement in India from Pages 1 to page 256 in his book "Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist records of the western world. I got a shock. All the Buddhist sites in the Indian states of UP and Bihar are mis-identified. What Happened??? Huen Tsang was a Chinese who had done a course in Indian languages. His pronunciation of Indian words were horrible. I will give a few examples. (1) He went to a country by the name of 'Patalganga Chatti' and mis-pronounced it as "Po-li-ni-see.' Samuel Beal (the translator) deciphered it as Varanasi. This sparked a wild goose chase by British orientalists searching in the area for ruins. They found some in Sarnath and proudly announced to the world it was the stupa where the Buddha first preached. The stupa where the Buddha first preached is near 'Patalganga Chatti' and is a stone stupa just as Huen Tsang described. It is today called 'Gyanpur.' Gyan means to give knowledge. (2) Huen Tsang then goes to the country of Raxaul where the Buddha died between two sal trees. Huen Tsang seems to have failed to pronounce RAX of Raxaul. He pronounces it as 'Kiu-se-kie-na-lo'. The British translator deciphers it as 'Khushinagar'. Orientalists excavate a stupa and find the statue of a sleeping Buddha in a village called 'Kasia Bazar'. They remove the name Kasia and re-christen the place 'Khushinagar' and announce to the world that they had found the place where the Buddha had died. (3) The Buddha was born in the garden of Rudhauli which Huen Tsang mi-pronounced as 'La-fa-ni.' British historians mispronounced it as 'Lumbini'. They changed the name of a village from Rummindei to Lumbini and proudly announced to the world that they found the birthplace of the Buddha. Today the pond before which the Buddha was born is called 'PAIDA' which simply means birth. This is in Rudhauli. (4) Huen Tsang goes to a town called 'Pidhauli' and mis-pronounces it as 'Fe-she-li.' The British translatore deciphers it as Vaishali thus causing the orientalists to pin point the wrong place as Vaishali.

I have followed on Huen Tsangs footsteps and realized these mistakes. In this video "Buddha Exhumed: Buddhist religious sites north of the Ganges." I have literally gone on Huen Tsangs footsteps. See for yourself. heres the link:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAgf3Cch1WM&t=987s

Drona Stupa: Okay folks, enjoy the discovery of the elusive Drona stupa. According to the story, the Buddhas relics were divided by a Brahmin into eight equal portions for eight kings. The Brahmin was smart so he smeared honey on the walls of the utensil with which the sacred relics had been divided. Naturally ashes and bone stuck to the sides of the utensil. He brought the utensil back home, wiped out the relics and made a stupa over the relics and the utensil. Later on king Ashoka opened the stupa, confiscated most of the relics and the utensil, and made a second stupa near it. It seems he buried the utensil under the second stupa. Buddhists are lucky that people settled down on the stupas. By doing this they kept the name alive or the stupas would have been flattened for agriculture. Today the original stupa has the village of Desna residing over it. Drona seems to bea foreign Buddhist mis-pronunciation of Desna. The second stupa that Ashoka made for the utensil is called Asthawan. Asthi means vessel with relics. So Asthawan village definitely has the relics under it. Here is the link of the Youtube video "Buddha Exhumed: Drona Stupa." Below is the report I gave to the Archaeological Survey Of India pertaining to this site.

