Buddhist and Jain Sites

The Buddha’s life places, the four Buddhist councils, great universities and the main Jain centres, with UPSC years.

On this map (21)

Lumbini — Nepal · Nepal — Buddha’s birth · 563 BC. Ashoka’s Rummindei pillar marks the spot
Kapilavastu (Piprahwa) — Siddharthnagar · Uttar Pradesh — Buddha’s home · Shakya capital. Conquered later by Koshala’s king Vidudabha
Bodh Gaya — Gaya (on the Niranjana) · Bihar — Enlightenment · under the Bodhi tree. Mahabodhi Temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Sarnath — Varanasi (Isipatana) · Uttar Pradesh — First sermon · Dhammachakra-pravartana. Deer park; Dhamek stupa; Ashoka’s lion capital
Kushinagar — Deoria · Uttar Pradesh — Mahaparinirvana · 483 BC. Also called Kusinara in Pali texts
Shravasti — Koshala (Jetavana) · Uttar Pradesh — Most sermons · Jetavana monastery. Anathapindika (Sudatta) bought the Jetavana grove for the Sangha
Sankasya — Farrukhabad · Uttar Pradesh — Descent from Tushita heaven. One of the eight great places
First Buddhist Council — Rajgir (Sattapanni cave) · Bihar — Council · 483 BC · Ajatashatru. President: Mahakassapa; Ananda recited the Sutta Pitaka and Upali the Vinaya Pitaka
Second Buddhist Council — Vaishali · Bihar — Council · 383 BC · Kalashoka. President: Sabakami; first split into Sthaviravadins and Mahasanghikas
Third Buddhist Council — Pataliputra · Bihar — Council · 250 BC · Ashoka. President: Moggaliputta Tissa; the Abhidhamma Pitaka was compiled here
Fourth Buddhist Council — Kundalvana, Kashmir · Jammu & Kashmir — Council · 1st century AD · Kanishka. President: Vasumitra with Ashvaghosha as deputy
Nalanda — Bihar · Bihar — Mahavihara · Gupta to Pala. Founded in the Gupta period (Kumaragupta I); Xuanzang studied here
Vikramshila — Bhagalpur · Bihar — Mahavihara · Pala. Founded by Dharmapala in the 8th–9th century
Amaravati — Guntur · Andhra Pradesh — Satavahana stupa. White-marble sculpture of the Krishna valley
Nagarjunakonda — Krishna valley · Andhra Pradesh — Ikshvaku · Mahayana. Ikshvaku dynasty capital Vijayapuri; now an island in the reservoir
Pavapuri — Nalanda, Bihar · Bihar — Mahavira’s nirvana · 468 BC. Mahavira was born at Kundagrama near Vaishali (~540 BC) and gave his sermons in Ardha-Magadhi
Parasnath (Sammed Shikhar) — Giridih · Jharkhand — Tirthankara nirvana place. Parshvanatha, the 23rd tirthankara, was a prince of Varanasi
Shravanabelagola — Hassan · Karnataka — Bahubali · Chandragupta Maurya. Chandragupta Maurya went to Shravanabelagola with Bhadrabahu after Jain conversion (Jain tradition)
Palitana (Shatrunjaya) — Bhavnagar · Gujarat — Temple city. Over 800 temples on the hill; the Śvetambara pilgrimage centre
Girnar — Junagadh · Gujarat — Neminatha. Also the site of Ashoka’s rock edicts and Rudradaman’s inscription
Udayagiri and Khandagiri — Bhubaneswar · Odisha — Jain caves · Kharavela. Kharavela of the Chedi line ruled Kalinga (1st century BC)

Asked in exams

UPSC 1998Sarnath = first sermon of the Buddha ✓ (Rajgir = lion capital ✗)
UPSC 1998Rajgir = lion capital of Ashoka ✗ (that is Sarnath)
UPSC 2001The Buddhist Council held under Kanishka in Kashmir was presided over by Vasumitra
UPSC 2004Fa-Hien did NOT attend Kanishka’s Fourth Council (both statements in the question were wrong)
UPSC 1998Nalanda = great seat of Buddhist learning ✓

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