A begging bowl on display in an Afghanistan museum is not associated with Lord Buddha, Indian officials have concluded belying the initial perception that it belonged to the founder of Buddhism.
The conclusion has been reached after a team of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials studied the bowl, sources told PTI here today.
The bowl has Arabic characters etched on it and cannot be associated with Lord Buddha, they said.
"The reported claims of Lord Buddha's association with the bowl is unlikely as the inscriptions on the vase are in Arabic script that never existed during his (Buddha) era. Moreover, Buddha's messages were written in Pali language using Brahmi characters," one of the sources said.
According to the sources, the inscriptions on the 400-kg bowl has been written in Persian language using Arabic script.
"Arabic script came into existence only during the fifth century AD, whereas Lord Buddha's life dates back to second and third century BC. If at all the messages of Buddha would have been written, it would be inscribed only in Pali and not in Arabic," the source underscored.
The sources further observed that the inscription on the mysterious bowl could have been made about 500 years ago, around 15th century AD or a century later.
The bowl created controversy after a strong demand for bringing it back and installing it at its original place at Vaishali in Bihar was made by former RJD MP Raghuvansh Prasad Singh in the Lok Sabha last year.