(15) Drona stupa/Desna and Asthawan villages: (Si-Yu-Ki page 65 and 66) In page 65 of Si-Yu-Ki, from Mahkar village Huen Tsang goes 100 li or 28 kilometers south east as the crow flies to the Drona stupa. The hundred Li south east from Bhuthakhar village lands in the agricultural fields between the twin villages of Desna and Asthawan. Now this is important as the Drona stupa is one of the first ten relic stupas which had the Buddhas relics in them. In the third para fourth line of page 65 Huen Tsang writes, “The Brahmin who meted out their several portions, smearing the inside of his pitcher with honey, after allotting them their shares, took the pichter and returned to his country. He then scraped the remaining relics from the vessel, and raised over them a stupa, and in honour to the vessel he placed it also within the stupa. And hence the names of Drona stupa was given it.” This is a case to investigate and the answer can be got only after excavations because both villages of Desna and Asthawan are settled on stupas. The name Desna itself hints that it is the Drona stupa. Drona could be a foreign Buddhist mispronounciation of Desna. We know that Buddhism went from India and came back with many mispronounced words. Drona could be one of them. But the name Asthawan also means relics. It could mean Asthi which means a vessel that contains someones relics. We must remember Ashoka opened the stupa and took out most of the relics. He also took away the Asthi or the utensil in which the relics were divided. The Asthawan stupa is far bigger and neater than the Desna/Drona stupa. We all know that Ashoka opened the seven original stupas, took out the relics leaving a chink and put the rest back in 84000 stupas. Historians till now haven’t seen any of the original stupas as I have seen and experienced in this report. So they have guessed that Ashoka most probably made a new stupa over the old one. But the Desna/Asthawan stupas tell a different fact. Similarly the Siddhaur Buddha relic stupa in Koteshwar Nath proves the same. Ashoka opened the original stupa, took out the relics leaving some, and made a second stupa nearby. So there is a strong possibility that Desna is the Drona stupa as the name sounds verbally similar. My take is that Drona is a foreign mis-pronounciation by foreign Buddhists of the Indian Desna. We must remember that Buddhism was lost to India and came back through foreign texts. All the original Indian words came back as foreign mis-pronounciations. So Desna can be the original Drona while Asthawan will most probably be the standby stupa Ashoka made. I will quote page 65, third para, third last line of Si-Yu-Ki. Huen Tsang writes, “Afterwards Asoka Raja opening the stupa, took the relics and the pichter, and in place of the old one built a great stupa.” This clearly hints that Ashoka made a second stupa and put the relics and and pichter into it. The pichter is called Asthi so the stupa with the name Asthawan most probably got its name from the pichter. This is the stupa on which Asthawan village is settled. So the pichter most probably will be in that stupa under the village.

 Heres the link to the youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uE4W7nJAR0

The Buddhas foot mark: This video shows the foot mark the Buddha left behind when he looked at Magadh for the last time. He told Anand he was leaving his foot mark. Huen Tsang says later on King Shashank broke it to pieces and threw it into the river. The rock pieces jumped out of the water. This is in Pandarak village. That meant that this was the fording point of the river for the Buddha when he went to and from Vaishali. Fifty meters south of this rock foot mark is king Ashokas first Buddha relic stupa. These are exactly according to Huen Tsangs description. If you look at the right side of the video you will see half a foot mark 18 inches long. Huen Tsang stated the size. The chakras  the Buddha was famous for are easily discernible. I fail to understand how anyone could have carved it. In the middle of the video is a man raping a squirming elephant. The squirming elephant represents Buddhism being manhandled and wiped out. The rapist personifies the victory of Hinduism over Buddhism. I'm sure Hindus won't be proud of this carving. This rock gives the rock statue of a lion overpowering an elephant, in front of the Konark temple an entirely different meaning. previously it was regarded simply as lion overpowering elephant. Now it means something else. here the link to the video.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JEpj4jD2FY&t=11s

