Gopala or Huen Tsangs 'Lan-mo'. This place is important in Buddhist history because it has one of the original Buddha relic stupas of the seven kings who divided the Buddhas relics among'st themselves. This was the only original stupa which King Ashoka couldn't open and confiscate the relics. Why did Ashoka fail to confiscate the relics? For the answer read my report to the Archaeological Survey Of India pertaining to this report.

(4)Lan-mo/Gopala: (Si-Yu-Ki page 25-29) Here again Huen Tsangs accuracy of mileage and bearings will surprise the reader. From Rudhauli Huen Tsang goes 300 Li’s east or 84 kilometers east as the crow flies to Lan-mo. Eighty four kilometers to the east of Ruddhauli is Gopala village which sounds similar to Lan-mo. Samuel Beal has wrongly translated Huen Tsangs Lan-mo as Ramagrama. I fail to see the verbal semblance between Lan-mo and Ramagrama. Neither does Huen tsangs bearings and mileage go anywhere near Ramagramma. Gopala has the so called elusive Ramagrama Buddha relic stupa which historians are looking for. I will quote the first line of the last para in page 25. “From this going east about 300 li or so, across a wild and deserted jungle we arrive at the kingdom of Lan-mo.” Approximately 300 Chinese Li is equivalent to 84 kilometers. Heun Tsang further states in page 26 first para. “The kingdom of Lan-mo has been waste and desolate for many years. There is no account of its extent. The towns are decayed and the inhabitants few.” This suits the topography of the land which has very few villages. He continues to say, to the south east of the old capitol there is a brick stupa. Formerly after the nirvana of Tathagat, a previous king of this country having got a share of the ‘sariras’ (relics) of his body, returned home with them, and to honour these relics he built this stupa.” On visiting the spot I realized by south east Huen Tsang meant four kilometers slightly south east. Huen Tsang goes on to further state that the stupa was next to a lake from which a dragon occasionally came out, walked around the stupa, and prayed to it. The said stupa is south of Gopala in a village called ‘Puraina Khandi Chaura,’ near a mosque by the name of ‘Chaman Nuri Karbala.’ As Huen Tsang described there is a lake to the west of the stupa by the name of ‘Belawa Tikar.’ Huen Tsang goes on to narrate the story of how King Ashoka comes to open the stupa and take away most of the relics but is stopped by a Naga who is the Naga King of the lake. He is the lakes caretaker. The latter takes Ashoka to his house and tells him that if he has come to pay respects to the stupa and the relics, he is free to do so. But he tells Ashoka before vandalizing the stupa by digging it and confiscating the relics he should first pay a visit to the place and see it for himself. Ashoka agrees and goes to the Nagas house and gets scared. He returns without opening the stupa.

Here I will have to give a special note as this is something new which historians do not know. Why Ashoka returned without opening the stupa? It is very interesting to realize that King Ashoka got scared and left the stupa untouched. Basically it is necessary to see the stupa to understand why Ashoka got scared. When I visited the place I realized Ashoka wasn’t scared. A better word was overawed. First, I will quote Huen Tsang on page 27 first para sixth line. “The Brahmin said, ‘I am the Naga king of this lake. As I have heard the great king desires to build a superior field of merit. I have ventured to ask you to visit my abode.” The reader will realize the Brahmins statement “desires to build a superior field of merit,” clearly means that Ashoka wanted to make a superior stupa than the old relic stupa in Gopala. The dragon King then says, “I have ventured to ask you to visit my abode.” By ‘abode’ Huen Tsang means the dragon King first invites Ashoka to see the stupa which is near where he lives. That means the dragon king met Ashoka somewhere else at a distance from the stupa. He must have been camping there. West of Gopala is Maharajgunj town. This town must have got its name because Ashoka may have camped here. Ashoka goes to the Dragon kings abode and sees the stupa and is stunned at what he sees.  Again in page 27 first para seventeenth line Huen Tsang writes, “Ashoka having seen the character of the place was filled with fear and said, All these appliances seen for worship are unlike anything seen amongst men.” Basically Ashoka is stunned at what he sees. So was I when I reached the place and saw the entire complex. It is approximately four kilometers from Gopala to the said stupa. The geography of the area is unique. My car was literally going up and down mud mounds. I mean the road was literally going up and down mud mounds. I realized they were all stupas. The locals don’t know what a stupa is and wonder at the unique phenomenon. Basically to make these stupas 160 acres of lakes were dug up and the mud used to make the stupas. So it is a four kilometer stretch of stupas about one thousand meters in breath. The people wonder at all this mud and a jungle has grown on the entire structure. It seems the road contractor, to save money in mud filling, constructed the road straight over the stupas so I found myself bouncing in my car up and down the stupas. Each of the stupas are huge. It is a unique site. Unfortunately the UP Government doesn’t know about it so mud quarrying is going on legally. In fact the state Government has leased all the plots/stupas to quarriers to sell the mud. So stupas are being dug up and the mud sold. This must be stopped. Quite a few stupas have already vanished. The Buddhist world is lucky that the road contractor built the road on the stupas themselves. Because of this road these stupas are left untouched. Its illegal to dig up the road. It is a unique historical site unparalleled in the world. It has to be saved. This is why King Ashoka was overawed. He was going to confiscate the relics and make many stupas. The dragon king had already done that. He had made four kilometers of stupas in one line. Today the road passes over them. Quarrying must be stopped and the road must be removed. This is truly a unique site.

Heres the link to the youtube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdUEEAM312w&t=8s

Padmasambhava’s early years in Lakhisarai Dist in Bihar India. This is the report I submitted to the Archaeological Survey of India

Padmasambhava, or Guru Rimpoche, as the Tibetans lovingly call him, is the subject of intense debate on whether he was a mythical or historical figure. The latter part of his life is well documented by Tibetans. I mean the part of his life he spent in Tibet. What makes his life story sound mythical is the fact that till date the places connected to his early life in India haven’t yet been discovered. Until my brother Ajay Singh studied books pertaining to him, there was a lot of conjecture pertaining to his life in India. Three facts are clear. Padmasambhava was born on an Island in a lake that went by the name of Dhanakosha. He was adopted by the king of Urgain, or Orgen, sometimes mentioned as Oddiyana. Most of his Indian activities and miracles took place in villages near the country of Zahor where he made the princess his first consort. A Shaivite king tried to drown him in the Ganges, but a young Padmasambhava flew out of the water like a mighty Garoor or vulture. He was known as Kheu Khalding Tsal. Tibetans seem to have wondered around India wondering where these places could be and did some wild guessing. Educated Tibetans crossed over to India in the latter part of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century and seem to have read Samuel Beals translation of Huen Tsangs book “Si-Yu-Ki Buddhist Records of the western world.” In this book, ‘Oddiyana’ is the second place Huen Tsang visits in his epic journey to India. His original pronunciation is ‘O-cha-na’ which Beal deciphered as Oddiyana. Tibetans took it for granted that was the elusive Urgain or Orgen mentioned in the Tibetan seven line prayer. Oddiyana was never discovered as such a name never existed. So people thought it was somewhere in the Swat valley or in the state of Orissa in India. Similarly they searched for Lake Dhanakosha in and around the area of Swat valley. Wild guess work was done and Lake Rewalsar was chosen as the lake in which the king of Zahor tried to burn Padmasambhava. They did this because the lake fell in the district of Mandi which had a verbal resemblance to Mandarva who was Padmasambhavas first consort and the daughter of the king of Zahor. Zahor remained elusive, and even wild guess work failed to pinpoint any place with a similar name. Guesswork continued and Maratika cave in Nepal was chosen as the cave in which Padmasambhava and Mandarva practiced longevity for three months and attained the rainbow body. In short wild guessing by Tibetans made Padmasambhava an unbelievable character who seemed to be flying around all over north India parallel to the Himalayan foothills. Due to all this guess work the Tibetan world failed to identify the eight manifestations of the great Guru. Until my brother took pains to study Tibetan texts everything was conjecture. Ajay Singh brilliantly identified Uren village as the elusive Urgain or Orgen or the non existent Oddiyana, Dhanauri lake as the elusive lake where Padmasambhava was born, Sahur village as the elusive Zahor which even wild Tibetan guess work failed to identify, and Balguddar village where the Hindu king tried to drown Padmasambhava in the Ganges where he flew out of the river like a mighty vulture. This is exactly what Balguddar means. Studying the area between these villages the entire Padmasambhava and Mandarva story falls into place. We will start with Uren village.

(1)    Uren/Urgain, Orgen, Oddiyana: (a) I will first deal with Oddiyana. Oddiyana is a nonexistent place which is why it was never discovered. I have noticed that Tibetans are searching for their holy Buddhist spots pertaining to Padmasambhava along the Himalayan foothills because it is closest to Tibet when the entire Buddhist story unfolded in eastern UP and the state of Bihar. The word Urgain and not Oddiyana is used in the Tibetan seven line prayer as the country of Padmasambhava or Guru Rimpoche as the Tibetans lovingly call him. Then why are Tibetans looking for Oddiyana in the Swat valley? The answer lies in Samuel Beals translation of Huen Tsangs book “Si-Yu-Ki Buddhist Records of The Western World.” Samuel Beal translated the book into English 170 years ago when India had no schools or colleges and the whole country was illiterate. There was literally no educated Indian who could help Samuel Beal in deciphering Huen Tsangs mispronounced Chinese words. So Samuel Beal happily cooked up his own words according to what he thought they really were. The result was none of the places Huen Tsang mentions was found. This includes the elusive Oddiyana. Huen Tsang mispronounces the places name as U-chang-na which Beal deciphers as Udyana. It seems some educated Tibetans crossed over into India searching for Padmasambhavas country and and came across Samuel Beals epic translation. They homed in on Oddiyana which is in the beginning of Beals translation of volume one. They did this because Oddiyana sounded similar to ‘Urgain’ which is the name used in the Tibetan seven line prayer in thanks to Padmasambhava. The truth is Udyana or Oddiyana is a concoction of Samuel Beal. Huen Tsangs mispronounced ‘U-chang-na’ is some other name and not Udyana. If the name existed the place would have been found. What is important is the Tibetan word ‘Urgain.’ Urgain helped my brother identify Uren village as Urgain. (b) Uren: Tibetans have several mispronounciations of Uren. Some scholars call it Urgain, some Orgain, some Oren. We can see all these are slight mispronunciations of Uren. Geographically Uren matches the description of Urgain. It is in a valley no doubt with rocky hills just behind the village. LA Wadell explored Uren 150 years ago and wrote about it in his report. He noticed a footmark embedded in the rock which he mentioned in his report of the place. This tallies with claims of ancient Tibetan scholars who claimed that they had seen the Buddhas footmark in Urgain. Another important proof of Uren being the elusive Urgain is the folklore of Lorik the giant Rakshas. This story tallies with Padmasambhava defeating and banishing the Rakshas in and near Urgain. Recently a lady by name of Claudine Bautze Picron did research in the sculptures found in Uren village as it was littered with statues. She realized the village had once been a factory for sculpturers whose creation was stylish. A lot of statues were carted away by the colonial masters. What was left was either stolen or preserved in the Lakhisarai museum. A lot were Buddha statues and many had the five petalled crown which was worn by Padmasambhava. And finally the geographic location of Uren village fits in exactly according to the description given in the “Padmasambhava Rigpa Wiki.” According to the ‘Rigpa Wiki’ Lake Dhanakosha was directly north west to Urgain. Exactly northwest to Uren village is Dhanari lake with an Island in the middle. Dhanari lake is certainly Lake Dhanakosha the Tibetans are looking for. And so is Uren village.

