Rajgir, Bihar

Rajgir just 15 kms from Nalanda is located the complex of temples and monasteries. The place is called Rajgir. It is one of the most important tourist places in India. Being located in a valley, Rajgir is a very scenic place. The small hill grit town is covered with lush green forest which add to the beauty of the place. Rajgir was the capital of the Magadh Mahajanpad (State) when Patliputra was not formed. In those days it was called Rajgrih. Rajgir or Rajgrih means the home of Royalty. This place has been associated with Lord Buddha and Buddhism. Buddha not only spent many years in Rajgir but also delivered sermons here and proselytized emperor Bimbisar at the Griddhakoota hill. The Jivekarmavan monastery was the favorite residence for Buddha. Even Bimbisar gave Venuvan Vihar to Buddha for his residence. It is said that it was at Rajgir that physician treated Buddha, Jivak after he was injured by his cousin Devdatta.The teachings of Buddha was penned down at Rajgir and it was also the venue for the first Buddhist Council. Today Rajgir has come up as one of the most important pilgrimage for the Buddhist.Rajgir also has some very beautiful Hindu and Jain temples which attracts Hindus and Jains also to the place. Not only as a place for worship, Rajgir has come up as health and winter resort with its warm water ponds. These ponds are said to contain some medicinal properties which help in the cure of many skin diseases. The added attraction of Rajgir is the Ropeway which takes you uphill to the Shanti Stupa and Monasteries built by the Japanese Devotees on top of the Ratnagiri hills.

Jarashand ka Akhara: This is the Ranbhumi where Bhima and Jarasandh fought one of the Mahabharat battles.

Jivakameavan Gardens: Seat of the Royal Physician's dispensary where Lord Buddha was once brought to have wound dressed by Jivaka, the royal physician during the reign of Ajatshatru and Bimbisara.

Ajatshatru Fort: Built by Ajatshatru (6th century B.C.), the king of Magadha during the Buddha's time. The 6.5 sq.meter Ajatshatru's Stupa is also believed to have been built by him.

Cyclopean Wall: Once 40 Km long, it encircled ancient Rajgir. Built of massive undressed stone carefully fitted together, the wall is one of the few important Pre-Maurayan stone structures ever to have been found. Traces of wall still subsist, particularly at the exit of Rajgir to Gaya.

Shanti Stupa: The Vishwa Shanti Stup is located on a 400 meter high hill. The stupa is built in marble and on the four corners of the stupa are four glimmering statues of Buddha. To reach the top of this hill one has to come through the “Ropeways”. This place is also called the GriddhKoot.

Venu Vana: Site of the monastery Venuvana Vihar built by king Bimbisara for Lord Buddha to reside. This was the king's first offering to Lord Buddha.

Karanda Tank: It is the tank in which Buddha used to bathe.

Sonbhandar Caves: Two rather strange cave chambers were hollowed out of a single massive rock. One of the chambers I believed to have been the guard room, the rear wall has two straight vertical lines and one horizontal line cut into the rock; the doorway is supposed to lead to king Bimbisara Treasury. Inscriptions in the Sankhlipi or shell script, etched into wall and so far undeciphered, are believed to give the clue to open the doorway. The treasure, according to folklore, is still intact. The second chambers bears a few traces of seated and standing etched into the outer wall.

Bimbisar jail: his impatient saon and heir, Ajatashatru, imprisoned King Bimbisara here. The captive king chose this site for his incarceration, for, from this spot he could see Lord Buddha climbing up to his mountain retreat atop the Griddhakuta hill. There is a clear view of the Japanese Pagoda. The stupa of peace was built on the top of the hill.

Veerayatan: A Jain Temple and Museum

Jain Temple: On hill crests around Rajgir, far in the distances one can see about 26 Jain Temples. They are difficult to approach for the untrained, but make exciting trekking for those in form.