Buddhas Mahaparinirvana: The world thinks that the Buddha breathed his lat in Khushinagar. Unfortunately there was never a place by that name. British historians chose that spot as the place where the Buddha died solely on the basis of the statue of a sleeping Buddha they had found. The villages name is Kasia Bazar which the British removed and renamed Khushinagar. Why Khushinagar? Huen Tsang visited Raxaul  where the Buddha died. He had problems pronouncing Indian words in Chinese so he wrote "Kiu-se-na-kie-lo" which Samuel Beal, the English translator, translated as Khushinagar. The translation was done 170 years ago when India was totally illiterate. There was no one to supply Samuel Beal with ancient Indian words. So he seems to have created his own. That was the age when the "old India hand" was the most knowledgeable in Indian affairs.  Huen Tsangs mispronounced 'Kiu-se-na-kie-lo' was deciphered as 'Khushinagar'. The British excavated a sleeping Buddha in a village called 'Kasia Bazar'. They thought Kasia Bazar was the ancient rendering of Khushinagar. So they renamed the place Khushinagar. Kasia Bazar is now a colony in that town. In reality the Buddha was fed rotten pork in a village called 'Suarkhauli' which is today called Sugauli. He got diarrhoea  and quietly died thirty five kilometers north east of Sugauli and north of Raxaul in between two Sal trees. The place today is named Sekhua Prasauni. Here is the report I gave to the archaeological survey of India.

Here is the report I gave to the Archaeological survey of India pertaining to the sites Huen Tsang visited which were connected with the Buddhas death. I have liberally quoted from Huen Tsangs book "Si-Yu-Ki, Buddhist records of the western world." This is Samuel Beals translations.

(7) Kiu-se-na-kie-lo/Birgunj-Raxaul: (Si-Yu-Ki page 31 to 41) From Lauriya Nandangarh Huen Tsang goes northwest to Kiu-sie-na-kie-lo which I have identified as the border town of Raxaul.

(a) Raxaul: I will quote page 31 second last para.“After this going north east through a great forest, along a dangerous and difficult road, where wild oxen and herds of elephants, and robbers and hunters cause incessant trouble to travelers. After leaving the forest we come to the kingdom of ‘Kiu-shi-na-kie-lo.” The wild jungle infested with wild and dangerous oxen and elephant’s with robbers, Huen Tsang describes, is the Bhaisa Loten jungle of Bettia district. Even today it is wild and lawless. The name Bhaisa Loten means wild oxen lolling in mud so the name tallies with Huen Tsangs description. It is still a highly criminalized zone and highly dangerous. Today it is part of Valmiki tiger reserve. Samuel Beal took Huen Tsangs ‘Kiu-se-na-kie-lo’ at face value and translated it as Khushinagar. Actually ‘Kiu-shie-na-kie-lo is a Chinamans attempt to pronounce Raxaul. The last two letters ‘Kie-lo’ coincide with the last three letters of Raxaul. I mean ‘x-aul.’ The ‘Kiu-shie-na’ is an attempt to write the first three letters of Raxaul (Rax) as words with similar verbal pronounciation aren’t available in the Chinese language. Finding Raxaul is a bit dicey because here Huen Tsang fails to give mileage or distance and only states the north easterly direction. So it took me three whole days to study the entire area north east of Lauriya Nandangarh and choose Raxaul as Huen Tsangs “Kiu-se-na-kie-lo.” I did this by finding names of places connected to the Buddhas nirvana and realized Huen Tsangs Kiu-shie-na-kie-lo was nothing else but Raxaul. British historians have identified Khushinagar or Kasia bazaar as ‘Kiu-shi-na-kie-lo’ simply on the basis of a sleeping Buddha statue found in a stupa. They removed the name of Kasia bazaar and re-christened the place Khushinagar. So Khushinagar is a concocted word by British historians who thought that was what Huen Tsang meant. The reader will realize Huen Tsang goes nowhere near present day Khushinagar. 

