Okay folks, this is again for Buddhists across the world. A gentleman from Ontario by the name of Michael Jakucinskas,
who is a member of one of the Buddhist groups I am a member of, had asked me to look for and post the where about's of a lost Buddhist country called 'Hastaka Atavika' (sanskrit) or 'Hatthaka Alavaka' (Pali). I obliged because I was myself interested. I chose the Pali version of Hatthaka Alavaka because the Pali words are more Bihar friendly words than sanskrit. Chasing Huen Tsang and deciphering the meanings of ancient words has become an art for me. I manage to do that because these words are simple rural words we still use in our everyday life. 'Hatthika' sounds very similar to a village by the name of Hathidah near me (26 km to the north of my house). It is bang on the southern banks of the Ganges. I used to wonder about its name and the Buddhist world cleared it. According to Buddhist scriptures Hatthaka means passed on from hand to hand. Folks, that is exactly what Hatthidah means. I will break up the word in two parts 'Hathi-dah'. The first four letters 'Hath' means hand just as the Buddhist scriptures say, and the last three letters 'dah' is a short form of the rural word 'daho' which literally means to give or pass on. So Hathidah means to pass on from hand to hand. This is exactly what the Buddhist scriptures say. The second word asked by Mr Michael Jakucinskas is the country of 'Alavi' where Hatthaka (Hathidah) was the son of a king. North of the Ganges I have pin pointed the village of Ulao. This is in the district of Begusarai in the state of Bihar. I had looked for that village because when I read L.A. Wadell's (one of the great British orientals) report, he too was looking for Alavi. According to him Alavi was somewhere to the north of the Ganges. The village of Ulao is exactly on the opposite banks of the Ganges from my ancestral village. My village is on the southern banks while Ulao is on the northern banks. So I know these places well. Alavi is certainly Ulao village because of the name of the local temple. It is the Ankurinath temple. Basically rural villages in Bihar have their local dieties who are regarded as an ancestor. Ankurinath will most probably be the ancestor of this village. Lets break up the word 'Ankuri'- 'nath'. Ankuri will be a short form of Hatthakas (Hathidahs) real name while the last four letters 'Nath' means a king. That means the temple is dedicated to a king (nath) by the short form name of 'Ankuri'. Ankuri does sound similar and a short form of the Buddhist mis-pronounced Atavika or Alavaka. So this temple could be dedicated to Hatthaka because he was the son of the king (Nath). Mr Michael Jakucinskas, I hope I have found the place for you. Thanks for making me search for the place. When I meet the villagers of these places I will proudly tell them their unique history (2400 year old history) and why their villages have such names. So folks, the world now knows where Hathidah (Hatthaka) and Ulao (Alavi) are. You can subscribe to my youtube channel 'Buddha Exhumed' to view many more videos of forgotten Buddhist sites. Heres the link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlZI0dESts8
who is a member of one of the Buddhist groups I am a member of, had asked me to look for and post the where about's of a lost Buddhist country called 'Hastaka Atavika' (sanskrit) or 'Hatthaka Alavaka' (Pali). I obliged because I was myself interested. I chose the Pali version of Hatthaka Alavaka because the Pali words are more Bihar friendly words than sanskrit. Chasing Huen Tsang and deciphering the meanings of ancient words has become an art for me. I manage to do that because these words are simple rural words we still use in our everyday life. 'Hatthika' sounds very similar to a village by the name of Hathidah near me (26 km to the north of my house). It is bang on the southern banks of the Ganges. I used to wonder about its name and the Buddhist world cleared it. According to Buddhist scriptures Hatthaka means passed on from hand to hand. Folks, that is exactly what Hatthidah means. I will break up the word in two parts 'Hathi-dah'. The first four letters 'Hath' means hand just as the Buddhist scriptures say, and the last three letters 'dah' is a short form of the rural word 'daho' which literally means to give or pass on. So Hathidah means to pass on from hand to hand. This is exactly what the Buddhist scriptures say. The second word asked by Mr Michael Jakucinskas is the country of 'Alavi' where Hatthaka (Hathidah) was the son of a king. North of the Ganges I have pin pointed the village of Ulao. This is in the district of Begusarai in the state of Bihar. I had looked for that village because when I read L.A. Wadell's (one of the great British orientals) report, he too was looking for Alavi. According to him Alavi was somewhere to the north of the Ganges. The village of Ulao is exactly on the opposite banks of the Ganges from my ancestral village. My village is on the southern banks while Ulao is on the northern banks. So I know these places well. Alavi is certainly Ulao village because of the name of the local temple. It is the Ankurinath temple. Basically rural villages in Bihar have their local dieties who are regarded as an ancestor. Ankurinath will most probably be the ancestor of this village. Lets break up the word 'Ankuri'- 'nath'. Ankuri will be a short form of Hatthakas (Hathidahs) real name while the last four letters 'Nath' means a king. That means the temple is dedicated to a king (nath) by the short form name of 'Ankuri'. Ankuri does sound similar and a short form of the Buddhist mis-pronounced Atavika or Alavaka. So this temple could be dedicated to Hatthaka because he was the son of the king (Nath). Mr Michael Jakucinskas, I hope I have found the place for you. Thanks for making me search for the place. When I meet the villagers of these places I will proudly tell them their unique history (2400 year old history) and why their villages have such names. So folks, the world now knows where Hathidah (Hatthaka) and Ulao (Alavi) are. You can subscribe to my youtube channel 'Buddha Exhumed' to view many more videos of forgotten Buddhist sites. Heres the link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlZI0dESts8
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