Kapilavastu (ancient city)
Kapilavastu was an ancient city in the north of Indian subcontinent which was the capital of the clan gaṇasaṅgha or "republic" of the Shakyas in the late Iron Age, around the 6th and 5th centuries BC. King Śuddhodana and Queen Māyā are believed to have lived at Kapilavastu, as did their son Prince Siddartha Gautama until he left the palace at the age of 29.
Procession of king Suddhodana from Kapilavastu, proceeding to meet his son the Buddha walking in mid-air (head raised at the bottom of the panel), and to give him a Banyan tree (bottom left corner). The dream of Maya at the top of the panel is a sure marker of Kapilavastu. Sanchi.
Proposed site of Suddhodanda's Palace at Tilaurakot
Stupa at Piprahwa
Maya's dream of an elephant during her conception of the Buddha, an identifier of the city of Kapilavastu.
Shakya was an ancient clan of the northeastern region of South Asia, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised into a gaṇasaṅgha, also known as the Shakya Republic. The Shakyas were on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain in the Greater Magadha cultural region.
Shakya among the Gaṇasaṅghas
Gautama Buddha, called Shakyamuni "Sage of the Shakyas," the most famous Shakya. Seated bronze from Tibet, 11th century.
Bharhut inscription: Bhagavato Sakamunino Bodho "The illumination of the Blessed Sakamuni", circa 100 BCE.