(b) In page 32 second para first line Huen Tsang states, “To the north west of the city three or four Li, crossing the ‘O-shi-to-fa-ti’river (Samuel Beal translates it as Oshitofati) river, on the western bank not far, we come to a grove of Sal Trees.” The ‘O-shi-to-fa-ti’ river is the Sirsiya Kalan river flowing down the eastern border of Birgunj town to Raxaul. In the third last line of the same para He says, “In this wood there are four trees of unusual height, which indicate the place where Tathagat died.” So we understand the Buddha died between four Sal trees. After this Huen Tsang continues to say in the last para of the same page in the third last line. “By the side of this vihara is a stupa built by Ashoka Raja: although in a ruinous state, yet it is some two hundred feet in height.” We realize that ‘O-shi-to-fa-ti’ river is the Sirsia river between Birgunj and Raxaul. And the stupa marking the spot near where the Buddha died is the Vishwa hillock in Birgunj. It suits the description Huen Tsang gives as it is next to the Gahawa Mai temple where I believe the Buddha died.Vishwa hillock is a perfect example of a big Ashokan mud stupa.

(c) Gahawa Mai temple: In page 38, fourth para, first line Huen Tsang goes on to describe, “By the side of the place where the coffin was delayed is a stupa; this is where the queen Mahamaya wept for the Buddha.” This again is the Gahawa Mai temple in central Birgunj. According to Huen Tsang when the Buddha died Anirudh went to heaven and informed Lord Buddha’s mother of the formers death. The Buddhas long time dead mother came and wept over the dead body. Gahawa means to ‘come like the wind’ and ‘Mai’ means mother in rural Bihari language. Actually my theory is Mai is the Buddhas mother’s name. Mai is a short form of ‘My-ya’ which is the formal manner in which Biharis address their mother. It seems the word My-ya travelled to foreign lands when Buddhism was exported. In these lands people mis-pronounced the word from My-ya to Maya so it came back to India as ‘Maya.’ When I was searching for the place where the Buddhas mother wept over his dead body, I was looking for the original word ‘Mai.’ Gahawa Mai means the mother that came like the wind. The name itself is inferring to a ghostly mother who came and wept over her son’s dead body. The Brahmin priest there states that it is a Durga temple. It isn’t a Durga temple as Durga worship is new and started approximately 150 years ago. Goddess Durga was a Bengali goddess prayed to by Bengalis. Prayer to Durga spread with the spreading of the railways from Calcutta to the rest of India. Gahawa Mai temple is 2000 years old and the name itself tells a story of a dead mother’s soul that came with the wind. The temple has a high plinth which means it was built on top of an Ashokan stupa.

(d) Khutwajabdi: In page 39 third para Huen Tsang writes, “To the north of the city after crossing the river, and going 300 paces or so, there is a stupa. This is the place where they burnt the body of Tathagat. The earth is now of a blackish yellow from a mixture of earth and charcoal. Who ever with true faith seeks and prays is sure to find relics of Tathagata.” This stupa is north east of Birgunj and is called Khutwajabdi. The Sirsiya river passes 700 feet to the stupas east just as Huen Tsang describes in his quote. Khutwajabdi is an Ashokan stupa and like other Ashokan stupas it is simply a low mud mound. And like most other Ashokan stupas an entire village has settled on it. But the stupas name Khutwajabdi was retained due to which the stupas name was kept alive. The village is called Khutwajabdi. The road passes over the stupa and has flattened it. I chose this spot as the place where they burnt the Buddhas body because the name Khutwajabdi fits into the tale Huen Tsang tells. According to him the body was brought here for cremation. It was tied and covered with napkins and put on a funeral pyre. Anand tries to light the fire but fails so he waits for the arrival of Kashyap. The latter requests Anand to open the napkins so that he can pay obeisance to the dead body one last time. Anand refuses as it would be tough untying the napkins and tying them again. So the Buddha forcefully takes out a feet so that Kashyap can see it. The word Khutwajabdi suits this story. Khutwa in the rural Bihari language means feet and ‘Jabdi’ means by force. In the story the Buddha showed his feet by force.

