Gotihawa गोटिहवा
Village development committee
The Gotihawa Pillar of Ashoka.
Gotihawa Location in Nepal Show map of Nepal Gotihawa Gotihawa (South Asia) Show map of South Asia
Coordinates: 27°31′N 83°02′E / 27.51°N 83.03°E / 27.51; 83.03
Country	Nepal
Zone	Lumbini Zone
District	Kapilvastu District
Elevation	103 m (338 ft)
Population  (1991)
• Total	3,335
Time zone	UTC+5:45 (Nepal Time)
Protected Ancient Monument
Name	Stone Column of Gotihawa
Law	Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 2013 (1956)
ID	NP-KP-04

Gotihawa (formerly called Gutivā in Western sources) is a village development committee located about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) southeast of Kapilavastu, in Kapilvastu District, in the Lumbini Zone of southern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 3,335 people living in 567 individual households.^[1]

History

Modern-day Gotihawa was known as Khemavati in ancient times. According to Theravāda Buddhist tradition, Kakusandha Buddha was born in Khemavati.^[2] Kakusandha Buddha is one of the ancient Buddhas whose biography is chronicled in chapter 22^[2] of the Buddhavamsa, one of the books of the Pāli Canon.

The base of a Pillar of Ashoka has been discovered at Gotihawa, and it has been suggested that it is the original base of the Nigali Sagar pillar fragments, found a few miles away, which contain an inscription of Ashoka (3rd century BCE).^[3]

References

Further reading

• Verardi, G. (1998). Excavations at Gotihawa. A Note on the Results Obtained during the First Excavation Campaign in Winter 1994-95, Ancient Nepal, pp. 180–205

This article about a location in Kapilvastu District, Nepal is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

• v
• t
• e