(2)    Lake Dhanakosha/Dhanari lake:  According to Tibetan scriptures Padmasambhava or Guru Rimpoche was born in an Island in the lake of Dhanakosha. I will quote Rigpa Wiki. “In the north western part of the land of Oddiyana, on an Island in the lake of Dhanakosha, the blessings of all the Buddhas took form in the shape of a multicolored Lotus flower.” Padmasambhava was supposed to be born in the multi colored Lotus flower. We realize that Lake Dhanakosha was northwest to Oddiyana or Urgain or Oren. Exactly five kilometers slightly northwest of Uren village, which my brother and me have identified as the elusive Urgain or Orgen or Oddiyana, is Dhanari Lake with a big Island in the middle. The reader will realize Dhanari Lake with its Island and Uren village fulfill the geographical description of Lake Dhanakosha where Padmasambhava was born and Uren village whose king adopted him. Now why is Lake Dhanakosha known today as Dhanari Lake. I will quote Rigpa Wiki again. “Moved by compassion of the suffering of sentient beings, the Buddha Amitabh sent out from his heart a golden Vajra, marked with the syllable HRIH, which decended onto the lotus blossom. It transformed into an exquisitely beautiful eight year old child, endowed with all the major and minor marks of perfection, and holding a vajra and a lotus.” Now if we remove ‘kosha’ from Dhanakosha and add HRIH in its place, the lakes name becomes Dhanahrih pronounced as Dhanari. The reader will now realize that Dhanari Lake with its Island fits in perfectly with the description of Lake Dhanakosha and its geaographical whereabouts.

(3)    Zahor/Sahur: The third place the Tibetans have been searching for and even their wild guesswork has failed to locate is, the country of Zahor. They suspect it is the area around Lake Rewalsar in Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh. This is because Mandi sounds similar to Mandarva who was the Dakini daughter of the king of Zahor. However Rigpa Wiki states that Zahor and Oddiyana were either the same place or closely neighboring regions. So Zahor must be close to Uren village which I have identified with the country of Oddiyana or Urgain in the Tibetan seven line prayer. I will quote Rigpa Wiki on Zahor. “In more recent times, Gendün Chöpel stated that the kings of the Pala dynasty made Zahor their capital. Gendün Chöpel offers two possible locations for this ancient city, suggesting that the ruins of Zahor may be found either “on the banks of the Brahmaputra in Bengal” or “on the southern banks of the Ganges near Bihar.”^[17] Thus Gendün Chöpel connects Zahor directly with the Pāla dynasty (750-1199). Given the time frame that Zahor existed, based on the Buddhist scholars associated with Zahor this seems very plausible.” The village of Sahur is exactly 1500 meters southwest of Dhanari Lake and exactly six and a half kilometers west of Uren village. It is north east of Bodh Gaya and south of the Ganges. This tallies exactly with Rigpa wikis statement that Zahor and Oddiyana were closely neighboring states. (a) We realize that Gendun Choppel is most accurate. He suggested that Zahor may be a deviation of Sahora which he believes was the Sanskrit original word. He states that it was somewhere on the northern tip of the Magadh empire and south of the Ganges. Sahur village is certainly on the northern tip of ancient Magadh and south of the Ganges. (b) Another proof of Sahur village being the elusive Zahor is the villages from where great Buddhist scholars Atisha, Tilopa, and Naropa were born which were in the country of the mispronounced Zahor or the present day Sahur. Lotsaba Tsultrim Gyalwa, one of Atishas main disciples and the author of Atishas earliest biographies, states that Atisha was born in a large city in the country of Zahor/Sahur in Bengal, which is believed to be in Bikrampur. Exactly eleven kilometers north east of Sahur village and four kilometers north east of Uren village is Kajra railway station and town with a colony that goes by the name of Bikrampur and Narotimpur. The railway station was built in Kajra village so the word Kajra was superimposed over Bikrampur village and Narotimpur village, and made them Kajras colonies. This happened because the railway station carried the name and the area near it became Kajra town. Bikrampur is Atishas home and Narotimpur will certainly be Naropas village. The proximity of these two villages to Sahur strenghthen the latters claim to be the country of Zahor. (c) Karma Ranjung Dorje in his biography of Tilopa states that the latter was born east of Bodh Gaya in the country of Zahor. Sahur is definitely slightly north east of Bodh Gaya with a village called ‘Tilakpur’, which sounds similar to Tilopa, one and a half kilometers south of Sahur. (d) Gendun Choppel further strengthens Sahurs claim of being the elusive Buddhist Zahor by stating that it was one of the capitols of the Pala kings.  According to Wikipedia the Palas had shifting capitols in Zahor, Ramavati, and the clan started from the capitol of ‘Gauda’. West of Sahur is Gadua village, which sounds similar to the Tibetan Gauda, and two kilometers north of sahur is ‘Rampur Garh’ which sounds similar to wikipedias ‘Ramvati’. These three villages are dominated by the Bharaduaj Bhumihar Brahmin cast. An ancient Lama of the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism who goes by the Sanskrit name of ‘Taranath’, states that the Pala kings were Bharaduaj Chatriyas while other Tibetan scholars state that they were Bharduaj Brahmins. This confusion is natural as the Bharduaj Gotra Brahmins were once Chatriyas and today can be found in both Brahmins and Chatriyas. So Sahur and Rampur village are populated by the Bharduaj Brahmins who claim their ancestors migrated from Gadua village which has been mispronounced as ‘Gauda’ by Tibetan scholars and historians and is also populated by Bharduaj Brahmins of the same clan. If the Bharduaj Brahmins of Sahur, Rampur Garh (mispronounced as Ramvati), and Gadua were the Pala kings, then their migration from Gadua tallies with the historical fact that the Tibetan  mispronounced Gauda or Gadua was the first Pala capitol amongst the shifting/migrating Pala capitols. (e) Lastly and most important is the statement by Tibetans that the Dakini called Mandarva was the daughter of the king of Zahor. Now we can safely conclude that Mandarva was a female Bharduaj Brahmin, a Pala princess and the daughter of Zahor/Sahur. It is interesting to note that that in the present day, the female village diety of Sahur, Rampur Garh, Gadua, and a dozen other Bharduaj Brahmin villages near Sahur, is a Dakini who was the daughter of Sahur village (they don’t know her father was a king). She is known and prayed to as Dakini grandmother and is the reigning village diety of the Bharduaj Brahmin villages in this area. This tallies with Dakini Mandarvas story. For non Bharduaj Brahmins who pray to her she is known as Maharani Mai (queen mother). After all, the Tibetans have proved she was the queen of Zahor.  All these facts put together prove that Sahur is definitely the elusive Buddhist country of Zahor the Tibetans are looking for.

(4)    Ramvati/Rampur Garh: I have identified Rampur Garh as one of the Pala kings capitols and the capitol of the country of Zahor/Sahur. I will quote Rigpa Wiki. “A much later Pala king, Ramapala (r.c. 1072-1126) ruled from Ramavatī (Skt. Ramavatī) near Gauda.” In the Zahor section of this report I clearly mentioned the Bharduaj Bhumihar Brahmins migrated to Sahur, mispronounced by Tibetans as Zahor, and Rampur Garh which was also mispronounced by Tibetans as Ramvati, from Gadua which was again mispronounced as Gauda. Rigpa wiki also states that northwest of Urgain or Oddiyana, which I have identified with Uren village, is the capitol of Zahor which is the present day Sahur. Exactly six kilometers northwest of Uren and and two kilometers north of Sahur village is Rampur Garh which I have identified as the Pala capitol Ramvati. So the position of Rampurgarh tallies with Rigpa Wiki. The village is on a huge mud mound which is why the word Garh has been added to its name. Infact the mud mound rises up like a stupa with villagers settled on it and on top of what looks like the stupas dome. The geographical position Rigpa wiki gives on the Pala capitol Ramvati tallies with Rampur Garh and the former seems to be a Tibetan mispronunciation of the latter. And it is south of the Ganges just as Rigpa Wiki says. What further strengthens Rampur Garh as the capitol whose king tried to burn Padmsambhava because the latter got entangled with his daughter is because of the fact that the villages male and female diety are Gobind baba, whom I have identified as one of the emanations of Padmasambhava, and dakini Mama Mai (grandmother) who was the daughter of Sahur village and whom I have identified with princess Dakini Mandarva. Actually Gobind Baba and dakini Mama Mai are prayed to by half a dozen villages, including Gadua. They all belong to the Bharduaj Bhumihar Brahmin cast who all claim ancestry from Rampur Garh and Sahur and Gadua. So they are all part of the Pala kings clan migration. And finally the village of Mano, which is one kilometer east of Rampur Garh, is proof that the latter was a Pala capitol and Gobind Baba and Dakini Mama Mai are none other than Padmasambhava and Dakini Mandarva of Zahor.

