Siddharthnagar (formerly called Bhairahawa) is some 265 km from west
of Kathmandu. It is the administrative headquarters of Rupandehi District.
Siddharthnagar (Siddhartha is Lord Buddha’s given name) is the gateway to
Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Gautam Buddha. Lumbini is situated 22 km to the
west of Siddharthnagar. The Gautam Buddha Airport is about three kilometers
from the city center and there are regular daily flights to and from Kathmandu.
Fifteen kilometers northeast of Siddharthnagar
near Khairhani village is an archeological site called Devedaha that is
associated with the Koliyas, the tribe of Lord Buddha's mother. The Koliya
tribe is believed to be one of only eight tribes to receive the corporeal
relics after Lord Gautam Buddha’s demise at Kushinagar. Twenty
kilometers east of Siddharthnagar is a place called Ramagrama with the remains of a stupa and
monastery on the banks of the Jahari River. The stupa mound has a 20-meter
diameter and is about 10 meters high. This finding has led some to suggest that
Ramagrama could have been the center of the Koliya kingdom. Forty kilometers
west of Siddharthnagar and 18 kilometers beyond Lumbini is Kapilvastu which was
in ancient times, the kingdom of the Shakyas, the clan of Lord Buddha. Many
archaeological sites have been discovered nearby.
About
three and a half kilometers away from Siddharthnagar is the border town of Sunauli
from where Gorakhpur, a large Indian town, can be reached in two hours.
Gorakhpur has a large train junction from where one can travel to all corners
of India including Delhi (12-18 hrs) and Kolkata (10-12 hrs). The Siddhartha
Highway takes one to neighboring Nepali towns like Butwal and Tansen. In Butwal, the highway connects with
the East-West Mahendra Highway which connects the entire length of the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment