Bones of the Buddha - Secrets of the Dead

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Author Charles Allen examines original jewels from Pi rahwa Stu a Courtesy of Icon Films / Lorne Kramer !"#$. Secrets of the Dead: Bones of the Buddha. %irecte& an& written by Ste'en Clar(e. )xecuti'e ro&ucers Ste'e Burns an& Harry *arshall. Pro&uce& by +con ,ilms for -hirteen an& ./)-. ,eaturing Charles Allen0 /eil Pe e0 Harry ,al(0 Bhante Piya ala Cha(mar0 an& *ri&ula Sri'asta'a. S ecial than(s to the Archaeological Sur'ey of +n&ia0 the +n&ian *useum of Kol(ata0 the *ahabo&hi -em le committee0 %r. S. K. *ittra0 the Sri'asta'a ,amily an& Ram Singh 1i. 24 minutes3 %4% an& BluRay -he Bones of the Buddha is an historical entry in the PBS series Secrets of the Dead0 ublishe& in !"#$ an& touching on the olitically &icey &iscussion of religion an& history in +n&ia. Centere& aroun& the ongoing research of historian Charles Allen0 Bones of the Buddha tells the story of the stu a at Pi rahwa0 a Bu&&hist sacre& structure in the Basti &istrict of 5ttar Pra&esh in +n&ia. Pi rahwa is belie'e& by some scholars to be near the site of Ka ila'astu0 the ca ital of the Sha(yan state0 an& the Sha(yas were the family of the man who woul& become the historical Bu&&ha 6Si&&hartha 7autama or Sha(yamuni0 2""84#" BC90 the center of the Bu&&hist religion. But more than that: Pi rahwa is0 or rather was0 the family burial lace of some of the Bu&&ha;s ashes.

Historical and Archaeological Investigations

Bones of the Buddha &etails the in'estigations by amateur archaeologist .illiam Claxton Pe e0 rofessional archaeologist %r. K.*. Sri'asta'a0 an& historian Charles Allen to i&entify one of the most im ortant of the se'eral burial laces of the ashes of the Bu&&ha: that belonging to the Bu&&ha;s family. After his &eath0 so the legen& goes0 the Bu&&ha;s ashes were &i'i&e& into eight arts0 one art of which was gi'en to the Bu&&ha;s clan. )'i&ence of the Sha(ya family burial lace of the Bu&&ha;s ashes was ignore& for nearly #"" years &ue to the &amage inflicte& by a corru t archaeologist: %r. Alois Anton ,<hrer. ,<hrer was the hea& of the British colonial archaeological center for northern +n&ia0 a 7erman archaeologist who was at the center of a scan&al concerning fa(e& an& loote& artifacts0 attribute& falsely to the Bu&&ha. But when the exca'ations at Pi rahwa were being un&erta(en by ..C. Pe e in the late #=th century0 the scan&al was yet a few months away: but near enough in time to cast &oubt on the authenticity of the fin&s.

The Buddha's Cache

Secrets of the %ea& WN ! and "BS .hat Pe e foun& burie& &ee ly within the enormous stu a was a stone reli>uary0 within which were fi'e small jars. +n the jars were hun&re&s of tiny jewels in the sha es of flowers. *ore were scattere& within the reli>uary0 intermingle& with burne& bone fragments of the Bu&&ha himself: this burial is belie'e& to ha'e been lace& here by Bu&&ha;s &isci le0 King Asho(a0 !2" years after the Bu&&ha;s &eath. +n the #=?"s0 archaeologist K. *. Sri'asta'a reexca'ate& at Pi rahwa an& foun&0 beneath Asho(a;s elaborate burial0 a sim ler burial lace0 belie'e& to ha'e been the original site where the Bu&&ha;s family lace& the remains.

Indian History
-he story brought forwar& by Bones of the Buddha is a fascinating one: one of the British Raj in +n&ia0 when the amateur archaeologist ..C. Pe e lowe& a trench through an enormous stu a an& foun& the 4th century BC burial remains. -he story continues in the #=?"s0 with K. *. Sri'asta'a0 a young +n&ian archaeologist who was con'ince& that Pi rahwa was Ka ila'astu0 the ca ital of the Sa(yan state. An& finally it conclu&es with mo&ern historian Charles Allen0 who wan&ers suburban )nglan& an& northern +n&ia in search of the artifacts0 the language an& the history behin& the stu a at Pi rahwa. *ost of the all0 the 'i&eo @an& the site;s in'estigations for that matterA is excellent as an intro&uction to the archaeology an& history of Bu&&hism. -he Bu&&ha;s life0 where he was born0 how he came to become enlightene&0 where he &ie& an& what ha ene& to his cremate& remains are a&&resse&. Also in'ol'e& in the story is the lea&er Asho(a0 Bu&&ha;s &isci le0 who !2" years after Bu&&ha;s &eath romulgate& the religious teachings of the holy man. Asho(a was res onsible0 say the scholars0 for the lacing the Bu&&ha;s ashes here in a stu a fit for royalty. An& finally0 Bones of the Buddha ro'i&es the 'iewer with an intro&uction to the broa&ening of Bu&&hism0 how it came to be that !02"" years after the Bu&&ha &ie&0 4"" million eo le worl& wi&e are following his teachings.

Bottom Line
+ 'ery much enjoye& this 'i&eo0 an& + learne& a lot. + &on;t (now much at all about Bu&&hist archaeology or history0 an& it was goo& to ha'e a bit of a starting oint. + was sur rise& to see0 or rather not see0 any +n&ian archaeologists inter'iewe& &uring the filming: although S. K. *ittra an& the Archaeological Sur'ey of +n&ia are cre&ite& at the en&0 an& Allen 'isits the sites an& museums where the relics are &e osite&. -hat circumstance le& me to &o a bit more in'estigation on my own3 more of that later. .e can;t really as( more of a 'i&eo: to i>ue the 'iewer;s interest into the ast. Bones of the Buddha is a fascinating 'i&eo0 an& well worth a&&e& to your 'iewing choices.

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