Abstract

While it is often said that Buddhism is an "urban religion" or a "product of an urban revolution", the actual relationship between Buddhists and the urban space of ancient India remains somewhat vague. This is in part due to a lack of evidence. In order to understand the connection of early Buddhism to the urban environment in which it seems to have arisen we need to carefully examine what source are available, including archaeological evidence and textual sources like the Pali Canon. By looking at the narratives concerning the cities of Pâtaliputra, Râjagrha and Kusâvati in the Buddhist texts of the Pali Canon, I will provide a clearer view of how the Buddhist religious community imagined its relationship to urban space. Three elements will provide the focus of this endeavour: firstly, the narratives of the physical urban space in the texts; secondly, the comparison of that description with available archaeological evidence relating to that physical space; and thirdly, the analysis of what the textual evidence indicates about the authors perceived relationship with that physical space.