The Earthly Body of Tathagata

 Image: Lord Buddha's relics, divided into eight parts.

                                               

2568 years ago, during the month of Baishakh Purnima (full moon night) in Kushinagar. Tathagata (Lord Buddha) would complete 80 years of age and attain Maha Parinirvana. Knowing the time of his passing, Tathagata had already informed this news to his closest disciple, Ananda. Although deeply saddened, Ananda asked – “Lord, how would you like us to honor your earthly body once the mind leaves ?”

With a compassionate smile, Tathagata responded, “you should not worry about my body. Instead, keep focusing on meditation, in order to gain ultimate truth and wisdom. The relics (Asthi Dhatu) of my body left after the completion of my death rituals, will be taken by different Kings and Leaders. They will use the relics to make Stupas (Chaitya) in their cities. My devotees will come to the stupas to perform the spiritual rituals and puja, which will help them gain merits, filing their souls with happiness and improve their current lives and hereafter. The same was done with every other Buddha, Arahants (Pali: अरहन्त्), and Chakravarty Kings.”

As the full moon night of Baishakh was passing, the last life of the Tathagata comes to an end. The mind exists from his physical body, never to return. His last rites were performed after Bhikkhu Mahakashyap arrived. Soon after the completion of the rituals, the Malla Kings came forward to claim the Buddha’s relics to build the Stupa in their city. However, when this news reached to King Ajatshatru, powerful King of Magadh. He makes it to Kushinagar with all his military might to attack and started claiming his rights upon the relics as well. In this way Lord Shakyamuni Buddha’s Maha Parinirvana widely spreads in all four directions. Various Kings, leaders and Sages from their respective places also came forward, claiming their rights over the relics. All these leaders were the devotees of the Tathagata; thus, they believe they have every right over the relics. Every one of these guys were equally powerful, none of them were ready to give up.

Seeing this chaotic situation, Dron Brahmin, a kind disciple of Lord Buddha intervened. He succeeded in settling the situation by dividing the relics of Tathagata into eight parts, distributing them to the leaders of the 8 Kingdoms who had come forward. Each leader then constructed a Stupa using the ashes and relics in their respective Kingdom - Vaishali, Kushinagar, Magadh, Kapilvastu, Alkaap, Ramgram, Vesthideep and Pawa, wishing for auspicious merits for themselves and their citizens.

After the division, Dron requested to keep the Kalas, the measuring tool used to divide the relics, to build a Stupa. After all was settled, the Maurya people from Pipli arrived to claim their share of the relics, claiming their rights over the relics. By then, only the left-over coal from the cremation of Lord Buddha’s body was remained. They collected the coal and made a stupa out of it in Pipli. Thus, ten stupas were made immediately after Maha Parinirvana of Lord Shakyamuni Buddha. 

Gandharan Schist Lintel depicting division of the Buddha's relics,

2nd Century CE - 3rd Century CE. Source- Barakat Gallery

This article was originally printed in Nepali language in one of the pages of the Nepali calendar printed by New Nepal Press. I translated it into English language for everyone else who cannot read or understand Nepali language. 

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Reference:

Sumati Bajracharya, "The Origin of Buddhist Art & Architecture," स्तुप को कथा - २००० वर्ष देखिको, April 22, 2020 https://hiktm.blogspot.com/2020/04/story-of-stupa-2000-years-of-history.html .  स्तुप को कथा - २००० वर्ष देखिको,