(5)    Mano village/Mandarva’s palace: In the Padmsambhava and Dakini Mandarva story it is stated that the king of Zahor made a separate capitol for his daughter who was a Dakini or a holy learned female monk. Exactly one kilometer to the east of Rampur Garh is Mano village. There is a lake between the two villages. Mano is definitely a short form of Mandarva. Manua or Mano is a choice nickname which rural Bihar would give to their daughter whose name was Mandarva. Mano village is certainly the palace the king of Zahor built for his daughter as it is only one kilometer east of Rampur Garh which I have identified with the Pala capitol of Ramvati. This village is populated by the Bharduaj Bhumihar Brahmins who live in the section of the village known as ‘Dih’ which is on high ground. They are originated from Rampur Garh. This tallies with the Mandarva story where it is stated that the king commanded 500 servants to become female bhikshus and look after his daughter. It seems the bhikshus were all Bharduaj Bhumihar Brahmins like Mandarva herself. What is unique about the Bhumihar Bharduaj Brahmins of Mano is they own most of the land in and around Dhanauri Lake which I have identified with Lake Dhanakosha and which is close to Mano. The name Mano is a short form of Mandarva. Short nicknames for daughters are common in this area.

(6)    Laali Pahar/The Copper colored Mountain: Laali Pahari is certainly the elusive “Copper Colored Mountain” the Tibetans are looking for. The ruins of a palatial structure on the top of the hillock is certainly “The Lotus Light Palace.” According to the Padmasambhava Mandarva story, the king of Zahor/Sahur realized Padmasambhava and princess Mandarva were entangled. So he arrested them and incarcerated them separately on two hillocks. I have identified the two hillocks as ‘Laali Pahari’ and Kaali Pahari. Both are adjacent to each other and shaped like a shoulder blade with a valley in between. Laali Pahari or the reddish (hued red) hill has the ruins of a Pala era palace on its peak which I realized the Tibetans called “The copper colored mountain.” This is most probably the monsoon palace of the Pala kings. Since I have concluded Dakini Mandarva was a daughter of the king of Sahur/Zahor, I’m certain the open cell on the western face of the hillocks palatial ruins is the dungeon where she was incarcerated. It is natural that a princess will be incarcerated within the premises of the palace itself. North of Laali Pahari or the Reddish hill (Which the Tibetans call copper colored mountain) is Kaali Pahari or the black mountain. I have identified the dungeon on top of the hillock in which I suspect Padmasambhava may have been incarcerated. It is a square dungeon cut into rocks on all four sides which has been filled up with smaller rocks and rubble. A huge rock covers the dungeon like a roof. Local folklore that varies says that a king trapped his own powerful general in that dungeon and filled it up with rocks and killed him. He did this because the latter got entangled with his daughter. Locals attribute the Muslim conquest over India as a curse by that powerful general for trapping him. This story sounds similar to the Mandarva and Padmasambhava story, only the Tibetans don’t talk about Padmasambhava being murdered. So the powerful general may be someone else. Laali Pahari certainly does fit into the Padmasambhava story of the latter leaving Tibet for his abode on “the copper colored mountain.” Tibetans say he stayed in Tibet for 54 years and went back home. Home was Sahur which the Tibetans mispronounced as Zahor, Dhanari lake which they again mispronounced as Lake Dhanakosha, and Uren village which they mispronounced as Urgain. All these places are visible from the palatial ruins on Laali Pahari. Tibetans say, the copper colored mountain crowned with a palace on top, is in Padmasambhavas home area and he went back to that mountain. That means he came back and stayed in the palace on Laali Pahari or what we call the reddish mountain. The mountain is basically a conglomeration of huge rocks which have a reddish or copperish hue. Huen Tsang, who came here in the seventh century, called it the desert mountain’s because of the copperish hue of the rocks. This is why it is called Laali Pahari or the red hued mountain by locals. The Tibetans are looking for the copper colored mountain. This mountain is in direct contrast with Kaali Pahari or the black mountain which is just 300 feet to the north of Laali Pahari or the copper colored mountain. Kaali Pahari comprises of a conglomeration of rocks which are dark grey in color. This is why the two hillocks or mountains are named according to the color or hue of their rocks. Tibetans don’t say much about the copper colored mountain except that it was on an Island. Laali Pahari and Kali Pahari are surrounded by a number of lakes to their north, west, and and south. Actually, it could have been one big lake but land has been reclaimed with the help of mud filling. So now we are left with several smaller lakes or ponds. The river Kiul passes to the east of the hillocks that resemble shoulder blades in satellite pictures. The river name Kiul seems to be a short form of the Tibetan word “Kheu Khalding Tsal,” which is one of the manifestations of Padmasambhava. (b) Lotus Light Palace: On top of Laali Pahari the ruins of a palace with six bastions has recently been excavated. This is certainly the “Lotus Light Palace” that is in Tibetan mythology. Basically Laali Pahari tallies with the Tibetan description of the copper colored mountain. We must remember that after the king of Zahor tried to burn him, a lake appeared and Padmasambhava was seen sitting on a lotus. The king was stunned and gave him his kingdom and his entire property including his clothes. So Laali Pahari or the copper colored mountain automatically became Padmasambhava’s property. The palace on top of the hillock automatically became his palace. It is to this palace on the copper colored mountain that Padmasambhava returned after his 54 year sojourn in Tibet. It was natural that he would go back home and no where else. Home was in what is the village’s in and around Lakhisarai district. (c) The Tibetans say that “The Copper Colored Mountain” is in the country of Camara. One kilometer to the north of the mountain is the village of Kabaiya. Half of the land below the mountain belongs to the villagers of Kabaiya. The Tibetan name Camara is certainly a Tibetan mispronunciation of Kabaiya. This further strengthens my claim that Laali pahari is certainly the Copper Colored Mountain. (d) Finally the mountain is also called “Zangdok Palri” which means ‘Glorious Copper Colored Mountain.’ Zangdok Palri’ sounds similar to ‘Jaynagar Pahari’ which is the official name for Laali Pahari as it has a village called Jaynagar at its base. Jay certainly means ‘Glorious’. Further the first four letters Z-A-N-G of ‘Zangdok Palri’ are found in the name Jaynagar too, only the J has been substituted with Z. Zangdok Palri is certainly a Tibetan mispronunciation of Jaynagar Pahari because the Tibetan word Palri and the Indian word ‘Pahari’ certainly sound similar. The Indian word ‘Jay’ means great or glorious. So Jaynagar Pahari is certainly the Glorious copper colored mountain or Zandok Palri. This also strengthens my claim that the Tibetan ‘Copper Colored Mountain’ is ‘Laali Pahari’ mountain in Lakhisarai town.

(7)    Sansar Pokhar and stupa: Tibetan scriptures again say that when princess Mandarva refused not to stop her interaction with Padmasambhava and refused to leave her dungeon cell in Laali Pahari or the copper colored mountain, the angry king took Padmasambhava and burnt him. But water appeared and a lake was formed with Padmasambhava and Mandarva sitting on a lotus meditating with a garland of skulls as a symbol of them liberating all beings from samsara through compassion. They were freed from the cycle of birth and rebirth from samsara. This is why this lake is called SANSAR POKHAR. One hundred feet to the east of the lake is an adjacent lake which was previously a part of SANSAR POKHAR. This lake has a stupa in the middle which can be easily seen in satellite pictures. It is jungle now and people say it belonged to a king and queen. We all know that Padmasambhava was king of Uren/Urgain and Sahur/Zahor And Dakini Mandarva was the princess of Sahur/Zahor. The colony in which this stupa and Sansar Pokhar lie goes by the name “Kiul.” Kiul seems to be a Tibetan word or short form of the Tibetan “Khiu Khalding Tsal” which is a name of Padmasambhava and means, “Mighty youth soaring in the sky like a Garuda.”What is interesting is today Sansar Pokhar is still very important spiritually. All immersions of Gods and goddesses take place her. There are several other lakes adjacent to Sansar Pokhar which Alexander Cunningham mentions in his report of Lakhisarai. He has clearly stated that some of the lakes had the ruins of Buddhist temples on the banks. Unfortunately the banks of most of these lakes has been encroached upon by locals and the ruins Cunningham mentioned have disappeared. Tibetans have done wild guess work and identified Lake Rewalsar in Himachal Pradesh simply because the lake lies in Mandi district which sounds similar to Mandarva. We must remember Padmasambhava got freedom from Samsara. This is why the Lakhisarai lake is called Sansar Pokhar.

(8)    Bichway hillock and cave: Here we find some places connected with the Padmasambhava Mandarva story. (a) The Cave: After Padmasambhava and Mandarva come out unscathed from the stupa in Sansar Pokhar, a dazed king gives Padmasambhava his everything. He gives him his country, his clothes and permission to reside with Mandarva as both of them have passed the test of fire. This is called in Hindi “AGNI PAREEKSHA.” He even gives Padmasambhava his clothes. The robes and hat Padmasambhava is depicted in Tibetan thangka paintings belongs to the king of Zahor/Sahur. It was after this episode that Laali Pahari (red hued mountain) or the Tibetans elusive ‘copper colored mountain’ fell under Padmasambhavas kingdom. That is why the Tibetans say that Padmasambhava went back to his palace on ‘the copper colored mountain.’ From Sansar Pokhar Padmasambhava and Mandarva go to Bichway hillock where there is a lovely cave around fourty feet in depth and twenty feet wide. Here they practiced longevity for three months and acquired the rainbow body. The cave is full of rubble to the roof allowing a man to crawl around. There is a possibility some termas may be hidden in the rubble. The hillock name Bichway sounds verbally similar to Halesha. The inner walls of the cave is cut and polished with passages leading away.  The roof is cut in rectangles four inches deep. So the cave was the abode of someone important. I have traced the manifestation of the rainbow body as ‘Jakhraj’ which is the village diety of some of the villages in the area. (b) Polished meditation rock: On the same hill face as the cave but at a slightly lower level on the western side are two layers of cut and polished rocks. A third polished rock which is smaller in size has a recession cut into it which I fail to understand what it is. The lowest polished rock is long from east to west and short in breath. On the western side of the polished surface is an engraving of a beautiful lotus flower. Unfortunately local villagers didn’t understand what it was and vandalized the engraving by adding a pot to the lotus. The pot sculpture is crude compared to the lotus. We all know that Padmasambhava was known as the Lotus born. He is always depicted sitting on a lotus. Infact when they burnt him he was found sitting on a lotus in the middle of Sansar Pokhar. So this is most probably Padmasambhavas seat on Bichway (mispronounced as Halesha by Tibetans) hillock next to the cave where Padmasambhava and Mandarva acquired the rainbow body. There is some writing on the rock face and the sculpture of a man on the opposite side of the cave and polished rock. Near the mouth of the cave there is an engraving of an elephant facing a stupa. The elephant has the mandatory bells with a mahout on top.

