Where the Buddha Walked: A Companion to the Buddhist Places of India

This book is the first attempt to describe all the fifteen places with which the Buddha had direct association. Narration of each of these places accounts the mythology, legend, Jataka tales, cultural history, archaeology, field studies and general information. The books is illustrated with 55 photographs and 55 maps and figure, and also contain a description of the main link station like Varanasi, Allahabad and Gorakhpur. Nearby sites for excursion are also described in the context.

The sequence of the fifteen Buddhist places follows the lifecycle and the journeys performed by the Buddha as narrated in the JatakaandTripitaka. Accordingly, the Buddha was born (563 BCE) in the garden of Lumbini (1), passed his first 29 years(563-533 BCE) in the royal palaces of Kapilavastu (2) and, after abandoning his home and family he ultimately reached Bodh Gaya (3), where he achieved enlightenment at the age of 35 (528 BCE). He did arduous austerities in Gaya (4), then he proceeded to give his first preaching at Sarnath (5) in 529 BCE. After this important event, known as "the turning of the whell of Dharma", he returned to Bodh Gaya. After visiting Rajagriha and Nalanda, he very frequently visited Shravasti (6), where he stayed during 24 rainy seasons, performing miracles and giving sermons. During the 6th (522 BCE) and 9th years (519 BCE) after enlightenment he stayed at Kaushambi (7). While returning to Bodh Gaya, to fulfil his Rajagriha (8) together with a thousand monks of his new order, and gave sermons there. On the request of his two chief disciples Sariputta and Moggalana, the Buddha visited Nalanda (9) several times. Thereafter, the Lord proceeded to Vaishali(10), the capital city of the Lichchhavis, where he gave his last detailed sermons and re-interpreted several of his teaching. Before his final march he stopped at the bank of the Ganga river in Patna (11), in a place called today as Gautama Ghat. While making his final march he stayed a couple nights at Kesariya away at the age of eighty (ca. 483 BCE). In the same year he descended from heaven at Sankisa (14) and gave his final preaching there. Mathura (15) was also visited by the Budha occasionally, and laer developed as the major center of the Buddhist art and sculpture in the Maurya period.

About the Author:

The author, Rana P.B. Singh is Professor of Culture Geography at the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, and Founding President of the Society Heritage Planning and Environment Health, and also the society of Pilgrimge Studies. He has been involved in studying, performing and promoting pilgrimages and eco-tourism for the last two decades as a consultant, project director, collaborator, pilgrimage organizer and a wanderer.