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Q.284 Buddhas begging bowl
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.284
TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.11.2011
284. DR. RAGHUVANSH PRASAD SINGH:
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has recently got the information that the begging bowl of Buddha, given to the people of Vaishali by him, has been found in the Kabul museum;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether Indian Embassy in Afghanistan has sent a photo of the said bowl to the Government;
(d) if so, the details thereof;
(e) whether the Government has initiated the process to recover the said bowl;
(f) if so, the details thereof;
(g) whether the travelogues of the Chinese pilgrim Fa-hein and the writings of Dr. Cunningham and Shri S.V. Sahni mention the said bowl; and
(h) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SMT. PRENEET KAUR)
(a) to (h) Embassy of India, Kabul has made enquiries in the matter. It is learnt that the item purported to be Lord Buddha’s begging bowl was apparently in Kandahar until the regime of former President Najibullah. It was later brought to Kabul and is currently in the Kabul Museum. It has been pointed out that the begging bowl, a photo of which our Embassy has obtained, is rather large, besides having inscription in Arabic and Persian, thus calling into question its provenance. Archaeological Survey of India has been requested to convey any information or advice it may have regarding the provenance of the bowl currently in Kabul Museum.