(9)    Jallappa sthan: According to the Padmasambhava story, after Padmasambhava and Mandarva attained the rainbow body, the two decided to see Padmasambhavas country in Uren. They went to Uren disguised as beggars but were recognized. They were burnt on a pyre when a miracle happened. Water came and douzed the flames and they were found sitting on a lotus. Everyone was astounded. Jallappa could mean water dousing flames. If we break up Jallappa into ‘Jal’ and ‘Lappa’. Jal means water and ‘lappa’seems to be an ancient rendition of the rural word ‘Lapka’ which means ‘flames’. Finally the last two letters of Jallappa, ie ‘pa’ could be an ancient slang for the rural word ‘kha’ which means to devour. So put together Jallappa means water devouring or dousing flames. It is said that Maa Jallappa was burnt there inferring to Dakini Mandarva being burnt there. Some people say she came out of the flames alive. But Tibetans say there was an attempt to burn the two of them and the two came out alive. This is what Jallappa means. I have two concrete proofs of this episode. That is the main temple in the middle of the temple complex. There is a life size statue of a male figure in the sanctum sanctorum. The figure has plaited hair, a masculine body, with a child below him. The male statue is holding a trident which is aimed at the child’s bottom. It is clear that the man with the plaited hair is Padmasambhava who was then known as the ‘Shikhaband Raja’. The child and the trident/trishul is the child he killed with his trishul which is why the people of Uren/Urgain were angry with him. Brahmin priests claim she is Durga Devi. Basically the statue is about 1300 years old and prayer to Goddess Durga started only 150 years ago with the advent of the railways when white collared Bengalis came over and brought their Durga Devi along. Prayer to Durga spread after that.

(10)Balguddar/Mighty child like a vulture: Balguddar village is to the west of the northern tip of Lakhisarai town. The village is settled on a huge stupa which in ancient times was called Balguddar. It was here that Padmasambhava as a young child went to stop a Hindu king from destroying Buddhist holy artifacts and sanghrammas. The king thought he was a simple child so tried to drown him in the river. The child used his power to fly out of the danger like a mighty vulture. Padmasambhava manifestated as ‘Khiu Khalding Tsal’ or the mighty youth who flew out of the water like a vulture.” This is exactly what Bal-garoor’ means; the mighty boy who flew like a vulture. Alexander Cunningham did extenseive survey of this area. During his explorations he found a pillar with a human headed bird engraved on it, No one knows where Cunningham deposited that pillar. Cunninghams report that he had seen the human headed birds engraving is proof that this fight took place here. Another proof is the Indradamaneshwar Shiva Linga itself. When locals dug below the Shiva Linga they found a big lotus flower. Shiva Lingas aren’t found on Lotus flower. This is a hint that it could be a Buddhist pillar. The pillar was too thick to break so the king filled the place with mud leaving the top of the pillar where he adjusted an ‘Argha’ or the circular drain that surrounds the base of a Shiva Linga. When one fills a place with mud and levels it, it is called Chowkana. Hence the village in which the temple is situated is called ‘Chowki’. I attribute the name ‘Chowki’ to the mud filling that hid the stone Lotus flower and pillar base from the human eye. So Indradamaneshwar Shiva Linga is certainly a proof of some fight that took place here.

(11)Singh Rhi Rhi valley: In the Padmasambhava story, the latter was tutored by a Guru called Singh Rishi. In Tibetan texts it is stated that Singhrishi ashram was in a valley. ‘Singh Rhi Rhi’ is certainly in a valley. It is today a Dham and a pilgrimage spot. The valley has a stream flowing out of the hillside that flows into a beautiful lake that has been dammed up. There is a temple below the cliff with several sculptures. One is of Amitabh and another is of six women and a male. The male is Padmasambhava and the six females are Padmasambhavas five principal consorts and his wife Prabhavati. Inside the temple are more sculptures with a brand new five feet high black stone statue of the Godess Durga. This is a replacement of the old statue of Padmasambhava killing a child with a Trishul, which was stolen. The Brahmin priest didn’t know the Padmasambhava story and thought the statue of a young man killing a child with his Trishul was Durga. So he got the stolen statue replaced with a stone Durga one. Other than Singh Rhi Rhi’, there are many more villages and places we can connect to the Padmasambhava story.

(12) Shitla Sthan or Shital Van: Tibetan texts stated that after killing a ministers son in Urgain, the king banished Padmasambhava to the dreaded charnel ground of ‘Shital Van’. Sital Van is a forest like what the name suggests. It is also today a Charnel ground for adivasis or jungle folk. Padmasambhava meditated here and attained supernatural powers after which he visited seven other charnel grounds to do siddhi or meditate. They are Suraj Raushni which I have identified with Surajgarha village, Bhairava which I have identified with Barhaiya village, Nandnama village, and Sahur itself.

After analyzing these twelve points we can safely state that the elusive countries of Urgain and Zahor are the villages of Uren and Sahur. And the much sought after Buddhist lake Dhanakosha is simply Dhanari Lake next to Dhanari village which is situated between Uren and Sahur villages. And finally and most important is Laali Pahari in Lakhisarai town which is certainly the Tibetan Glorious ‘Copper Colored Mountain’ the Tibetans are looking for. These places will prove important revenue earning tourist spots equal to the importance of Bodh Gaya because Uren in mentioned in the seven line prayer to Guru Rinpoche which is recited by devout Tibetans every day. Elderly Tibetans pray that they may be reborn on “THE COPPER COLORED MOUNTAIN,” which is simply the palace ruins excavated on Laali Pahari. Tibetans believe that Guru Rinpoche and Mandarva still reside in that palace. So please study this report and give a report to “The Ministry of Tourism. Government of India”, and Bihar tourism department.     

                        Thanking you, yours faithfully

                       Ashok Kumar Singh

                       Mobile- 7004814370                 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUDFwForvFY

The Buddhas first sermon: The world knows that the Buddha first preached in Sarnath. This is a very big historical blunder. Millions of Buddhists have died thinking this is the place the Buddha first preached. Huen Tsang went to a country called "Patalganga Chatti" which he mispronounced as "Po-li-ni-sie." Samuel Beal translated it as "Varanasi" thus triggering a search for a stupa in that are. Alexander Cunningham found one in Sarnath and proudly announced that it was the stupa marking the spot where the Buddha first preached. Below is the report I gave to the Archaeological Survey Of India" pertaining to the real stupa which Huen Tsang had visited. The youtube video showing all the spots in this report is below the report.

(9) Po-li-ni-see/Patalganga Chatti: (Si-Yu-Ki page 44 to 61). From Bettiah or the town where Rahul, Buddha’s son, was last seen Huen Tsang goes 500 li (140 km) south west as the crow flies to a small hamlet called Patalganga Chatti. This is where the Buddha according to Huen Tsang first turned the wheel or preached. Here again the reader will be amazed by the accuracy in distance and bearings from Bettiah to Patalganga Chatti. British Indologists like Samuel Beal mistranslated Po-li-ni-see as Varanasi because the description Huen Tsang gives is of a staunchly Hindu atmosphere which is reminiscent of Varanasi. So they (Alexander Cunningham and gang of British Indologists) searched for ruins near Varanasi and found some in Sarnath which they identified as the first place where the Buddha preached to five men. Unfortunately they had identified the wrong spot so they found nothing according to Huen Tsangs description. The stupa in Sarnath is definitely not an Ashokan stone stupa. This is important because the reader will realize Huen Tsang was dead accurate, sometimes his accuracy was to a foot. Actually the first place the Buddha preached to the five men is north east of Patalganga Chatti. The reader must remember that Huen Tsangs accuracy cannot be discounted. You have to search for places according to his bearings and if one reaches the correct place the names start popping up themselves. For example Patalganga Chatti. It sounds verbally akin to Huen Tsangs mispronounced ‘Po–li-ni-see’. It’s not hard to find and needs a little bit of deciphering. First and foremost, according to Huen Tsang Po-li-ni-see is on the western banks of the Ganges. If one scrutinizes Patalganga Chatti in satellite maps, it is situated perfectly on the western banks of the ancient Ganges. Moreover the local people state that in ancient times Patalganga Chatti was bang on the banks of the river. This is important for Buddhists as the Buddha regularly took a stroll along the river during his stay here. The excavated site in Sarnath is 7 km north of the rivers ancient bed so doesn’t fit into the Buddhist story. Neither is the main stupa in Sarnath an Ashokan stupa as claimed by British Indologists. It is a big blunder by them. I now realize no historian has seen an Ashokan stupa but myself. I now regard myself the only athourity in the world on Ashokan stupas. No historian has seen any of the first 10 Buddha relic stupas except for myself thanks to Huen Tsang. I will now describe the area north east of Patalganga Chatti where the Buddha first turned the wheel. First and foremost, Huen Tsang wrote about a deer forest. There is no forest today but deer are still seen here occasionally. They are a pest as they graze on agricultural produce.

(a)Patalganga Chatti: Bronze statue of Maheshwar: On page 45 second para Huen Tsang states that in the country of Patalganga Chatti is a 100 ft tall bronze statue of Maheshwar Deva. This statue should be searched for and found by studying satellite pictures of the area around Patalganga Chatti.

(B) Chandpur village and 100 feet high Ashokan stupa: On page 45 third para Huen Tsang writes, “To the north east of the capitol on the western side of the river Varana, is a stupa built by Ashoka Raja. It is about a hundred feet high.” Huen Tsang does not write anything else about this stupa except for the fact it had a shiny stone pillar before it. This stupa will be in Chandpur village west of the river that flows past Sonari village. And there is no river by the name of Varana. The river that Huen Tsang saw has a different name.

