Kapilavastu

Kapilavastu (Nepali; Pali: Kapilavatthu), formerly Taulihawa, is a municipality and administrative center of Kapilvastu District in the Lumbini Zone of southern Nepal. It is located roughly 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the south-west of Lumbini, a UNESCO World Heritage Site the birthplace of Gautama Buddha.

The municipality lies at an altitude of 107 metres (351 ft) above sea level on Nepal's southern border across from Khunwa, Uttar Pradesh state, India. There is a customs checkpoint for goods while movement of Indian and Nepalese nationals across the border is unrestricted.

In ancient times Kapilavastu was the capital city of the Shakya kingdom. King Śuddhodana and Queen Māyā 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 had a population of 27,170 at the time of the 2001 Nepal census.

History

Buddhist sources present Kapila as a well-known Vedic sage whose students built the city of Kapilavastu. Buddhist texts such as the Pāli Canon claim that Kapilavastu was the childhood home of Gautama Buddha, on account of it being the capital of the Shakyas, over whom his father ruled.

Gautama Buddha

Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhārtha Gautama, Shakyamuni, or simply the Buddha, was a sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. He was born in Nepal and is believed to have lived and taught mostly in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE.

The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one". "Buddha" is also used as a title for the first awakened being in a Yuga era. In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (Pali sammāsambuddha, Sanskrit samyaksaṃbuddha) of the present age. Gautama taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the śramaṇa movement common in his region. He later taught throughout regions of eastern India such as Magadha and Kosala.

Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism and accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral tradition and first committed to writing about 400 years later.