Sariputras village and relic stupa: Okay, this is my discovery of Sariputras villag. In the village is an Ashokan stupa that marks the place where his house once stood. Near the village on a hillock is Sariputras relic stupa. For more details read my book "Buddha Exhumed" where I discover lost Buddhist cities in Bihar. The Ashokan stupa that marks the place of Sariputras birth has been half dug up for mud filling on the road. It has to be salvaged. It is a priceless piece of Buddhist history. This find negates Alexander Cunninghams report on his finds in Sanchi. he had claimed that he found Sariputras and Maha Mougliyayas relics in the Sanchi stupa. Sariputras relics are in the stupa in the video according to Huen Tsangs report. Then how did Cunningham and gang retrieve sariputras relics from Sanchi. This is a case to be investigated. Here is the report I gave to the Archaeological survey of India pertaining Sariputras village and relic stupa.
(42)Kodihara village/Kia-lo-pi-na-kia (Si-Yu-Ki page177 to 179) From
the Hathiyama stupa or the stupa made by king Bimbisara, Huen Tsang traveled
twenty Li’s or five and a half kilometers south east to the village of
Kodhihara. I will quote the second paragraph of page 177 of his journal
Si-Yu-Ki. He says, “South east from the spot where Bimbisara met Buddha, at a
distance of about 20 li, we come to the town of Kalapinaka (Kia-lo-pi-na-kia).
In this town is a stupa that was built by Ashoka Raja. This is the place where
Sariputra, the venerable one, was born. The well of the place still exists. By
the side of the place is a stupa. This is where the venerable one obtained
nirvana; the relics of his body are therefore enshrined therein.” Huen Tsang
calls the village Kiu-lo-pi-na-kia and
Samuel Beal calls it Kalapinaka. Huen Tsangs Kiu’lo-pi-na-kia sounds similar to
the village called Kodihara. The peculiarity of this name is it is written
Kodihara but pronounced Kolihara so matches Huen Tsangs mis-pronounced Kiu-lo-pi-na-kia.
I visited the village and realized it was populated by Bumihar Brahmins. I
found the two stupas. The Ashokan stupa was just outside the village next to a
mango grove and was half destroyed. Half the stupas mud had been excavated by
an excavator for earth filling on the village road. Huen Tsang had described an
ancient well near the stupa. The well is there but the walls have been
plastered in an attempt to make it look new. Today the well is defunct. I
videographed the well. West of the village on a hillock is enshrined the relics
of Sariputra in a mammoth sized stupa. It looks magnificent and is very high.
It has mud plastered around the hillock and rocks the size of a palm covering
the hillock to make it into a perfect circle. According to Huen Tsang when
Sariputra heard of the forecast of the Buddhas
death he asked the latter for permission to die first. He was granted
permission so he died in the seclusion of this hillock. From this stupa you can
see the stupa that has enshrined in it the relics of Sariputra’s favorite
disciple. These stupas are important as they belong to important Buddhist
personalities. They also strengthen Huen Tsangs claim that the area beteen Keur
and Panhar village is the actual Nalanda sanghdharma. The video of the village
and stupas can be viewed in my youtube channel “Buddha Exhumed.”
Heres the link:
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