The Anoma was a river in Majjhimadesa of ancient India. According to Buddhist tradition it was situated near Kapilavastu, and was crossed by Prince Siddhartha (along with his horse Kanthaka and charioteer Channa) where he renounced the world before becoming the Buddha by cutting off his hair, abandoning his royal dress and exchanging it for the robes of an ascetic.[1][2]

Alexander Cunningham identified it with the Aumi in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh, while A. C. L. Carlleyle states it is the Kudwa Nala, a small creek in the Basti district.[3][4][5]

References

  1. ^ Varma, C. B. "Story of Renunciation". The Illustrated Jataka & Other Stories of the Buddha. Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.
  2. ^ Anoma River. British Museum.
  3. ^ Law, Bimala Churn (1932). Geography of Early Buddhism. London: Kegan Paul. According to Cunningham, Anomā is the river Aumi, in the district of Gorakhpur. But Carlleyle identifies the river Anomā with the Kudawa Nadī in the Basti district of Oudh.
  4. ^ "Pali Proper Names". Pali Kanon. Cunningham identifies the river with the modern Aumi. He states his belief that the word means inferior, to distinguish it from other and larger rivers in the neighbourhood, and that the original name in Pali was Oma.
  5. ^ "Anoma river". indiawaterportal.org. 22 December 2010.


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