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Bodgaya |
Rajgir | Swarna Bhandara |
Nalanda | Vaishali |
Sarnath | Buddhist
Circuits Near Bihar |
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Nalanda
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Literally means the place
that confers the lotus. Just 90 kms south of Patna
,the university of Nalanda , founded by Gupta Emperors,
was one of the oldest universities of the world which
reached its zenith between 5th and 12th century AD
. It had nine million books ,ten thousand students
,two thousand teachers and was a great center of learning
which attracted many students from foreign countries.
Hieun Tsang spent 12 yr. both as a student and teacher
The ruins of the great university, the votive stupa
and beautiful sculpture, a large Steinway, decorated
panels, lecture halls, dormitories and images of Buddha
reveal the glimpses of the past glory. Emperor Ashoka
built a vihara, king Harshavardhana gifted 26-meter
high copper image of Lord Buddha and Kumaragupta endowed
a college of fine arts. The remains carefully excavated
revealed stupas. At Nalanda one must see Nalanda University
ruins, Archaeological Museum, International Center
of Buddhist studies, Hieun Tsang Memorial Hall.
Nalanda Archaeological Museum
It has a beautiful collection
of Buddhist and Hindu bronzes and a number of undamaged
statues of lord Buddha .Two enormous terracotta jars
of first century stand intact in the museum.
Nava Nalanda Mahavihara
It is devoted to study
and research in pali literature and Buddhism..It
is a new institute where students from foreign countries
also study.
Hieun Tsang Memorial
Hall
A new construction
in memory of Chinese traveler, Hieun Tsang.
A View Of Nalanda Ruins
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Vaishali
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The
birth place of Lord Mahavira . Lord Buddha preached
his last sermon and announced his impeding parinirvan
.King Ashoka raised a lion column to commemorate it
. In 383 AD. the second Buddhist council met here
and stupa was created to recall the assembly . Amrapali
the exceptionally beautiful and gifted dancer of Vaishali
became a devotee of Buddhism. Worth seeing places
are Ashoka Pillar at Kolhua , Ancient tanks ,Jain
temples , Buddha Stupa 1&2 , Raja Vishal ka Ghar
, Museum and Chandra mukhi mahadeo, Coronation Tank
,Bawan Pokhar Temple & the Harikatora Temple,
Miranji ka Durgah.
Ashokan Pillar
The famous Lion pillar
at Kolhua ,was built by Emperor Ashoka . It is made
up of the highly polished single piece red sandstone
surmounted by a bell shaped capital ,18.3 m high .
A life size figure of a lion is placed on the top
of pillar . There is a small tank here known as Ramkund.
Bawan Pokher temple
An old temple built in
the Pala period stands on the northern bank of a tank
known as Bawan Pokher and enshrines beautiful images
of several Hindu gods .
Buddha 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.
Buddha Stupa -II
Excavations at this
site in 1958 led to the discovery of another casket
containing the ashes of the lord Buddha .
Raja Vishal Ka Garh
A huge mound with
a circumference about one kilometer and walls nearly
two meters high with a 43 m wide moat around them
is said to be the ancient parliament house . Over
seven thousand representative of federal assembly
gathered here to legislate and discuss problems of
the day. |
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| Important
Buddhist Circuits
Near Bihar |
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KHUSHINAGAR (Uttar
Pradesh): KhushiNagar is 53 Kms. east of Gorakhpur
. Gorakhpur is also a convenient base for visiting
KAPILAVASTU (110 kms.) ,
LUMBINI (108) Kms. (both in adjacent NEPAL) &
SRAVASTI (195 Kms.) which are
also important Buddhist center . The Shakyamuni ,
Gautam Buddha breathed his last (Mahaparinivana) at
KhushiNagar . KhushiNagar is
the place where Tathagata , the reciter of truth passed
away . The remains lie in three groups :
NIRVANA TEMPLE which enshrines statue of Buddha
in a reclining position . MATHA KAUR
shrine has a 10th century blue schist image of the
Buddha . ANGAR CHAITYA , which
is popularly known as the spot where Lord Buddha was
cremated by the mallas . |
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| Sarnath |
| Sarnath
is the shorter form of 'sarang Nath' where by Sarang
means Deer & Nath means Lord . Lord Buddha , after
attaining enlightenment , came to Sarnath and delivered
his first sermon here , 2500 years ago . DHAMEKH STUPA
of 5th century AD is the biggest & the most important
place where the Lord Buddha first proclaimed his faith
. In front of the Dhamekh Stupa is the ASHOKA PILLAR
which records the visit of emperor Ashoka to Sarnath
. The great brick CHOUKHANDI STUPAS , raised by Emperor
Akbar in 1555 A.D , is the
actual place where Lord Buddha met his five disciples
who had earlier deserted him . |
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