Discovery of the first Ashokan Buddha relic stupa in Pataliputra. "Pandarak village." This is a video of the first Buddha relic stupa made by king Ashoka which was within his palace premises. Huen Tsang visited it. He said it was damaged and leaning, but the saving grace was the cupola. Today the cupola is prayed to as the sun temple. How did this happen? Why is an Ashokan Buddha relic stupa being prayed to as the sun God? Huen Tsang gives the story. Ashoka wanted to insert the Buddhas relics in all his stupas at the same auspicious time. His chief Buddhist monk told his engineers to watch the sun and insert the relics when it set in the afternoon. He meant a solar eclipse. This would ensure that all the relics for all the stupas would be inserted at the same time. This was done and when the sun set in the afternoon the relics were inserted. The amazed people thought that Punda Baba, the head priest, had grabbed the sun. So people started praying to the cupola as the sun God. Soon people forgot about the Buddha relics but continued praying to the sun God. The present day priest is adamant that some sort of machinery was inserted deep down. He doesn't know it was the relics that were inserted deep down. He thinks the relic was some sort of machinery inserted that controlled the sun. There is a statue of Padmapani whom historians say is the sun God. But the village name Pandarak and the fact that the statue of Padmapani is here on the first Ashokan Buddha relic stupa, and the names are similar, proves that Padmapani or Pandarak villages Punda Baba was Ashokas head priest who caused the immersion of the Buddha relics during the solar eclipse. I mean Punda Baba is the nickname of Padmapani. So the festival of 'Chhatt' or praying to the sun God in Bihar may have started from here. Huen Tsang says the Buddhas footmark was next to this stupa. The rock with the Buddha's foot mark is barely 50 meters from this stupa. It is on the banks of the Ganges. The rock with the Buddhas foot imprint is final proof that the sun temple of Pandarak village is Ashokas first Buddha relic stupa which Ashoka made within his palace premises. This is according to Huen Tsang. British and Indian historians had searched for this stupa in the area of Patna. They were searching in the wrong place and couldn't find it. So they conveniently stated it was washed away by the Ganges. For more information read "Buddha Exhumed" available in Amazon kindle and paperback.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ-YPv6AGvQ