(c) Jiyandanpur Khurd village: In page 45 fourth chapter Huen Tsang writes, “To the north east of the river Varana about ten li or so, we come to the sanghdharma of ‘Lu-ye.’ (stag desert). Its precincts are divided into eight portions connected by a surrounding wall.” The stag desert Huen Tsang mentions is the entire area north east of the river that flows between Chandni, Sonari, and Belsari villages. The sanghdharma is today under a village called ‘Jiyandanpur Khurd’ which is exactly 10 li or 2.4 km north east of the river. I have deciphered the name ‘Jiyandanpur’ as “Jeevan daan” which matches the story Huen Tsang narrates of this village. ‘Jiyan’ is a rural mispronounciation of the word ‘Jeevan’.Huen Tsang tells the story of how the Buddha in his previous life as a deer king gives ‘Jeevan Daan’ to the unborn child of a female deer. There was a king who daily hunted deer to eat. This disturbed the peace and tranquility of the area. So the deer kings decided to give him a deer daily to eat. One day it was the turn of a female deer to die. But she was pregnant with an unborn baby deer. She went to the deer king who was the Buddha in his previous life and complained it was unethical to kill something that wasn’t born. Unlike the deer king Devadutta who got angry, the Buddha who was a Bodhisattva then, had compassion and understood the unborn child’s right to live. The deer king gives himself up to die instead of the female deer so that the unborn child may live. The human king is surprised and ashamed and stops eating meat. This is why this village is important and is called ‘Jiyandanpur’. The last three letters ‘pur’ is most probably the ancient ‘par’ which means on top of. So the stupa on top of the spot this story took place is called Jiyandanpur Khurd. I think Khurd means a stupa. Jiyandanpur Khurd village is on top of a stupa. This is definitely Huen Tsangs deer king stupa.

(e) Gyanpur village: In page 46 second para Huen Tsang goes on to say, “to the south west of the vihara is a stone stupa built by Ashoka Raja. Although the foundation has given away there are still a hundred feet of the wall remaining.” In the last line of this para he says, “It was here that Tathagat having arrived at enlightenment, began to turn the wheel of the law.” Gyanpur village is exactly south west of Jiyandanpur Khurd village or the deer stupa village as Huen Tsang has stated. I chose this village as the sight where the Buddha first preached because the village matches Huen Tsangs bearings from Jiyandanpur village. It is on a high stupa and the name ‘Gyanpur’ matches the story Huen Tsang narrates of the five men who try to ignore the Buddha when he was searching for enlightenment. They finally succumb to his knowledge and listen intently as he imparts knowledge of life and the holy law to them. This is the exact meaning of Gyan which means knowledge. ‘Pur’ is the present day word for the ancient ‘Par’ which means on top. We know that stupas were on top of a holy place. I couldn’t see any stones on the stupa as the entire village has settled on it. The stupa was covered by shacks and present day brick structures. A search will have to be conducted. But the stupa is high compared to regular Ashokan stupas.

(f) Alapur village/stupa: In page 46 para 3 Huen Tsang writes, “By the side of this building and not far from it is a stupa. This is the spot where Ajnata Kaundinya, and the rest (other four), seeing Boddhisattva giving up his austerities, no longer kept his company, but coming to this place gave themselves up in meditation.” I chose the stupa under Alapur village because it is smaller in size than Gyanpur and is just 3500 meters slightly south east of Gyanpur. So it matches the description of the five men who tried to avoid the Buddha. The first three letters of ‘Ala’ of Alapur sounds like the short form of ‘Alag’ which means to stay aloof. And that is exactly what the five men did. They stayed aloof and avoided the Buddha thinking he was an idiot who had left his palace, become a beggar, practiced austerities, broke the austerities. They finally came here and were mesmerized by his teachings. Alapur village stupa is certainly the spot Huen Tsang described.

(g) ‘Muktapur Urf Charkha’ village/stupa: In page 46 last para Huen Tsang further writes, “By the side of this last place is a stupa. This is the spot where Maitriya Bodhisatva received assurance of his becoming a Buddha.” By the statement, “By the side of this last place is a stupa,” Huen Tsang means by the side of Alapur stupa which I have just described. This is ‘Muktapur Urf Charkha’ village. Huen Tsang  goes on to say how in Rajgir the Buddha had predicted that in future years when men would live for 80000 years, a Brahmin by the name of Maitriya would attain Buddhahood and preach the perfect law. He would turn the wheel. Maitriya Bodhisattva gets up and says that he would like that prediction to come true. In page 47 last para the Buddha predicts that Maitriya Bodhisattva will become a Buddha and he will turn the wheel of knowledge. Huen Tsang writes in the last para of page 47 second last line, “Then tathagat spoke thus. Be it so; you shall obtain this fruit and as I have just explained. Such shall be the power of your teaching.” I chose Muktapur Charkha to be the above said stupa as the village is on a stupa and close to Alapur village/stupa which is according to Huen Tsangs bearings. I also chose this village because of Huen Tsangs Chinese mispronounciation of Samuel Beals Maitriya Bodhisattva. He writes ‘Mie-ta-li-ye-pu-sa.’ It sounds verbally very similar to ‘Muktapur Urf Charkha.’ I suspect Mukta is the ancient Maitriya and ‘pur’ is ‘par’ which means on top as stupas are on top of a particular spot.  And finally Charkha sounds similar to Huen Tsangs ‘pu-sa.’ Charkha means to turn a wheel, and the wheel fits in perfectly to the story Huen Tsang narrates about teaching or preaching.

(g) Awathahi village/stupa: In page 48, second para, Huen Tsang writes about the prediction of Sakya Bodhistattva becoming a Buddha by the name of Sakya Muni. He writes, “To the west of this place there is a stupa. This is the spot where Sakya Bodhisattva received an assurance (of becoming a Buddha).  In the midst of the Bhardrakalpa when mens years amounted to 20000, Kasyappa Buddha appeared in the world and moved the wheel of the excellent law, opened out and changed the unclosed mind, and declared this prediction to Prabhapala Bodhisattva. This Bodhisattva in future ages, when the years of men shall have dwindled to 100 years, shall obtain the condition of a Buddha and shall be called Sakya Muni.” The reader will realize that the above paragraph deals with the prediction of Sakya Bodhisattva that in his next incarnation or Avatar he will be a Buddha and turn the law and be called Sakya Muni. So this paragraph solely deals with the prediction of the Buddha that in his next incarnation or Avatar he will be a Buddha. I chose the village of Awathahi which directly means avatar or incarnation. It was also according to Huen Tsangs bearings as it is slightly south west of Muktapur Urf Charkha village. I visited the village and realized it was situated bang on a huge stupa. The stupa is very big which shows the importance of this place in the ancient Buddhist world. I am sure it is the stupa Huen Tsang wrote about. The size itself speaks of importance.

(h) Panditpura and Bhikhu Chak Villages: These villages are to the south of Awathahi village. Huen Tsang says there was a huge sanghdharma with a lot of holy traces in them. Like where the four previous Buddhas sat and walked. Huen Tsang says that west of the sanghdharma wall is a pond. I will quote the last para of page 48. He writes, “To the west of the sanghdharma enclosure is a clear lake of water about 200 paces in circuit: here Tathagat occasionally bathed himself. To the west of this is a great tank about 180 paces round: here Tathagat used to wash his begging dish.” These lakes are in a village called ‘Chak Bhikhu’ which is south of Awathahi village.  The ponds are exactly as Huen Tsang wrote to the east and west of each other. In page 49 second para he continues. “To the north of this is a lake about 150 paces round. Here Tathagat used to wash his robes.” This pond is in a village called Panditpura which is north of Chak Bhikhu ponds and one and a half kilometers south of Awathahi village. In the third para of page 49 Huen Tsang describes a rock on which the Buddha washed his robes. He writes, “By the side of the pool where Tathagat washed his garments is a great square stone on which are yet to be seen the trademarks of his kashaya (kia-sha) robe. The bright lines of the tissue are of a minute are of a distinct character as if carved on the stone.” The Buddhist world is lucky that this stone was recently found next to the northern pond. It created quite a sensation when it was found. People told me about it so I found it in a temple next to the pond. Villagers have parked it upright and cemented the lower portion to the ground. The carvings of the designs of the robe can bee seen according to Huen Tsangs statement that they seem to be carved.

(i) Danetha village: In page 49 third para Huen Tsang tells the story of the Buddhas previous life as an elephant king. He writes, “By the side of the lake and not far off is a stupa. This is where Bodhisattva during his preparatory life, was born as a king of elephants, provided with six tusks (che-danta).” Huen Tsang goes on to tell the story of how a hunter wanted to hunt the elephant for his tusks. The hunter wore a holy robe to deceive the elephant. The latter sees the holy robe and in respect to it breaks his own tusks and hands it to the hunter. He does this in respect to the holy robe. I have chosen ‘Danetha’ village because of the name. ‘Dant’ is an ancient Sanskrit word for teeth. And Dan also means to give away as alms. So Danetha may be an ancient Brahmi expression to give away teeth. Moreover Huen Tsang gives the bearing of this stupa as by the side of the pond. Danetha is in a straight easterly direction of Panditpura pond. Huen Tsang says it is not far from the pond. This means neither is it near to the pond. So Danetha fits into this description as neither far or near to the pond.

(j) Chilbil Patti village: Huen Tsang tells the story of the Buddhas previous life when he took the form of a bird. He writes in page 49 last para, “By the side of this spot and not far from it is a stupa. It was here Bodhisattwa in his preparatory career, grieved to see that there was little politeness amongst men, took the form of a bird.” The bird seemed to accompany a monkey and a white elephant to whom he asked the question who saw the Nayagrodha tree. This paragraph is unclear of what Huen Tsang meant. But the stupa can be identified as Chilbil Patti as Chilbil is a common rural word given to a bird. Even today birds in rural Bihar are called ‘Chirai’ and lovingly called ‘Chilbil.’ And Chilbil Patti village is three km north of Danetha and two km east of Awathahi.