Chariot Route Marks: The Chariot Route and hell inscriptions are worth a visit for the strangeness of the phenomenon, two parallel furrows cut deep into rock for about thirty feet giving credence to the local belief that they were "burnt" into the rock by the speed and power of Lord Krishna's chariot when he entered the city of Rajgir during the epic Mahabharata times. Several shell inscriptions, the undeciphered characters current in central and eastern India from the 1st to 5th centuries AD, and engraved in the rock around the chariot marks.

Hot Springs: At the foot of Vaibhava Hill, a staircase leads up to the various temples. Separate bathing places have been organized for men and women and the water comes through spouts from Saptdhara, the seven streams, believed to find their source behind the "Saptarni Caves", up in the hills. The hottest of the springs is the Brahmakund with a temperature of 45 degree Centigrade.

Pippala cave: Above the hot springs on the Vaibhava Hill, is a rectangular stone sculpted by the forces of nature which appears to have been used as a watch tower. Since it later became the resort of pious hermits, it is also called Pippala Cave and popularly known as "Jarasandh ki Baithak" after the name of the King Jarasandh, a contemporary of Lord Krishna described in the epic Mahabharata

Swarn Bhandar: It is to be said that that it was a store of Gold of King Jarashandh. A unread story about the cave is that there is a lot of gold in this cave and a script is written on a stone is the code to unlock the door of this Swarn Bhandar.

Gridhakuta:This was the place where the lord Buddha set in a motion his second wheel of law an for three months even during the rainy season, preached many inspiring sermons to his disciples. The Buddha Sangha of Japan have constructed a massive modern stupa, the Shanti Stupa (Peace Pagoda), at the top of the hill in commemoration. A bridle path leads to up to the hill but it is much more fun to take the Aerial Chair lift which operates every day except Thursday. One way ride takes 7.5 minutes and the view is splendid over the hills of Rajgir.

New Rajgir Walls, Bimbisar Road, Maniyar math, Saptarni Caves and Poppala Stone house are the sites of tourist interest............
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Pawapuri, Bihar

Pawapuri, or Apapuri, 38 kilometers from Rajgir and 101 kilometers from Patna, all sins end for a devout Jain. Lord Mahavira, the final Tirthankar and founder of Jainism, breathed his last at this place, and was cremated here around 500 B.C. It is said that the demand for his ashes was so great that a large amount of soil was removed from around the funeral pyre, creating the water tank. A marble temple, the “Jalmandir”, was later built in the middle of the tank, and is now a major pilgrimage spot for Jains. Another Jain temple called Samosharan is located here.

Jalmadir: A marble temple, the Jalmandir, was later built in the middle of the tank, and is now a major pilgrimage spot for Jains.

Samosharan:

Rajgir: The ancient capital of Magadhan empire, which flourished in the 6th century BC. Its association with Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavira hallows the place. The first Buddhist council immediately after the Mahaparinirarvana of lord Buddha, to pen down his teachings, was also held at Rajgir. There are a number of Hot Springs. The hill town of Rajgir, surrounded by seven hills is in midst of lush green forest. The picturesque place, in addition to its historical and religious importance, is a popular health resort.

Gaya: It is a very sacred pilgrim center for the Hindus. Oblations are offered for salvation of their dead parents and forefathers. The temple of Vishnupad on the bank of river Falgu, attracts a very large number of pilgrims from all over the world.

Bodhgaya: It is the holiest amongst holy places of Buddhist World., where Prince Siddharatha attained the supreme enlightenment and became the Buddha , the enlightened one. The Buddhism was born here. The present Bodhi Tree is fifth in succession to the original tree under which Lord Buddha had attained the enlightenment. The ancient Mahabodhi Temple, The railings and the Ashokan pillar are of great historical as well as architectural importance. The modern monasteries of Japan, Thailand, China, Tibet, Mayamar, Bhutan and Sri Lanka built in their national architectures are very colorful and remain humming with religious activities.

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Nalanda, Bihar

Nalanda was a great Buddhist centre and a center of learning. Today, Nalanda is a part of the Budhist circuit, i.e. all the destinations that were associated with the life of Lord Buddha.

