Prime Minister in Lumbini, on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, said that his birthplace Vadnagar in Gujarat’s Mehsana district had been a great centre for Buddhist learning centuries ago.

Vadnagar’s ties with Buddhism

• In 2014, the excavation work has brought up Buddhist relics and around 20,000 artefacts, some dating back to the 2nd century.
• Among these are an elliptical structure and a circular stupa along with a square memorial stupa of 2×2 metres and 130 centimetres in height with a wall enclosure.
• It is like a platform which has a chamber in the centre that resembles a pradakshina path.
• Further, bowls said to be used by monks have been found during the excavations, which have a terracotta sealing with inscriptions of namassarvagyaya and a face-shaped pendant with tritatva symbol.
• Sacred relics of the Buddha were even found in Devni Mori in Aravalli district of Gujarat.

In travellers record

• Vadnagar is mentioned often in the Puranas and even in the travelogue of the great Chinese traveler, Hiuen Tsang (7th century), as a rich and flourishing town.
• He is believed to have visited the state in 641 AD.
• It adds how some of the names attributed to Vadnagar in history are Chamatkarpur, Anandpur, Snehpur and Vimalpur.
• It also had snippets about other Buddhist heritage sites in Gujarat, such as Junagadh, Kutch and Bharuch.

Back2Basics: Places associated with Buddha

These are three of the few holiest sites in Buddhism:

1. Bodh Gaya in Bihar, the site of the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha under a tree and top site in the list of world heritage sites in India.
2. Kesaria stupa is a Buddhist stupa in Kesariya, located at a distance of 110 kilometres (68 mi) from Patna, in the Champaran (east) district of Bihar, India. The first construction of the Stupa is dated to the 3rd century BCE. Kesariya Stupa has a circumference of almost 400 feet (120 m) and raises to a height of about 104 feet (32 m).
3. Nalanda was a renowned Buddhist University in the ancient kingdom of Magadha (modern-day Bihar) in India.Buddhist texts describe it as a Mahavihara, a revered Buddhist monastery.
4. Sarnath near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, the site of the first sermon (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta), where Buddha taught about the Middle Way, the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path.
5. Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, the site of the Buddha’s parinirvana and home of many famous meditation & prayer offering sites in India.

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