Historically, Kaushambi served as the capital of the Vatsa #Mahajanapada and was significant during the time of Gautama Buddha, who visited the area frequently.
What fascinated me was that there were remnants of a fortress which was discovered during excavations authorized by Sir Mortimer Wheeler in 1948 and led by G.R. Sharma.
The fort features a barrel-shaped layout with thick walls made of large bricks, and it was fortified with trenches for security.
Set on the banks of the #Yamuna river it was extremely scenic.
Lord Buddha came to #Kausambi twice and gave sermons. One of his sermons resulted in King Udayan converting to Buddhism.
Buddha, began to instruct him on the futility of strife and quarrelling and on the utility of conquering egoism and not human enemies. #Egoism is the greatest enemy of man. “Let discernment be your sword; faith, charity, and morality your fort; virtue your army and patience your armour. Let diligence be your spear, meditation your bow and detachment your arrow.”
With these beautiful words the
#Buddha concluded his #sermon to
#Udayan.
As you leave the village and enter the open fields, the towering bastions and earthen ramparts of a massive fortress come into view.
“The #fortress ruins once spanned over four miles, surrounded by 30-foot-high earthen #ramparts with bastions rising 50 to 60 feet. Shallow depressions near the ramparts indicate the presence of protective ditches in the past. Inside the ramparts, the ground is covered with bricks of varying sizes, some likely remnants of ancient walls. Narrow pathways, likely the tops of buried walls, wind through the ruins.”
These details are from a history of Kausambi by NAGENDRA NATH GHOSH, for ASI, #Allahabad in the beginning of the 20th century.