 (e) Relic dividing stupa next to Khutwajabdi: In page 40 second last para Huen Tsang writes, “By the side of the place where he showed his feet is a stupa built by Ashoka Raja. This is the place where the eight kings shared the relics. In front is built a stone pillar on which is written an account of this event.” Next to the Khutwajabdi stupa is a bigger stupa with the village settled on it. The name Khutwajabdi has overshadowed the name of the relic dividing stupa as both the stupas are adjacent to each other. The village that settled on top of these stupas thinking them to be simple mud mounds retained only one name calling itself Khutwajabdi. The relic dividing stupa has also flattened as the road passes directly over it. But the stupas hump is recognizable as an Ashokan stupa.

(f) Cowadhangar: In page 33 third para Huen Tsang writes, “By the side of the vihara and not far from it, is a stupa. This denotes the place where the Bodhisatva, when practicing a religious life, was born as a king of a flock of pheasants.” Huen Tsang tells of a forest fire that goes out of control. Animals are trapped in the fire. The bird king which is a pheasant feels sorry for them so dives into a river, flies up and flutters its wings so that the water from the wings sprays over the fire dousing a small bit. Sakra king of Devas sees the pheasant doing this so makes fun of it. The latter however continues wetting itself and spraying the fire with water from its wings. He tells Sakra that it was his job but since he, Sakra, wasn’t doing it, he was. Sakra then douses the fire with water. The stupa now has a village settled on it which has taken the name of the stupa. So you now have a stupa cum village by the name of Cowadhangar. Cowa in Bihari means crow and Dhangar means to beat the bush. Put together the word Cowadhangar means the crow that beat the bush.It fits perectly to Huen Tsangs story.

(f) Ghorasahan village: In page 34 second para Huen Tsang writes, “By the side of this, not far off, is a stupa. On this spot Boddhisattva, when practicing a religious life, being at that time a deer, saved living creatures.” In the story a forest fire rages and the animals are trapped between the fire and the river which was in spate. To save the animals the deer King lies down across the stream blocking the stream water. Strong currents break his bones but he persists and bears the pain. The animals use his body to cross the river. The last animal to cross is the hare. The stupas name is Ghorasahan. As usual a village has perched itself on the stupa and has taken the stupas name. So you now have the village of Ghorasahan. The name fits into Huen Tsangs story. Ghora means a horse and sahan means to bear a load and pain like a horse. Put together the word Ghorasahan means to bear pain like a horse. People collected the bones and raised this stupa.This also fits perfectly into Huen Tsangs story of a deer king who bore other peoples pain and load like a horse.

(g) Harpur Village: Huen Tsang writes, “To the west of this place, not far off, is a stupa. This is where Subhadra died.” Subhadra was the last person to become a disciple. He is the hare in the Ghorasahan or deer king story narrated earlier. He was the last to be converted. The latter questions the Buddha on how to become an arhat in short cut as the Buddha was dying. The Buddha gives him arahathood. Subhadra is grateful to become an Arhat but cannot bear the pain of the Buddhas death. So the same night the Buddha dies, Subhadra attains nirvana. He is the hare that is the last animal to escape over the deers broken body because he is the last disciple to attain knowledge. He is the hare. He is also the first disciple to die. To the west of Ghorasahan village is a village called Harpur. This village in satellite images looks round like a stupa. My take is it was Harpar village which later became Harpur. Har means loser and ‘par’ means ‘on top’. Harpur put together means ‘on top of a loser.’ In my studies of Huen Tsang I have noticed the village where someone attained self indicted nirvana was called a loser. In Anands case the name of the sanghramma connected to the stupa where they put his relics north of the Ganges was known as Harail or loser. Anand had attained self inflicted nirvana. Today there is a village by that name. Similarly in Raxaul, Harpur village must have previously been Harpar. This means on top of a loser. The loser is Subhadra.

(G) Sirsiya Kalan village: Huen Tsang goes on to write, “Beside the stupa of Subhadras nirvana is a stupa. This is the place where the Vajrapani (Ching-kin-kang) fell to the earth with the diamond mace.” Today the stupas name is Sirsiya Kalan. This matches Huen Tsangs Chinese mispronounciation. His mispronounced ‘Ching-kin-kang’ sounds very similar to Sirsiya Kalan. And Sirsiya Kalan is near Harpur village which proves Huen Tsang is describing a particular area with a cluster of stupas close to each other.