(k) Baliyariya village: On page 55 last para Huen Tsang tells the story of how a person wanted to become a rishi by meditating without disturbance. He writes, “To the east of the deer forest 2 or 3 li we come to a stupa by the side of which is a dry pool about 80 paces in circuit, one name of which is ‘saving life,’ another of which is, ardent master.” The reader will realize the entire area of the villages I have mentioned above is the Deer forest. A remarkable fact is that deer can be seen here even today. Land records also bear the name ‘Kharagpur.’ Khara is the name of a deer/animal, and in ancient times must have meant ‘deer.’ Alapur village which I have earlier mentioned can be regarded as the central point of the ancient deer forest. So ‘to the east of the deer forest 2 or 3 li’ or 2500 feet, is Baliyariya village which is next to a pond and on top of an Ashokan stupa. Exactly 2500 feet east of Alapur which is the center point of the deer forest is Baliyariya village. Huen Tsang goes on to describe the story of the “vigil of the Champion” which is exactly what Baliyariya means. Baliyari means the champion. A sage who lived in a hut next to the pond wanted to become a rishi who could walk the skies and was free from death, disease, and pain. So he needed an ardent champion who could keep watch and make sure no one disturbed him while he meditated and chanted the magic mantras. He searched for such a man and found one. The latter had been defrauded by his master who made him work for five years but failed to pay him and threw him out of job at the slightest mistake. The sage lavishly helps the man and gains his gratitude. The latter agrees to stand in vigil. The sage makes a ten feet enclosure, gives the man a sword, tells him to stand on guard till the morning without making a noise. The sage himself takes a sharp sword and sits and meditates chanting the magic mantras. But early morning the guard cries. Fire and smoke fall from the sky so the sage grabs the man and shoves him into the lake to save him. Which is why one of the lakes name is “saving life.” He asks the man why he cried because his meditation was disturbed. The man says through the night he saw his entire life. He saw good and bad things. Someone was kind to him (to the solitary champion) but he refused to speak as promised to the sage. Someone then came and murdered him, and still the solitary champion whowas standing on guard refused to speak. Finally his wife told him if he refused to speak she would kill his only son. It was then he cried out loud. That is why the lake got its second name “the champions lake.” Or Baliyariya. Today the villagers of Baliyariya don’t know this story. They think Baliyariya is simply the name of the village. The lake is nameless. The village which is on a big stupa carries the name today. ‘The Champions lake’ is certainly Baliyariya village which is on a huge stupa. I discovered a stone pillar with intricate carvings next to the lake.

(l) Khardiha village: Khardiha village is on a huge stupa west of Baliyariya and Alapur villages. Alapur village/stupa is bang in the middle of these two villages, namely Baliyariya and Khardiha. This is exactly according to Huen Tsangs description. The reader will be amazed at the accuracy. The stupa is called Khardiha because of a Buddhist tale connected to it. The first four letters ‘Khar’ in Hindi means a hare and the last four letters ‘diha’ is a mispronounciation of ‘Deha’ which means the body. Put together ‘Khardiha’means the body of a hare. In the Buddhas previous life when he was a Boddhisattva preparing to be a Buddha, he was a hare. There were two more animals. They were a fox and a monkey and the Boddhisattva was a hare. One day Sakra king of Devas came to the world to see if the Boddhisattvas were preparing well. So he approached the three animals disguised as an old man. When he met the animals he pretended to be hungry and asked them for food. They agreed so the fox rushed off, skirted a river and caught a carp fish for the old man. The monkey got some berries, but the hare came empty handed. King Sakra then commented that the hare was not in one mind with the monkey and fox because they brought him food but the hare came empty handed. The hare replied that this was not so. He requested the monkey and fox to gather some wood and make a fire. They did so and the hare told Sakra that though he was small and feeble, he still had the ability to provide food. He would sacrifice himself on the fire so that the old man could eat him. The hare hopped into the fire, roasted himself and died. Sakra then came back to his original state as king of the Devas and collected the hares bones. He was moved by the hares sacrifice and said that he would put the hare on the moon so that future generations could see him and remember his sacrifice. That is why this stupa was made. Khardiha is certainly the hare stupa.

Heres the link to the youtube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SuvivqaxD8&t=286s

Birthplace of lord Buddha and his country: Lord Buddha definitely wasn't born in Lumbini. He was born in UP in a village called Paida which means birth. An English historian named Francois Antoinne Fuhrer was thrown out by the British colonial bosses of the "Archaeological survey of India," in disgrace. He partnered with a Rana from Nepal and claimed Lumbini was the Buddhas birthplace. Fuhrer converted to Buddhism and wanted to become a Sri Lankan monk. But the Sri Lankans asked him to first swear that the allegations of fraudism put against him by the British Government of India were all lies. Fuhrer failed to do that so went back to Christianity and became a Catholic priest. But the huge prank he played on the Buddhist world has its repercussions even today. He chose a village called Rummindei, and changed its name to Lumbini. Buddhas father was the king of a country called "Kote." The king had the title 'Koteshwarnath" which simply means king of Kote. Huen Tsang mispronounced it as "Kie-pi-lo-fa-se-tu," which Samuel Beal translated as "Kapilavastu" thus triggering a verbal war between India and Nepal. On the basis of this Fuhrer renamed Rummindei as Lumbini and created Chaos. Below is the report I submitted to the Archaeological Survey Of India pertaining to the Buddhas kingdom and his birth place. The link to the youtube video showing all the places in this report is given at the end of this report.

(2) Koteshwar Nath/Kie-pi-lo-fa-su-tu: (Si-Yu-Ki, pages 13 to 25) From Maharajgunj near Mahsi which marks the spot where the sangharamma of Prajapati Gautami, Gautam Buddhas aunt, stood, Huen Tsang travels 500 li’s or 140 km south east as the crow flies to Koteshwar Nath. I will quote the second last para third line of page thirteen of Si-Yu-Ki. Huen Tsang writes, “From this point five hundred Li or so, we come to the country of ‘Kie-pi-lo-fa-su-tu’.” The reader and researcher will be amazed at the accuracy of Huen Tsangs bearings which is already experienced in the above section of the area where the Buddhas maternal aunts sangharama and Angulimalyas stupa are located. Now again we see his accuracy by going down south west exactly 140 km and reaching the next destination which is the Buddhas childhood home. Once again Samuel Beal has taken the Chinese mistranslation of Kie-pi-lo-fa-su-tu as Kapilavastu which has created a controversy between India and Nepal onto the whereabouts of the Buddhas birthplace. The name of the place where Huen Tsangs 140 km south east from Mahsi village falls closely resembles Huen Tsangs ‘Kie-pi-lo-fa-su-tu’ where according to him was the Buddhas childhood home. The name is ‘Koteshwar Nath’ which is exactly where I have identified the palace area of king Sudhodhana the Buddhas father. The palace area is ‘Kote Khas’ just behind Koteshwar Nath temple. The garden where the Buddha was born is called Rudhauli and is a small town north east of Koteshwar Nath temple. This is exactly according to what Huen Tsang writes. Huen Tsang once more mispronounced Rudhauli as ‘La-fa-ni’ which Samuel Beal took at face value once again and mispronounced as Lumbini. There was no place in India by this name. An Englishman by the name of Fuhrer found a vague pillar in a place called Rummindei and guessed that was the birthplace. The British rechristened the place Lumbini by erasing the name Rummindei thus creating another controversy between India and Nepal. In fact Alois Anton Fuhrer himself was a controversy and was thrown out in disgrace from the archaeological survey of India.The places connected with the Buddha’s childhood mentioned by Huen Tsang are all here with the names waiting to be deciphered. Huen Tsang said the people here in sangharamas studied the ‘Little Vehicle’ of the Sammatiya school. Exploring this area I realized the stupas are low stupas as the area isn’t affected by floods. They don’t have height like the ones in Bihar.

(a)Kote Khas: In page 14 last para Huen Tsang writes “There are a couple of Deva temples in which various sectaries worship. Within the royal precincts are some ruined foundation walls: these are the remains of the palace of Sudhodhana Raja: above is built a vihara in which is a statue of the king.” This is the area called Kote Khas. This is just behind the Koteshwar Nath temple. Ancient bricks can be found strewn around in the sugar cane fields. Unfortunately for the explorer, the area is under sugar cane cultivation which reduces visibility of distances. So unlike paddy fields you can’t see what is in the sugar cane field ground. The name Kote Khas means this is the main area of Kote. Khas means the main area. So this is the palace area as the bearings of the rest of the places Huen Tsang describes fall in place according to Kote Khas.

(b)Ranipur: In page 14 last para last line Huen Tsang writes, “Not far from this is a ruined foundation which represents the sleeping place of Mahamaya the queen.” This is Ranipur which is just a kilometer away from Kote Khas. This village is on a low stupa and the name suits Huen Tsangs description.

©Katiya Nawadiha: In page 15 second para first line Huen Tsang writes, “By the side of this is a vihara; this is where Bodhisattva decended spiritually into the womb of his mother.” By this statement Huen Tsang means the Buddhas mother became pregnant. This is the village of ‘Katiya Nawdiha’ which is on a low stupa as mentioned earlier slightly northwest of Kote Khas which is the palace area. Katiya sounds like the Hindi word Katna or to cut. Nawdiha can be broken up as ‘Naw’ which means new, and ‘Diha’ which means human body. Together Nawdiha means new human body which clearly hints at a woman getting pregnant in a spiritual sense. This stupa in ancient times when most of India was Buddhist must have been very important.

(d)Turkaulia Urf Karmahiya: In page 15 third para Huen Tsang writes, “Five and a half kilometers to the north east of the palace of the spiritual conception or the village of Katiya Nawdiha is a stupa; this is the place where the Rishi Asita prognosticated the fortune of the royal prince.” The last three lines of this paragraph are important. Huen Tsang continues, “If he remains in secular life he will be a Chakravartin monarch; if he leaves his home he will become a Buddha.” Turkaulia Urf Karmahiya, the name itself hints at discussions over the Buddhas horoscope by the rishi Asita and others. ‘Turk’ in rural north Indian language means discussion. Karam means your deeds, so Turkauliya Urf Karmahiya means discussions over ones Karam or deeds. Here it means future deeds. So this is definitely the stupa where the Buddhas horoscope was discussed.