The University of Nalanda, established during Gupta Period, was a center of international repute and a residential university more than ten thousand students. Students from various parts of the world come to Nalanda to study Buddhism, Vedas, Logic, Grammar, Medicine, Meta-Physics, Prose Composition and Rhetoric. Students from China, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Java, and Sumatra would come and study here at the University of Nalanda. The university was involved mainly in research and deep study of intrinsic truth. 

The library of the university had a huge collection of literature and books, which according to some scriptures numbered 9 million volumes. The remnants of the university are scattered in an area of some 14 hectares even now. The fact itself shows that the university was flourishing in a large area and catered the need of a huge section of the students. 

Chinese traveler Hsuan Tsang, who came here as faculty lived for some twelve years and taught at the university, describes the versatility of the university. Though a large part of the university has been explored, a huge portion remains unexcavated. It is believed that the Nalanda University could accommodate 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers easily. The famous Chinese traveler describes that the university had such a wonderful scholars that each was outshining another. 

Later on a monument was built at the place in 12th century AD. Later, invaders destroyed the whole university and burnt the entire campus including the manuscripts. The whole knowledge was in this way was destroyed by the Turkish invader Bakhtiar Khilji. Some of the rare collections are left and can be found in the museum. 

Indian government has tried its best to restore the ancient glory of the place, and in this effort in the year 1951 an international center for Buddhist studies was founded. The centre is also accompanied by another modern institution located at the same place- the Nava Nalanda Mahavir Research. The institute houses some of the rare manuscripts. 

Transport

Places to See:

Hieun Tsang Memorial Hall

The memorial was built in the memory of Hieun-Tsang, the famous Chinese traveler and scholar. Hieun Tsang came to India in fifth century AD and studied at the famous university of Nalanda. He stayed at the place for twelve years and wrote in great length about the people and society of contemporary India. Historians consider his writing authentic and relevant and his writings form a great source of information on ancient India.

The remnants of Nalanda University

Nalanda University, once great center of higher learning, is now in ruins. The ruins of Nalanda University take you to the glorious past. The ruins of the university are spread in 14 hectares. Chinese traveler Hieun Tsang writes that the university had more than ten thousand students and more than one thousand faculty members. Students from Java, Sumatra, Sri Lanka, and other near by countries would come to study at the Nalanda University. Buddhism, spirituality, Vedas, and other life sciences were the subjects taught here.

Nav Nalanda Vihar

In the year 1951 Indian government decided to reestablish the past glory of Nalanda and in this effort it decided to institute a center of higher learning. The center aims to study Buddhism and its essence in modern times. Near the place is another institute which aims to research the ancient language Pali, which is now out of tongue in India

Kundalpur

Kundalpur is located at the distance of 1.6 kilometers from the remnants of the Nalanda University. The place is an important destination for Jains, particularly for the Digambar sect of the Jains. Digambar Jain followers believe that the 24th and the last Tirthankar, Lord Mahavira was born here. Being linked to Mahavir’s birth place, people built many temples at the place which are major tourist attractions here.

Surya Mandir

Surya Mandir houses numerous statues of Hindu gods and goddesses. Located adjacent to ruins of the University of Nalanda, the temple has Buddha’s statues other than the statues Hindu deities. The temple is primarily dedicated to Sun God which reminds us of Greek god ‘Apollo.’

Nalanda Museum

Any society which has a glorious history wants to save the same in various methods, and one of them is to preserve all those historical materials in a museum. The museum meant to preserve the golden past of Nalanda was instituted in the year 1971. The museum has a huge collection of ancient manuscripts and Buddhist statues. Archeologists found these manuscripts during excavation of the sites at Nalanda. 

Excursions...........
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Vaishali, Bihar

Vaishali today is a small village surrounded by banana and mango groves as well as rice fields. But excavations in the area have brought to light an impressive historical past. The epic Ramayana tells the story of the heroic King Vishal who ruled here. Historians maintain that one of the world's first democratic republics with an elected assembly of representatives flourished here in the 6th century B.C. in the time of the Vajjis and the Lichchavis. And while Pataliputra, capital of the Mauryas and the Guptas, held political sway over the Gangetic plain, Vaishali was the center for trade and industry. 