(h) Sato Mai temple in Nonea village near Raxaul: On page 37 last para Huen Tsang writes, “By the side where the diamond mace holders fell to the earth is a stupa. This is the place where for seven days after the Buddha died they offered religious offerings.” I have identified this spot as the Sato Mai temple in Nonea near Raxaul. Saat means seven. This is because the letter seven or ‘Sato Mai’ is used in the temples name.

(i) Sekhua Prasauni: I haven’t checked this spot. But the name and the fact that it is west of a small river states that there is a very strong possibility that the Buddha died here. The name of the village Sekhua Prasauni suggests it. Sekhua means sal trees and Prasauni means to sleep on, and in this case, to sleep on top of Sekhua or Sal trees. So this is a possible place where the Buddha died. I will put my bet on Sekhua Prasauni.

This is the link to my video in my youtube channel "Buddha Exhumed: Birgunj, the real Khushinagar where the Buddha died. Raxaul." The link     

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnlwU1fFzVs&t=113s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnlwU1fFzVs&t=130s

Buddha creates a river by magic: Enjoy the first ever video of the river the Lord Buddha created by magic to force the people of Vaishali/Pidhauli to return and stop following him. Today the folk lore of Balam river in Dalsinghsarai town is that it was created by magic. People have forgotten who created it. Huen Tsang directed me to this place. Here is the report I gave to the Archaeogical survey of India pertaining to this river.

(16)Dalsinghsarai: (Si-Yu-Ki page 73 and 74) From Pidhauli Huen Tsang goes 50 to 60 li northwest as the crow flies on the route the Buddha took on his way to nirvana. I will quote page 73 last para where he says, “Going northwest of the chief city 50 or 60 li, we come to a great stupa. This is where the Lichavis (Li-c’he-p’o) took leave of Buddha. Tathagat having left the city of Vaisali on his way to Kusinagara, all the Lichavas, hearing that Buddha was about to die, accompanied him wailing and lamenting. The lord of the world having observed their fond affection, and as words were useless to calm them, immediately by his spiritual power caused to appear a great river with steep sides and deep, the waves of which flowed on impetuously.” From Pidhauli village the highway goes northwest to Dalsinghsarai. Sixty Li’s is exactly 16 kilometers and that is the exact distance of Dalsinghsarai Town to Pidhauli. On scrutinizing the town you have the beautiful sight of the river Balam meandering through it. In the middle of the town the river forms a perfect U and one has to cross a bridge to reach the town. The unique aspect about this river is in satellite pictures you can see how it properly may have trapped the Lichavis to the south of the river while the Buddha stood on the northern bank. Huen Tsang speaks about an Ashokan stupa. After crossing the bridge towards the town, the river bank to the left of the road is called Gola Patti. Basically Huen Tsang has described two other Ashokan stupas that are called Gola. When Anand commited suicide the disciples divided his relics in half. One half was dropped on the northern bank of the Ganges. A stupa was made on that spot which is now called Anand Gola. The stupa that marks the spot the other half relics were kept on the southern banks of the river is called Athmal Gola. Athmal is an ancient rendering of Adh-mal. Adh means half and Mal means relics and Gola means something round. So Gola Patti in Dalsinghsarai town means an Ashokan stupa. A hindu temple is built on it dedicated to a baba. Who that Baba is no one knows. It is none other than Gautam Buddha on his way to his nirvana. That temple is built on the Ashokan stupa Huen Tsang has written about. Local folk lore states that Balam river was created by magic. Many rituals are carried out here and it is a custom for newly weds to have their first bath here. The Buddha sent the Lichavis back from here with his Patra as a token of respect for their love.

 Heres the linkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1il_DNOnO4