Rapti-Gandaki Valley Civilisation Of Kashi Raj

Gorakhpur is one of the famous cities of east Uttar Pradesh, situated 120 kilometres west of Nepal.

Lumbini is:

• the birth place of Lord Buddha.
• situated about 130 kilometres north-west of the city

Kushinagar is:

• where Buddha died
• situated about 30 kilometres east of the city.

Temple of Gorakhamath, the Badhana Piith of Gorakha Nath, preceptor of Hath Cult is also situated on the northern outskirts of the city.

Magalia is situated about 20 kilometres west of of this city.

• It is where Mahatma Kabir, a follower of Nath cult lived and died.

Kabir left Varanasi and came to Magahar to refute the dogmatic belief that only dying in Varanasi can lead to liberation.

present temples at the site are recent construc-

The city it situated on the bank of river Rapti which carries the characteristics of Rapti Gandakii civilisation which blends:

• Buddhism and Vaishnavism
• Buddhism and Shaivism

Gorakhpur, June 1984

Baba arrived at Gorakhpur (UP), East India on January 25 and visited Kushinagar on the 26th.

Here Lord Buddha attained permanent liberation about 2,500 years ago.

Baba walked around the place.

Kushinagar is historically important.

It was the capital of the Malla kings belonging to the Indo-Tibetan tribes.

They belonged to the sub Himalayan section of the Indo-impurunavarna is the Sanskrit name over the Himalayan ranges and plains,

Madhyadesha or Madesh, the Shivalik ranges, the valley and Tibet, and the entire Himalayan belt from Sikkim to Garhawal or Udayan.

The Nevars, at present living in the Kathmandu valley, are the descendants of the ancient Mallas.

The Shakyas were also the descendants of the Mallas.

Shuddhodan was their chief about 560 BC.

He pious man who earned his living by righteous means.

As such, Shuddhodan became his attributional name.

The southern extremity of his kingdom was the Rapti or Rapitii river.

It was called the Raptii River because it deposited rich alluvial soil onto the surrounding land.

Buddha was born into this tribe and Shuddhodan was his father.

Buddha hence was a local prince who was also known as Kumar.

Mrta meant ‘dead’. It became ‘mata’ in Magadhi Prakrta 2,500 years ago.

In Demi-Magadhi it became Matta.

Old Bhojpuri:

• is the daughter of Ardha Magadhi.
• transmuted it into ‘Matta.

In modern Bhojpuri this word has become obsolete.

Kumar or prince became Kunvara in modern Bhojpuri.

Thus Buddha came to be known as ‘Matta Kunvara in Bhojpuri, which means the dead prince.

Kushinagar is known as as Matha Kunvara by local people.

Kushinagar was a part of Kashii Rajya which was also known as northern Kashika Rajya. To the east of Kashi Rajya was Videha and Vacdehi was a princess of this kingdom.

The mythological name for Videha was Mithila.

To the west of Kashi Rajya was Shravastii or east Kaushal. Its king during Buddha’s time was Prasenjita, a brother-in-law of Bimbisara, king of Magadha.

Prasenjit’s sister, Kaushal Kumari, was one of the wives of Bimbisara. The first democracy in the world was formed by the Licchavis of Vaishali which was a por tion of Shravastii. A comprehensive study of this locality which is so closely associated with Buddha, will not only reveal the cultural legacy of Kashii Rajya, but will also provide a better understanding of its impact on the world culture.

Around Gorakhpur, language developed in different ways For example, in Sanskrit the synonym for road is ‘Varima and in Ma’gadhi’ Pra’krta it became ‘Bat’t’a’, which became ‘Ba’ta’ in Bhojpuri. The Sanskrit verb for ’existing’ is ‘Vartate, in Ma’gadhi’ Pra’krta it became ‘Bat’t’aye’ and in modern Bhojpuri ‘Ba’t".

The synonym for brick in Sanskrit is ‘Istaka’, which was transformed into ‘It’t’an’ in Ma’gadhi’ Pra’krta, and modern Bhojpuri it is pronounced ‘Ita.

The bricks used around Gorakhpur 2800 years ago, were long and narrow, and bricks in this shape can still be found at Kushinagar. The joining of bricks was done with the help of molasses and lime.

A 24-year old English man, Mr. Princep, an employee of the East India Company, was the first to discover that Pa’li or Ma’gadhi’ Pra’krta was written in Br’ahmi script which is also known as Lumbini script in Gorakhpur. He read the script found in a Lumbini village and noted that it was Pa’li’ written in Bra’hmi’ script.

A blending of Hinayana and Maha’ya’na Buddhism took place at Kushiinagar. Three hundred years after Buddlia’s death, Buddhist ideology divided into two schools-the northern school was known as Mah’asa’mghika, commonly called Maha’ya’na Buddhism and the other school was known as Sthavirava’da in Sanskrit and Pa’li’. Later Sthavirava’da or Therava’da became known as the southern school of Buddhism. since it was pre- dominant in south and southeast Asia.

In Maha’samghika or Maha’ya’na scriptures if was referenced to as Hinaya’na.

The blending of Shaevism and Mahayana Buddhism resulted in Natha Dharma.

It is commonly believed that Gorakhnath was an incarnation of Shiva, and one of the preceptors of the Natha cult.

Mahayana Buddhism also blended with later Vaesnavism and dates back to just after Adi Shankaracarya.

Lokeshvara Visnu was included among its deities.

A statue of Lokeshvara Visnu can be seen in Virdhyavasini Park on the eastern outskirts of Gorakhpur city.

In east India (that is, east India means to the east of Allahabad). statues of Lokeshvara Vis’n’u can be found.

The place where Buddha spoke was called Suvarnavarsa.

In Bhojpuri, it became Sonbarsa.

Several villages with this name can be found in the Magadha, Ka’shii and Videha kingdoms; that is. in east Uttar Pradesha and northern Bihar. The place where Buddha stayed for one night was named Dharahara’, which means ’the sin of the place was taken away’.

The entire area around Kushiinagar was a hotbed of Buddhism.

On the northeastern side of the Buddhist area of influence was Sha’kya’ran’ya or Sa’ran’a, on the eastern side was Campakaranya or Camparan.

The Bhojpuri language is the grand daughter of Magadhil Prakarta, commonly known as Pali.

A knowledge of Pali will enable one to understand Bhojpuri which is a complete language, crowned with all the garlands of a developed language.

It has 4 dialects. Gorakhpuri dialect is one of them.

Khatir is used in this dialect.

In the dialect of Basti, Bhojpuri is influenced by Avadhil, and the dialect becomes Gondai dialect.

Bhojpuri is a full-fledged language spoken by 40 million people spread over a vast area. In the north it is bordered by the Himalayas, in the south by the Vindhya Ranges, in the west by the Prayag (which is the con- fluence of the Ganga and Jamuna Rivers) and in the east by the Narayani, Gandak and the Son rivers.

It is the fifth most widely spoken language in India after Bangla, Telugu, Mara’thi and Tamil. Teaching and research in Bhojpuri language and literature is a must for the cultural and economic regeneration of the people. A cultural museum should be established here.