Kapila Basturu Kushinara Odia Book By Sanjukta Mohanty

Kapilavastu was an ancient city in the north of the Indian subcontinent which was the capital of the clan ganasangha or republic of the Shakyas in the late Iron Age, around the 6th and 5th centuries BC. King Śuddhodana and Queen Maya are believed to have lived at Kapilavastu, as did their son Prince Siddartha Gautama until he left the palace at the age of 29.

Kapilavastu never became a major pilgrimage site like Buddha s birthplace at Lumbini not far away, which would have left unmistakeable remains. The settlement was probably never as large as depictions in early Buddhist art suggest, and after the decline of Buddhism in India its location faded into obscurity. There are now two sites near the border between Nepal and India which are claimed as Kapilavastu one in each country. Tilaurakot in Nepal is more widely accepted by historians than Piprahwa in Uttar Pradesh though finds at the latter indicate Buddhist activity dating to the 5th-4th century BCE around the time of the death of the Buddha.

Kushinagar is a town in the Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, India. Located 53 kilometres east of Gorakhpur on National Highway 27, Kushinagar is an important and popular Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha attained parinirvana. According to Buddhist tradition Kushavati was named prior to the king Kush. The naming of Kushwati is believed to be due to abundance of Kush grass found in this region.