(e)Shau Deeh: In page 16 last para Huen Tsang writes, “At the south gate of the city is a stupa. This is where the royal prince when contending with the Sakya princes, cast the elephant away.” Huen Tsang goes on to describe how the caparisoned elephant was coming out of the gate when Devdutta attacked it, pulled its head down and kicked it. When the elephant fell Devdutta kicked the stomach threreby rendering it senseless. The animal lay blocking the gate. Nanda comes and pushes it aside. When Gautama comes, he picks the carcass up and throws it across the moat where it created a deep ditch. That ditch was called, “the fallen elephant ditch.” Shau Deeh means just that. Shau means carcass so it refers to the carcass of the elephant. Deeh means place or the place of the carcass. This is no doubt the elephant’s carcass. Shau Deeh is important as it gives us the position of the palace walls and palace gate. So Shau Deeh was outside the southern gate of the palace.

(f)Ranipur Babu: In page 17 last para second line Huen Tsang writes, “By the side again of this is a vihara. This is the sleeping apartment of the queen and the prince; in it is a likeness of Yashodhara and Rahula.” Slightly south east of Ranipur and west of Shau Deeh or the elephant ditch is Ranipur Babu. Rani is the queen Yashodhara and Babu is the child Rahul. In Bihar and eastern Up a child is called a Babu. Though I saw no mother and child statue as Huen Tsang described, the village is on a low stupa. I failed to find the statues Huen Tsang mentioned because a dog chased me when I was snooping around.This put me off.

(g) Shri Baudiharnath Dham: In page 18 third last para Huen Tsang writes, “To the south of the city going fifty li or so; we come to an old town where there is a stupa. This is the place where Krakuchchhanda Buddha was born, during the bhadra kalpa when men lived to sixty thousand years.” Now fifty li’s equals to 14 kilometers. Exactly 14 km south as the crow flies, of Kote Khas, which I have earmarked as the palace area, is Shri Baudiharnath Dham. This is on a stupa and is now a revered Hindu temple. The bearings Huen Tsang gives in connection with Kote Khas palace area and the exact distance stated by him, including the similarity in names where the Buddha or Baudi is used in both, we can safely state this is the ancient stupa of Krakuchchhanda Buddha Huen Tsang has mentioned.

(h)Pipra Tappa Kot or Koteshwar Nath temple: In page 18 second last para Huen Tsang writes, “To the south of the city not far, there is a stupa; this is the place where having arrived at complete enlightenment, he met his father.” This is the Koteshwar Nath temple in Pipra Tappa Kot. This is south of Kote Khas which is the palace area and the city. Huen Tsang goes on to describe an exaggerated story of how king Sudhodhana went to receive his son the Buddha after he had gained enlightenment. In page 21 last para Huen Tsang repeats this story in detail. King Sudhodhana wants to meet the Buddha after his enlightenment. The Buddha agrees and comes with his followers. The king with his courtiers leaves the city and goes forty lis or 11 km south where he waits for his son in present day Buddhiya village. Buddhiya will be a short form of ‘Buddha aah’ or ‘come Buddha.’ But the Buddha come’s flying in the air so the king doubles back with his courtiers and meets his son in a Nayagrodha grove. Huen Tsang says this spot was marked. The marked spot is the Koteshwar Nath temple in Pipra tappa Kot. There is a Shiva Linga in the temple which looks like a crude pillar. It has been converted into a Shiva Linga. The area is called Pipra Tappa Kot which clearly commemorates the event of father meeting the son. Pipar means a nayagrodha tree. Tappa is an ancient form of the rural north Indian word Tarpar. Tar means under and in this case under a Pipar tree. ‘Par’ means on top which denotes a stupa. Kot is short form of Koteshwar Nath which in turn means ruler of Koteshwar. Thus we realize that for the people of Koteshwar the Buddha was always a Nath which means master of the house or country. Pipra Tappa Kot means the master of Koteshwar under Nayagrodha or Pipal trees. This is certainly the spot that marks the meeting place of father and son after the Buddhas enlightenment. The high plinth of the temple hints that it was made on top of a stupa.

(i)Siddhaur: In the last para of page 18 Huen Tsang writes, “To the south east of the city is a stupa where are that Tathagats relics of his bequeathed body; before is erected a stone pillar about 30 feet high, on top of which is a carved lion. By its sides is a record relating to the circumstances to his nirvana. It was erected by Ashoka Raja.” This is clearly Siddhaur village which is on top of the relic Asokan stupa. This stupa or village is exactly south east of Kote Khas or the palace area just as Huen Tsang described. The stupa is low but huge with an entire village settled on it. The village kept the stupas name alive. In the name Siddhaur we realize the affection the people of Koteshwar had for the Buddha. For them he was never a bhikshu. For them he was always Siddhaur the ruler and not Siddharth the bhikshu. In ancient India Chatriyas added ‘aur’ to the names of their rulers. That is why this villages name is Siddhaur and not Siddharth. This stupa negates the claim of the Piprahwa stupa as the Buddha relic stupa of the sakyas of Kapilavastu. Sakya country is Koteshwar Nath and not Kapilavastu. The Piprahwa stupa is certainly not an Ashokan stupa so basically the discovery of this stupa reignites the debate on the authenticity of the Piprahwa stupa as a Buddha relic stupa of emperor Ashoka.

(j)Mahakaleshwar Shiv temple Sultanpur: On page 19 second para Huen Tsang writes, “To the north east of the town of Krakuchchanda Buddha, going about 30 li or so, we come to an old capitol (or great city) in which there is a stupa. This is to commemorate the spot where in the bhadra kalpa, when men lived to the age of 40000 years, Kanakmuni Buddha was born.” The Chinese thirty li is equal to the Indian 8 km. Exactly eight kilometers north east of Shri Baudiharnath Dham which is Huen Tsangs Krakuchchanda Buddha monastery is Mahakaleshwar Shiv Mandir Sultanpur. This is a small nondescript Shiva temple on a stupa. The name Mahakaleshwar or the simple Kaleshwar is the original Indian name of Kanakmuni Buddha. Kanakmuni is a foreign Buddhist mispronounciation of Mahakaleshwar. People don’t know its importance as Buddhism is lost to the area.

(k)Maharajgunj village: In page 19 third para Huen Tsang writes, “To the north east of the city not far, is a stupa. Having arrived at complete enlightenment, he met his father.” This is clearly Maharjgunj as this village is on a stupa and is exactly four kilometers north east of Kote Khas or the palace area. This is where king Sudhodhana met his son the second time.

(l) Annapurna Temple: in page 19 fourth para Huen Tsang writes, “Further north there is a stupa containing the relics of his bequeathed body; in front of it is a stone pillar with a lion on the top, and about 20 ft high; on this is inscribed a record of the events connected with the nirvana. This was built by Ashoka Raja.” This is the Annapurna temple which is on a small stupa. This will be the original Buddha relic stupa of the Sakyas. Siddhaur is an Ashokan stupa not made by the sakyas. Ashoka had a habit of opening the original stupas and taking out most of the relics leaving only a chink. He then made new stupas superior to the original one. He has done the same here. The Siddhaur stupa is much more superior that the one near the Annapurna temple. The pillar is missing as expected because we all know that King Shashank attacked and ransacked all the original Buddhist sites and pillars.

(m)Manaurhi: In page 19 last para Huen Tsang writes, “To the north east of the city about 40 li is a stupa. This is the spot where the prince sat in the shade of a tree to watch the ploughing festival. Here he engaged in profound meditation and reached the stage of “absence of desire.” The reader will realize the last statement ‘absence of desire’ suits the village name Manaurhi. This village is exactly 11 km which is equal to Huen Tsangs 40 li north east of Kote Khas which is the palace area. It was here while watching the ploughing festival the Buddha meditated and became free of all worldly desires. The name Manaurhi means just that. ‘Manua’ means desire caused by the mind (man) and the last three letters ’rhi’ is a rural north Indian short form of the word ‘hari’ which means to lose. So put together the word Manaurhi means to lose ones desires created by the mind. The village is on a stupa.

(n)Bandrahi: In page 20 second para Huen Tsang writes, “To the north west of the capitol there are several hundreds and thousands of stupas, indicating the spot where the members of the Sakya tribe were slaughtered. Virudhaka raja after having subdued the Sakyas, and having captured the members of their tribe to the number 9990 myriads of people, then ordered them to be slaughtered. They piled their bodies like straw and their blood was collected in lakes. The Devas moved the hearts of men who collected their bones and bury them.” Bandrahi village is on stupas or mud mounds. I didn’t explore the area for more stupas as I didn’t have time. The name ‘Band’ means captured or locked behind bars. The last four letters ‘rahi’ means they were in a locker or behind bars. The modern Hindi word for a jail bird is Bandi. So Bandrahi village is certainly on stupas that comemorate that horrible defeat.

(o)Charu:  In page 20 third para Huen tsang writes, “To the south west of the place of massacre are four little stupas. This is the place where the four Sakyas withstood an army.” Huen Tsang then goes on to narrate the story of how Prasenajit Raja wanted to marry a Sakya woman. He insisted so the Sakyas slyly supplied him the daughter of a low born servant. Prasenajit made her his principal queen and she gave birth to Virudhaka who wanted to do his schooling in his mother’s home. He goes to his mother’s home and stops his chariot in front of a sakya study hall. The Sakyas disgrace him and shoo him away as he is base born. So when Virudhaka becomes king he makes an army and attacks the Sakyas to avenge his insult. But four Sakyas fight back and stop an entire army. Their own people misunderstand the fight and because of the wanton bloodshed banish them. So four stupas were made to mark the spot between the water bodies. The four stupas are in village Charu. Charu is a rural north Indian word which means ‘all four’. Charu is exactly south west of Bandrahi just as Huen Tsang describes. Huen Tsang also speaks about a water body between which the fight took place. This water body is ‘Charu talab’ which is a little lake next to Charu village.

(p)Shukul Purva: In page 22 second last para Huen Tsang writes, “By the side of the sanghrama and not far from it, is a stupa; this is the spot where Tathagat sat beneath a great tree with his face to the east and received from his aunt a golden tissued kasaya garment.” This is Shukul Purva village as Purva means looking east. Shukul means an auspicious time. This is an important custom for Hindus of today not withstanding the fact that Buddhism was wiped out of this area. Hindus face the east when wearing new clothes. This custom seems to have found precedence in the Buddha looking eastwards when his mother presented him a garment. The village Shukul Purva means exactly that and is situated on a low stupa.

