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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday in Lumbini, on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, that his birthplace Vadnagar in Gujarat’s Mehsana district had been a great centre for Buddhist learning centuries ago.
“Even today, there are relics being recovered from there and the excavation work is still on,” PM Modi had said.
Vadnagar’s ties with Buddhism
The Gujarat state archaeology department began excavations in Vadnagar, a small town in Mehsana district of north Gujarat, in 2006, when Modi was chief minister.
In 2014, the excavation work was taken over by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and the combined efforts have thrown up Buddhist relics and around 20,000 artefacts, some dating back to the 2nd century.
Among these, senior ASI officials revealed, are an elliptical structure and a circular stupa along with a square memorial stupa of 2×2 metres and 130 centimetres in height with a wall enclosure. “It is like a platform which has a chamber in the centre that resembles a pradakshina path,” a senior ASI official told The Indian Express.
Further, bowls said to be used by monks have been found during the excavations, which have a terracotta sealing with inscriptions of namassarvagyaya and a face-shaped pendant with tritatva symbol.
The excavation work is still underway at two sites in Vadnagar – Ambha Ghat, and the Anaaj or grain godown along the railway track, or near Ambaji Kotha Lake.
In Taranga, nearly 30 km from Vadnagar, the ASI has found around 64 natural rock shelters modified into a dwelling place for monks, around 40 votive stupa, a large stupa found on the top of a hill, and another six stupas found near Taran-Dharan Mata shrine.
In another excavation site in Vihar village in Mansa taluka, temple remains dating back to 10th-11th century have been found, revealed the senior ASI official privy to these developments.
According to the Gujarat Tourism website, “Vadnagar is mentioned often in the Puranas and even in the travelogue of the great Chinese traveler, Hiuen Tsang (7th century), as a rich and flourishing town”. It adds how some of the names attributed to Vadnagar in history are Chamatkarpur, Anandpur, Snehpur and Vimalpur.
How PM Narendra Modi has highlighted Vadnagar’s Buddhist connect over the years
PM Modi first mentioned the connection between his hometown and Buddhism in 2014 ahead of Chinese Premier Xi Jinping’s visit to Gujarat.
An article posted on PM Modi’s website in English and Mandarin talked at length about the ‘Buddhist heritage in Gujarat’.
In the same year, during his trip to Japan, PM Modi visited two ancient Buddhist temples in Kyoto with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.
The feature posted on PM Modi’s website in 2014 talked about the connections Gujarat, especially his hometown Vadnagar, had with famous Chinese explorer and Buddhist priest Hiuen Tsang, who is believed to have visited the state in 641 AD. It also had snippets about other Buddhist heritage sites in Gujarat, such as Junagadh, Kutch and Bharuch.
“Buddhism is a very strong bond between China and India. In fact, Gujarat too has a very rich Buddhist heritage,” he had tweeted then.
The article carried a picture of Hiuen Tsang and a map of the route he took in 641 AD while travelling to Gujarat from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. “On his visit to Gujarat, Tsang noted the presence of 200 monasteries housing 10,000 monks located at Bharukaccha, Atali, Kheta, Valabhi, Anandapura and Saurashtra,” the article on PM Modi’s website said.
The feature also carried a map of Gujarat, listing the various Buddhist sites in the state, including Siyot, Vadnagar, Taranga Hill, Bharuch, Khambhalida, Junagadh, Sana and Talaja.
Sacred relics of the Buddha were even found in Devni Mori in Aravalli district of Gujarat.
The Govt’s push to highlight Vadnagar as a heritage destination
The PM’s mention about Vadnagar came two days ahead of the ‘Vadnagar International Conference’ to be held at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar on World Museum Day on May 18, which will be attended by Minister of State for Culture and External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi, along with representatives from UNESCO.
The push for Vadnagar as a historical and cultural destination began during Modi’s time as chief minister, when the Gujarat government launched the Tana-Riri annual music festival at Vadnagar in the name of two sisters, who were gifted singers, and who, by Gujarati folk lore, gave up their lives instead of agreeing to sing in the court of Emperor Akbar. The Kirti Toran of Vadnagar, which is an arch from the Solanki dynasty, was adopted as the ‘symbol’ of Gujarat.
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The Ministry of Culture is helming a project along with the Gujarat government to develop Vadnagar as a “Landmark Heritage Destination” and the international conference will discuss the history of Vadnagar, heritage and cultural significance, development of Vadnagar archaeological sites, water management, traditional methods of water storage, Buddhist heritage, and development of archaeological museums, among other things.
Last year, the Railways Ministry redeveloped the Vadnagar Railway Station where PM Modi is said to have sold tea as a young boy.
