The itinerary of Sri Lanka pilgrimages organized by pilgrim
operators generally cover places such as Buddha Gaya, Shravasti,
Vaishali, Rajagaha, Kusinara (Kushinagar), Uruvela (Dhungeswari)
Saranath (Varanasi) but there are other places where the Buddha
visited which are not included in these guided Buddhist tours of
India. There are a number of villages and towns the Buddha passed
through mentioned in detail in the Sutta Pitaka and Vinaya Pitaka.
These places still remain to be identified and included in the
itineraries of Buddhist pilgrims. Such places include Mathura, (Muttra),
Mithila, Saket, Alavi, Kosambi and Champa.
Mathura was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Surasena. It was
once called Madhuvana (the forest of honey) where the demon chief
Madhu and his son Lavana resided. The demon is referred to as
�Yaksa� in the Buddhist scriptures. They were called �yaksas� not
because they were monstrous demons but worshippers of their
ancestors (animism). In the pre-Buddhistic Vedic India, the general
belief was that the departed kinsmen lived in large trees and green
groves as spirits and offerings made the survivors free from
internal and external vicissitudes (plebian needs). These places
where they made offerings and oblations were called cetiyas. The
term yaksa is a derivative of the word �yajna� meaning fit for
worship. The worshippers of such spirits were called yaksa. In Sri
Lanka even today the Veddhas continue with this ancestor worship in
the form of �Ne-yaksa�, relative spirit. This term �cetiya� was
later absorbed by the Buddhist traditions to name the stupas
enshrining the sacred relics of the Buddha and Arahants. The Sinhala
term being (chaitya). Even during the time of the Buddha these
spirit worshipping shrines existed.
Worshipping spirits
The Rajayatana tree, Ajapala tree in Buddha Gaya were such places,
where spirits
Bodhisatva, Gandhara (Graeco-Buddhist)
were worshipped. �Rajayatana� is formed of the two
words �Raja� (king) and yajna (fit for worship). Ajapala means the
tree of worship by the goatherds. Gautama Buddha in his last walk at
the age of 80, from Gijjakuta (Rajgir - Rajagaha) to Kusinara (Kasi
or Kushinagar) a distance of nearly 300 miles taking a period of
twelve months, en route stayed Rajagaha - (Gijjakuta - Vulture Peak
Rock - formed like at eagle) Ambalatthika - Pavarika Mango Grove, Na
Landa - Pataligama (modern Patna capital of Bihar State) - Kotigama
- Nadika - Vesali (Vaishali) - Ambapali�s Grove - Beluwagamaka
(where the last vassa �rains� retreat was spent) - Savatthi (Modern
Sahet - Mahet) - Capala-cetiya - in Vaisha li, where the Buddha
said, �Vesali�s agreeable, Ananda, and so are the Udena - cetiya -
the Gotamaka-cetiya, the Sattambika-cetiya - the Bahuputra-cetiya -
the Gotamaka-cetiya, the Sattambika-cetiya - the Bahuputra-cetiya,
the Sasanda-cetiya - Sattambaka-cetiya and Capala-cetiya -
Bhandagama - Hatthigama-Bhoganagara - Pava and finally to Kusinara
for the great demise (Mahaparinirvana).
Rama�s step-brother defeated Lavana and cutting the forest down,
built Mathura. The Chinese pilgrim monk Fa-Hien of the 5th century
A.D. visiting Mathura calls the site Mataou-lo, or the peacock city.
Still another Chinese pilgrim monk Hieun-Tsang of the 7th century
calls Mathura Mo-tu-lo. The ancient site of Mathura is now
identified by Indian archaeologists with modern Maholi, 8 km to the
South-West of modern Muttra, both situated in the banks of the
Yamuna in Haryana State. Mathura was a great centre of Buddhism for
several centuries, from the time of the Buddha (6th century B.C.)
Ven. Mahakaccana, one of the most accomplished disciples of the
Buddha who ordained Sona Kutikana at Pavatta Rock at Kurueraghara in
the kingdom of Avanti, too lived in Mathura for several years.
Yakshani, Patna Museum
Once, when the Buddha was in Sravasti Jetavanaramaya, gifted by the
rich Vaishya-Setti merchant Anathapindika having obtained the Jeta�s
grove, Buddha observed a certain woman in the throes of death and
was about to be reborn after death in an unpleasant plane (niraya)
came to Mathura and the woman served alms to the Buddha and
consequent to this meritorious action she was reborn in a pleasant
existence (heaven). The Chinese pilgrim monk in the 5th century A.D.
saw numerous Viharas with many monks in residence in Mathura and he
estimated them to be around 3,000. In the 7th century A.D. Chinese
pilgrim monk Hieun-Tsang had seen 2,000 monks and a greater majority
of the Hindu-Brahmanical faith. These large figures are nothing
surprising as the life circle of a man in the Vedic times was
four-tiered, namely, Bramacariya (studentship), Gruhasta
(employed-bringing up a family), Vanapravasth (entry to forests for
a meditative life) and finally Sannasi (wandering ascetic with no
fixed abode). Even Prince Siddarta went through these four stages,
and it was not a case of seeing a sick man, old man, dead body and a
recluse, he decided to renounce worldly life. This renunciation from
household life was a tradition followed by the Bodhisatva (Aspirant
to Buddhahood) performing the ten Perfections (Paramits) through
aeons and aeons of his samsara journey (life and death continuing
cycle).
Sacred relics
The present temple of Hindu Bhutesvara was originally a stupa
enshrining some sacred relics of Sariputta, one of the chief
disciples of the Buddha. It is one of the seven stupas mentioned by
Hieun Tsang. The Archaeological excavations and finds indicate that
Mathura was a meeting ground of various religious sects, such as
Buddhism, Jainism and Vaishavanism, like Isipatana (where sages
descend) at Saranath, Varanasi, to which place the former five
associates of Prince Siddartha (later Buddha) went when the prince
gave up the life of self-mortification. Numerous Buddhist
antiquities, inclusive of Buddha and Bodhisatva images, have come to
light with the archaeologists spades.
These images are colossal in size. The statues portray various
mudras of the Buddha names, (i) the Dhayanamudra (meditative
posture), (ii) Abhayamudra (fearless posture) (iii) Bhumisparsamudra
(earth-touching posture, earth as a witness) (iv)
Dharmacakrapravartana mudra (the Turning the Wheel of Righteousness)
and (v) Varadamudra (granting a boon posture - boon of not
materialism but spirituality).
පසෙලාස්වක
අව අටවක
අමාවක
පුර අටවක