(q)Ukhara: In page 22 last para Huen Tsang writes, “Within the eastern gate of the city on the left of the road is a stupa; this is where the prince Siddhartha practiced athletic sports and competitive arts.” This is the village of Ukhara which is on a stupa. Ukhara is an ancient rendering of the modern word Akhara which means a wrestling ground. Samuel Beal who translated Si-Yu-Ki into English is an Englishman which is why he used the word athletics which people will mistake for running, high jump, long jump, etc. This type of games didn’t exist in ancient India. It was mostly wrestling. And the wrestling ground was called Akhara. So Ukhara village stupa is definitely the ground where the Buddha partook in wrestling and other ancient Indian athletic competitions. Ukhara is important as according to Huen Tsang it demarcates the cities or the palace areas boundary wall and the eastern gate as this was within the eastern gate of the city. So Ukhara helps us to find the foundation of the wall and the eastern gate of the city. This will be helpful in excavations.

(r)Temple Jwala Mata Khar Khar Das Ashram:  in page 23 first para Huen Tsang writes, “Outside the gate is the temple of Isvara Deva. In the temple is a figure of the Deva made of stone, which has the appearance of rising in a bent position. This is the temple which the royal prince when an infant (in swaddling clothes) entered.” Huen Tsang further goes on to describe that king Sudhodhana came back from a walk from the  Lavani (La-fa-ni) garden after having gone to meet the prince. He brought the child back and decided to take the infant to the Deva temple for holy blessings. In the fourth last line in the same para Huen Tsang writes, “At this time the nurse carrying the child in her arms, entered the temple; then the stone image raised itself and saluted the infant. When the prince left the image again seated itself.” This is a unique story and maches the name of the Ashram. “Baba Khar Khar das Ashram.” Khar Khar means to make a scraping noise. So Baba Khar Khar must mean the Baba or diety who made a scraping noise he rose up as a stone image and saluted the Buddha. If a stone image moves it will certainly make a scraping noise. This is why Huen Tsang tells entire stories in his travelogue so that future Chinese who visited India, and whose pronounciation of Indian words was as bad as his or worse, could get aroundby telling the story of the place they wanted to visit. Unfortunately I failed to locate this temple when I explored the area as no one knew about it. It is now an obscure unknown little village temple which I missed. I realized later the name Jwala mata was prefixed to Khar Khar Das which is why locals failed to understand what I was looking for. Khara Khara Das was superimposed by the word Jwala Mata which I think is the name that the temple is known by. In my next trip I will locate and videograph this.

(s)Taraini: In the last para of page 23 Huen Tsang writes, “From this 30 Li south east is a small stupa. Here there is a fountain, the waters of which are as clear as a mirror. Here its was during the athletic contest, that the arrow of the prince, after penetrating the targets, fell and buried itself upto the feather in the ground, causing a clear spring of water to flow forth. Common tradition has called this the arrow fountain. Persons who are sick, by drinking the water of this spring are mostly restored to health.” Exactly 30 li south east or 8 kilometers south east of Ukhara village/stupa is Taraini village settled on a stupa. This is beside a stream just as Huen Tsang describes. The beauty of Ashokan stupas is the middle tip of the stupa pin points the exact spot where a certain incident happened, in this case, the exact spot the Buddhas arrow hit the ground and buried itself in to the feather. Taraini means archery or archeror. The mileage of this stupa cum village accurately tallies with Huen Tsangs bearings of 30 li south east of the southern gate and 90 li south west of Rudhauli where the Buddha was born. The mileage and bearings are exactly as Huen Tsang says. The accuracy is amazing.

(3) La-fa-ni/Rudhauli:  (Si-Yu-Ki page 24) Huen Tsang goes 80-90 Li’s north east from the arrow fountain which today is Taraini village to a place called ‘La-fa-ni’. Eighty or ninty li is equal to 25 and 22 km as the crow flies. On measuring the mileage, I realized the name most similar to La-fa-ni where the 90 Li ends is Rudhauli. It is a rural town slightly north of Basti in UP and south west of Lumbini. According to Huen Tsang this was the birth place of the Buddha and not the place in Nepal that is called Lumbini. Lumbini fails to have any spot connected to Lord Buddha according to Huen Tsangs description. Rudhauli has them all. Lumbini was discovered by Alois Anton Fuherer a man who was ousted from the Archaelogical survey of India in disgrace after he was forced to accept in writing that he had written all lies. I will describe all the spots Huen Tsang saw in Rudhauli when he visited this place.The reader will be amazed at the accuracy.

(a) (1) Samay Mata temple: To start off I will quote Huen Tsang from his book “Si-Yu-Ki,” page 24. He writes “Here is the bathing tank of the Sakyas, the water is as bright and pure as a mirror.” Huen Tsang is describing the ancient tank of Mudiyar lake on whose banks is the modern day Sarghat temple. Unfortunately the temple is to the east of the lake and doesn’t tally with Huen Tsang who says the Buddha was born 75 feet to the north of the lake. And I believe on his accuracy. The reason I chose this temple as a possible option is because in the third paragraph of the same page he writes, “to the north of this 23 or 24 paces (65 feet) there is an Ashoka flower tree which is now decayed; this is the place where the Boddhisattva was born on the eight day of the second half of the month of Vaisakh.” In Rudhauli very close to the Sarghat temple is a place called Bankat Baisakh which is on a stupa. I chose this place because the name Baisakh matches with the month Vaisakh when the Buddha was born. I would say the Buddha was born here. (2) Another option, and the strongest one, of his birthplace is a village called Paida which means birth. The village has an ancient pond just as Huen Tsang describes with bricks before the pond. The very name Paida is unique and hints at an important person’s birth. (3) To strenghthen the village of Paida’s claim as the birthplace of Lord Buddha is the nearby village of Khamba which means a pole. In page 25 second last para Huen Tsang writes, “By the side of these stupas and not far from them is a great stone pillar, on the top of which is the figure of a horse, which was built by Ashoka Raja. Afterwards by contrivance of a wicked dragon, it was broken off in the middle and fell to the ground.” From the quote the reader will realize the pillar did not have a cap which generally Ashokan pillars had. That is why this particular pillar got the name ‘Khamba’ or pole. In direct contrast to Huen Tsangs Vaishali, the Ashokan pillar he mentions there is called a Chatriya because when he visited it there was a lion on top of the pillar. So the Vaishali pillar was capped which is why that area is today called Chatriya. The Ashokan pillar Huen Tsang saw near Rudhauli was uncapped as the horse figure had fallen off. This is why this pillar will have been called ‘Khamba’ which means pole which is the name of the village near ‘Paida.’ So this village on a stupa next to the Paida village pond could be the birthplace of the Buddha. Excavations will throw up ancient facts.

(b) In the same page in the last para Huen Tsang writes, “To the east of this stupa are two fountains of pure water, by the side of which have been built two stupas. This is the place where two dragons appeared from the earth. When Bodhisattva was born the attendants and household relations hastened in every direction to find water for the use of the child.” Apparantly according to Huen Tsang when the Buddha was born people ran around in search of water so two streams were formed magically and two dragons appeared to bathe the Buddha. To the west of the Rudhauli to Basti road are two ponds which match this description. The first is Sekhoi Khurd pond and south of this is the Sekhui Kalan pond. I chose these ponds because of their names Sekhui which is similar to the Bihari word ‘Sekna,’ which in English means massage or wash. We must remember they used hot and cold water to wash the infant Buddha.

© In page 25 second para Huen Tsang writes, “To the south of this is a stupa. This is the spot where Sakra king of Devas received Bodhisattva in his arms.” To the south of Sekhui kalan is Tegoadwa and south of Tegoadwa is a village called Tegoadia. Huen Tsangs stupas were in these villages as we know entire north India settled down on these stupas. Unfortunately these stupas were dug up and the mud used for mud filling somewhere else. What is left is stubs in the ground where these stupas once stood. I chose Tegoadia and Tegoadwa because of the similarity with the rural Bihari word Goadi which means lap or arms. So the place where Sakra king of Devas took the child in his arms will be Tegoadwa and the place where the other devas took the child and praised it will be Tegoadia.

(d) In the first line of the fourth para Huen Tsang writes, “by the side of these stupas and not far from them is a great stone pillar on top of which is the figure of a horse, which was built by Ashoka Raja.” Huen Tsang goes on to say a wicked dragon broke the horse figure. This should be found in a place called Khambha. We all know that pillars or long poles standing upright and erect are called Khambha. Since the horse on top had broken off, the pillar remained which is why it must have got its name Khamba.If it was capped with an animal on top it would have been called Chatriya like the area in Huen Tsangs Vaishali (not the misidentified Vaishali) where the latter stated was a lion pillar. I did a hasty search in the area of Khamba but despite the name of the village, I failed to find the pillar. A proper search of the village will yield results.

(e)  Huen Tsang further goes on to say in line 5 of the fourth para, “By the side of it is a little river which flows to the south east. The people in the place call it the river of oil. This is the stream which the Devas caused to appear as a pure and glistening pool, for the queen when she had brought forth the child to wash and purify herself in.” This river can be seen in satellite pictures approximately 3000 meters to the east of ‘Tegoadwa’ and flows towards the south east. This is Huen Tsangs river of oil.

Here is the link to the youtube video showing these places:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SuvivqaxD8&t=286s

Sariputras disciples village and relic stupa: In his book Huen Tsang mentions Sariputras disciples stupa. This is on a hillock. He doesn't give the disciples name but just the bearing. Near to this stupa is the village of Sarbhadda which sounds very similar to Sariputra. sarbhadda could be Sariputras disciples village. Below is the report I gave to the Archaeological survey of India pertaining to this stupa.

(43)Sariputras disciples stupa/Patharkatti: (Si-Yu-Ki page 180 first para) Four or five Li’s or approximately 4700 ft south east from Kodihara village Huen Tsang visited the stupa of Sariputras favorite disciple. This is on a hillock in a place called Patharkatti. I will quote the second paragraph of page 180 of his book Si-Yu-Ki. He writes, “Four or five li’s south east of the town of Kalapinaka is a stupa. This is the spot where a disciple of Sariputra reached nirvana.” Unknowingly the Bihar Government has built a guest house for pilgrims just below the stupa. The video is available in my youtube channel “Buddha Exhumed.”

The link of youtube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3RHHjOX7dQ&t=8s