Ramagrama stupa

History

Gautama Buddha's parents were from two different mahājanapadās (kingdoms) of the Solar dynasty — his father (Śuddhodana) belonged to the Shakya kingdom, while his mother (Maya) was from the Koliya kingdom. According to Buddhist texts, after Buddha's Mahaparinirvana, his cremated remains were divided and distributed among the princes of eight of the sixteen mahājanapadās. Each of the princes constructed a stupa at or near his capital city, within which the respective portion of the ashes was enshrined. These eight stupas were located at:

1. Allakappa, a settlement of the Bulī people. The precise location of this place is not currently known.
2. Kapilavastu, capital city of the Shakya kingdom (the location of this stupa is the subject of some controversy; there is evidence it was actually constructed at Piprahwa)
3. Kusinārā, capital city of one of the two Malla republics
4. Pāvā, capital city of the other Malla republics
5. Rājagaha a major city of the Magadha kingdom
6. Rāmagrāma, a major city of the Koliya kingdom (this settlement is sometimes referred to as Koliyanagara)
7. Vesāli, capital city of the Vajjika League
8. Veṭhadīpa, a settlement of Veṭhadīpaka Brahmins. The precise location of this place is not currently known.

About three centuries later, Emperor Ashoka sought to remove the relics from all of these eight original stupas, with the intent to distribute them among 84,000 new stupas to be constructed in his kingdom to honor the memory of the Buddha. According to Mahavamsa, when Ashoka reached the Ramagrama stupa, he encountered a powerful Nāga (mythological hybrid creature, part-human and part-snake) that was guarding the stupa, preventing him from removing the relics. This is why the Ramagrama stupa is the only undisturbed stupa of the original eight stupas.

According to the Mahavamsa and other Theravāda Buddhist textual traditions, a major flood caused significant structural damage to the Ramagrama stupa and the reliquary containing the Buddha’s corporeal relics was swept away by the river’s current. These relics were subsequently recovered by the nāgas, who are described in Buddhist tradition as having enshrined and venerated them within their realm. It is further stated that in 140 BCE, the Buddhist sangha transported these sacred relics to Sri Lanka, where they were enshrined in the Ruwanwelisaya stupa constructed by King Dutugamunu.