10th Sept 2021
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Astamahasthanas are eight great holy places associated with the life of Buddha. These include four pilgrimage sites related to the life of Gautama Buddha viz. Lumbini, Bodhgaya, Sarnath and Kushinagara and four other sites viz. Sravasti, Sankasya, Rajgir and Vaishali.
Lumbini
Lumbini is currently located in the Kapilavastu district of Nepal. It is the birthplace of Buddha. At the time of the birth of Buddha, Lumbini was a part of Shakya Janapada, which was a republic.
Bodhgaya
It is located in Bihar on the bank of river Neranjana {this river was known as Uruwela at that time}. It is known as a place of enlightenment of Buddha.
Sarnath
Sarnath {also known as Mrigadava, Migadaya, Rishipattana, Isipatana} is the deer park where Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon or Dhammachakraparivartan Sutra. At the time of Buddha, it was a part of Kashi Janapada.
Kushinagar
Kushinara or Kushinagara is located in the Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh. It is the site of Buddha’s death and mahaparinirvana. At the time of Buddha’s death, it was the capital of Malla janapada.
Sravasti
Sravasti was located in Uttar Pradesh around the area of Balrampur in modern Uttar Pradesh. It is closely associated with the life of Buddha because Buddha had spent 24 Chaturmasas {implies 24 years because one year as only one Chaturmasa between Ashadha to Kartika}. Thus, we can say that most of the monastic life of Buddha was spent in Shravasti. In Buddha’s times, Shravasti was the capital of Kosala Kingdom. Shravasti is also the birthplace of Jaina Tirthankar Sambhavanath, and thus is important for Jains also.
Sankasya
Its current location is the Farrukhabad district of Uttar Pradesh. It has some faiths of Buddhism that Buddha after his death descended from heaven here.
Rajgir
Rajgir was the early capital of Magadh Janapada, which was ruled by Bimbisara during Buddha’s time. After the great departure (Mahabhinishkramana), Buddha had first gone to Rajgir. He started begging alms over there and living a life of an ascetic. King Bimbisara had offered Buddha his throne which he turned down.
Vaishali
At the time of Buddha, Vaishali was in Vajji Janapada. After leaving Kapilavastu for renunciation, he came to Vaishali first and had his spiritual training from Allara and Udaka.
Other places of importance in Buddhism
Amaravati
Amaravati in Andhrapradesh’s Guntur district is also known as Dhanyakataka or Dharanikota and was the site of a great Buddhist Stupa built in pre-Mauryan times, ruled by Satavahana kings.
Nagarjunkonda
Nagarjunkonda is near Nagarjun Sagar in Andhra Pradesh. Once, it was home to more than 30 Buddhist Viharas (Buddhist universities and monasteries), attracting students from as far as China, Gandhara, Bengal, and Sri Lanka. Nagarjunkonda was one the largest and most important Buddhist centers in South India from the second century BC until the third century AD. It was named after Nagarjuna, a renowned Buddhist scholar, and philosopher, who had migrated here from Amaravati to propagate and spread the Buddha’s message of universal peach and brotherhood. Remains were discovered in 1926 by archaeologist AR Saraswati 1926.
Ajanta Caves
Ajanta Caves are 31 rock-cut caves from the 2nd to 8th century AD, located in Aurangabad. The first caves called Chaityas were created during Satavahana Dynasty. Cave No. 1 has the painting of Padmapani and Vajrapani. Painted narratives of the Jataka tales are depicted on the walls.
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is located in Cambodia. The temple complex was built by Suryavarman II and it was first devoted to Vishnu and later to Buddhists.
Bodh Gaya
Bodh Gaya was known as Bodhimanda, Uruvela, Sambodhi, Vajrasana, and Mahabodhi till the 18th century when Bodh Gaya’s name became popular. It has the Mahabodhi temple and Bodhi tree. It became Unesco’s world heritage site in 2002.
Bodhi Tree
It’s a Pipal Tree (Ficus Religiosa) and is known as Bo in Sri Lanka. Located in Bodh Gaya. Under this tree Gautama attained enlightenment. The current tree is a descendent of the original tree. There are other Bodhi trees as well viz. Anandabodhi tree in Sravasti and the Bodhi tree (Bo) or also known as Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi planted in 288 BC in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka and both of them have been propagated from the original tree. It is also known as the oldest living Human Planted tree in the world with known planting date.
Borobudur
Borobudur is located in Indonesia and comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. It’s a world Heritage site. There are 3 Buddhist temples which are known as Borobudur Temple Compounds.
Bamyan Caves
They are located in Afghanistan and have statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art of the 6th century, They were the largest examples of standing Buddha carvings in the world before they were blown by dynamite by the Taliban in 2001.
Ellora Caves
Ellora Caves represent Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu Rock-cut temples built by Rastrakuta Kings. The earliest Buddhist cave is Cave 6; most caves of Buddhism are Viharas. Cave number 10 is a Chaitya hall also known as Chandrashala or Vishwakarma Cave and also known as carpenter’s cave. At the heart of this cave is a 15 ft statue of Buddha seated in a preaching pose.
Pushpagiri University
Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri, and Udayagiri are part of the Puspagiri University which flourished till the 11th century in Odisha. They lie atop the Langudi hills in Jajpur and Cuttak of Orissa.
Vikramshila, Odantapuri and Somapapuri
Vikramshila. Odantapuri & Somapapuri were the Buddhist Viharas founded by Palas.
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