Lord Buddha visited Vaishali frequently and at Kolhua, close by, preached his last sermon. To commemorate the event, Emperor Ashoka, in the third century B.C. erected one of his famous lion pillars here. A hundred years after the Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha - Vaishali hosted the second great Buddhist council. Two stupas were erected to commemorate this event. Jainism, too, has its origins in Vaishali, for in 527 B.C., Lord Mahavir was born on the outskirts of the city, and lived in Vaishali till he was 22. Vaishali is then twice blessed and remains an important pilgrim center for both Buddhists and Jains, attracting also historians foraging for the past.

On the outskirts of Vaishali stood the grand double storied Buddhist monastery. Buddha often discoursed here. He extended spiritual enfranchisement to women by admitting them to the Holy Order which was founded here. Legend has it that on one of his visits, several monkeys dug up a tank for his comfortable stay and offered him a bowl of honey. This is regarded as one of the great incidents in the legends of Buddha, who announced his approaching Nirvana and preached his last sermon here. 

The Lichchhavis came a long way to bid him farewell on his way to Kushinagara and finally, they were stopped by a river created by Buddha. He once again paused to have a last of his much loved city. As a piety for Vaishali, he had already given his alms bowl which remained here for long time.

A life size-pillar beside a brick stupa at Kolhua commemorates Buddha's last sermon and announcement of his approaching nirvana. The lion faces north, the direction Buddha took on his last voyage. Adjacent to this is the tank associated with the monkeys offering honey. Nearby are the skeletal remains of a monastery where Buddha resided and a votive stupas dot the region. 

Vaishali museum houses some of the archaeological remains discovered here. Facing the museum is the Abhishek Pushkarni which was holy to Lichchhavis. On one side of the lake is newly built Vishwa Shanti Stupa, a sixth in the series to be erected in India. Close to the museum is the shaded stupa which is supposed to have housed the casket relic with the ashes of Buddha. 

Archaeologists have uncovered a good deal of Vaishali. It begins with a huge mound which is associated with the ancient Parliament referred to Raja Vaihala Ka Garh. Bawan Pokhar temple houses a rich collection of black basalt images dating back to the Gupta and Pala period. Another black basalt, four headed Shivling (Choumukhi Mahadeva) was discovered when a reservoir was being dug. Behind the bawan pokhar temple is a Jain temple famous for its image of the Trithankar. A little distance from these temples lies the Lotus Tank which used to be a picnic spot of the Lichchhavis. 

Further north at Lauria Areraj, 31 Kms from Motihari, lies one of the Ashokan Columns with six of his edicts. The column is devoid of its capital. Another Ashokan column along with the lion capital can be visited at Nandangarh, 23 kms from Bettiah. These pillars possibly mark the course of the ancient Royal highway from Patliputra to Nepal valley. Few kilometers from the monolith at Nandangarh is the mighty brick stupa which is believed to have stored the casket relic containing the ashes of Buddha. At Nandangarh one can also see a dozen vedic mounds that contain the remains of ruling clans of pre-Buddhists times.

Transport

Places to see:

Ashokan Pillar: Emperor Ashoka built The Lion Pillar at Kolhua. It is made of a highly polished single piece of red sandstone, surmounted by a bell shaped capital, 18.3 m high. A life-size figure of a lion is placed on top of the pillar. There is a small tank here known as Ramkund. This pillar beside a brick stupa at Kolhua commemorates Buddha's last sermon.

Bawan Pokhar Temple: An old temple built in the Pala period stands on the northern bank of Bawan Pokhar and enshrines beautiful images of several Hindu gods.

Budha Stupa-I:The exterior of this stupa which is now in a dilapidated condition has a plain surface. One eighth of the sacred ashes of the lord Buddha were enshrined here in a stone casket.

Budha Stupa-II: Excavation at this site in 1958 led to the discovery of another casket containing the ashes of the Lord Buddha.

