In Buddhist literature, a lot of information has been read about Sanghamitra, the daughter of Emperor Ashoka Raja, and Mahendra, the son. But Emperor Ashoka Raja had another daughter and her name was Charumati. Emperor Ashoka had five queens, of which Asandhimitra was the second. She had adopted a maiden daughter from King Ashoka. Her name was Charumati. When she grew up, she was married to Devpal Kshatriya, a prince from Nepal. Charumati has been living there ever since.
Following in her father's footsteps, she also preached the Theravada Buddha Dhamma in the Kathmandu Valley. Charumati took care of her father when her son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra settled in Sri Lanka during the reign of Ashoka Raja. She also performed Dhamma Yatra with him. During her career she built a stupa at Devpatan which came to be known as Charumati Stupa. But over the last thousands of years, the stupa has gradually been forgotten. It was later renamed Dhandhoj Stupa and became known as an old hill. It was also neglected by the growing population around it. Even the Archaeological Department did not know the location of the Charumati Stupa.
But when the renovation work of Dhandhoj Stupa was started in 2002, a number of replicas of small stupas were found in the excavations. Hundreds of small Buddha statues were also found. The main ones were carved in Brahmi script on the bricks. Along with the crystals, gold and silver coins of Kirti, Licchavi and Malla period were also found. Archaeologist Prakash Darnal said the brick had a Dhamma Chakra imprint on it, and the discovery of two swastikas and the name Charumati made one wonder how this important stupa had been neglected for so many years. So when the Charumati Stupa was identified in Nepal, monks from Sri Lanka came to guide and oversee the renovation. It was renewed from the donations received according to the challenge made at that time. Now the Charumati Stupa is slowly becoming a tourist attraction.
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