Discovery of Buddhavana

Buddhavana a very significant pilgrimage place associated with the Buddhacārikā (sublime wandering of the Buddha) as mentioned by the 7th century monk-scholar from China Ven. Xuanzang has finally been located. Venerable Xuanzang in his travelogue Ta-Tʻang-His-Yü-Chi (Records of the Western Lands of the Great Tʻang Period) described a place called “Buddhavana” which he visited while going from Kukkuṭapāda Mountain (also Gurupada present day Gurpa) to Yaṣṭhivana (present day Jeṭhian) (fig-1). The Cave as described by Vnerable Xuanzang was on the steep side of precipitous hill where the Buddha stayed for one night. In subsequent centuries the Cave became a sacred place for the followers of the teachings of the Buddha. Some effort to locate Buddhavana was made by Grierson in the late 19th century and later by Sir Auriel Stein in 1899, but their efforts did not yield results. Over the last couple of years we have worked to discover Buddhavana and in the process we have explored many villages. In the month of June of this year, we began a fresh exploration along the strech of hills west of Jeṭhian (Fig-2). 

Incorrect identification of Buddhavana done by A. Cunningham in 1871.