Abhiskek Pushkarn: It contains water that was believed to be sacred in the old days. All of Vaishali's elected representative were anointed here before their swearing in. The Lichchavi stupa was located near here.

Nirvana Bhumi: The stone casket of the sacred ashes of Lord Buddha were enshrined here in Vaishali.

Kundalpur: Birth place of Lord Mahavira. 4Km.It is believed that the Jain Tirthankar, Lord Mahavir was born over 2550 years ago. Mahavir is said to have spent the first 22 years of his life here.

Raja Vishal ka Garh: A huge mound with a circumference about one Kilometer and walls nearly 2 m high with a 43m wide moat around them, is said to be the ancient parliament house. Over seven thousand representatives of the federal assembly gathered here to legislate and discuss the problems of the day.

World Peace Pagoda

Vaishali Museum

Other Attractions

Vaishali Mahotsava: Vaishali mahotsava is held to celebrate the birth anniversary of the Jain Tirthankar, Lord Mahavir on the full moon day of the month of "Vaisakh" (mid-April).

Sonepur fair: 35 km. Sonepur situated on the confluence of river Ganga and Gandak, hosts perhaps Asia's Biggest animal fair, from Kartik full moon day (Oct./Nov). The Fair lasts for almost a fortnight. Millions of visitors come to this typical fair.

Arts and Crafts: Several villages around Vaishali make delightful home made toys.Sikki Work, the humble blade of grass is hand-woven into delightful baskets and mats. Lac bangles, these handmade lac bangles come from nearby city Muzaffarpur.


Excursions...........
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Patna, Bihar

Patna is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India. Patna is also one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world. Ancient Patna, known as Pataliputra, was the capital of the Magadha Empire under the Haryanka, Nanda, Mauryan, Sunga, Gupta, Pala and Suri dynasties.The modern city of Patna is situated on the southern bank of the Ganga. The city also straddles the rivers Sone, Gandak and Punpun. 

Pataliputra was also a seat of learning and fine arts. Its population during the Maurya period was about 400,000. The walled old area, known locally as Patna City, is a major trading centre.

The Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain pilgrim centres of Vaishali, Rajgir, Nalanda, Bodhgaya, and Pawapuri are nearby and Patna is also a sacred city for Sikhs. The Sikh Guru,Guru Gobind Singh, was born here.

Transport

Places to See:

Gandhi Setu

Gandhi Setu was built to connect Patna with Hajipur. The bridge also connects north and south Bihar. The bridge is 5450 meters in length and the longest in the world.

Phulwari Sharif

Phulwari Sharif is an important medieval and religious city of Bihar. It is located seven kilometers away from the Patna. This place has a long and rich religious history that is closely attached with the birth and development of the Sufi culture in our country.

Maner Sharif

Maner Sharif is located 25 kilometres west of Patna on NH 30. It is also called Maner. It is a popular medieval site and a notified area in Patna district in the Indian state of Bihar. Maner enjoys position of one of the chief spiritual centers in India. Maner Sharif houses two very popular Muslim tombs:

• One of Makhdoom Yahya Maneri, known as the Bari Dargah.
• Another of Shah Daulat or Makhdum Daulat, popularly called Chhoti Dargah.

Hajipur

Hajipur was known as Ukkacala in ancient times. According to Buddhist scriptures, Lord Buddha gave one of his many discourses at Ukkacala.

Sher Shah Masjid

Sher Shah Suri was a celebrated Afghan ruler and a good administrator. He erected this mosque at Patna to commemorate his victory over the Mughal emperor Humanyun.

Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park

Owing to its huge size, Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park is considered among one of the biggest zoos in India. The park houses more than three hundred species of trees including of orchids, ferns and roses.

Patna Museum

Patna Museum was established in the year 1917. The aim behind the establishment of the museum was to impart a scientific vision to understand the evolution of history. Kumhrar is the site that consists of the archaeological excavations of Patliputra and marks the ancient capital of Ajatshatru.


Excursions...........
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