Bihar
- Places of Interest
|
Rajgir |
The Buddha lived in the sixth century
BC. Mahavir was born in 567 BC and the traveller in
Bihar will encounter them both constantly. Rajgir is
10km south of Nalanda and sacred to the memory of the
founder of both Buddhism and Jainism. Lord Buddha spent
many months of retreat during the rainy season here,
and used to meditate and preach on Griddhkuta, the 'Hill
of the Vultures'. Lord Mahavir spent fourteen years
of his life at Rajgir and Nalanda. It was in Rajgriha
that Lord Buddha delivered some of his famous sermons
and converted king Bimbisara of the Magasha Kingdom
and countless others to his creed. Once a great city,
Rajgir is just a village today, but vestiges of a legendary
and historical past remain, like the cyclopean wall
that encircles the town and the marks engraved in rock
that local folklore ascribes to Lord Krishna's chariot.
This legend, like many others associates Rajgir to that
distant time when the stirring events recorded in the
epic Mahabharata were being enacted.
Rajgir is located in a verdant valley surrounded by
rocky hills.
An aerial ropeway provides
the link with a hill-top stupa "Peace Pagoda"
built by the Japanese. On one of the hills in the cave
of Saptparni, was held the first Buddhist Council. The
Saptparni cave is also the source of the Rajgir Hot Water
Springs that have curative properties and are sacred to
the Hindus.
TREASURE OF RAJGIR:
Amaravana
or Jivaka's Mango Garden
Site of the Royal Physician's dispensary where the Lord
Buddha was once brought to have wound dressed by Jivaka,
the royal physician during the reign of Ajatashatru and
Bimbisara.
Venuvana
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.
Ajatashatru's
Fort
Built by Ajatashatru (6th century B.C.), the king of Magadha
during the Buddha's time. The 6.5 sq. metre Ajatashatru's
Stupa is also believed to have been built by him.
Bimbisara's
Jail
King Bimbisara was imprisoned here by his impatient son
and heir, Ajatashatru. The captive king chose this site
for his incarceration. For, from this spot, he could see
Lord Buddha climbing up to his moutain 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.
Swarna
Bhandar
Two rather strange cave chambers were hollowed out of
a single massive rock. One of the chambers is believed
to have been the guard room, the rear wall has two straight
vertical lines and one horizontal line cut into the rock;
this 'doorway' is supposed to lead to king Bimbisara treasury.
Inscriptions in the Sankhalipi or shell script, etched
into the 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 chamber bears
a few traces of seated and standing guards etched into
the outer wall.
The
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-Mauryan stone structures
ever to have been found. Trace of the wall still subsist,
particularly at the exit of Rajgir to Gaya.
Griddhakuta
or Vulture's Peak
This was the place where the Lord Buddha set in motion
his second wheel of Law and for three months every year
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 up to the hill but it is much more fun to take the
Aerial Chairlift which operates every day except Thursday.
One way ride takes 7.5 minutes and the view is splendid
over the hills of Rajgir.
Jain
Temples
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.
Hot
Springs
At the foot of the Vaibhava Hill. A staircase leads up
to the various temples. Separate bathing places have been
organised for men and women and the water comes through
spouts from Saptdhara, the seven streams, believed to
find their source behind the "Saptaparni Caves",
up in the hills. The hottest of the springs is the Brahmakund
with a temperature of 450C.
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
Other
Places of Interest
Other archaeological sites including the Karnada Tank
where Lord Buddha used to bathe, the Maniyar Math that
dates from the 1st century AD, the Maraka Kukshi where
the still unborn Ajatashatru was cursed as a patricide,
the Rannbhumi where Bhima and Jarasandh fought one of
the Mahabharat battles. The Chariot Route
and shell inscriptions are worth a visit for the strangeness
of the phenomenon, two parallel furrows cut deep into
the rock for about thifty 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 the
5th centuries AD, are engraved in the rock around the
chariot marks. Virayatan--a Jain temple and Museum.
Travel
Info:
Air : The
nearest airport is Patna (107km).
Rail
: The nearest railway station on Delhi-Howrah
(Calcutta) main line is Bakhtiyarpur 54Kms. Though the
loop line connects nalanda
Road
: Rajgir is connected by Road to Patna,
Gaya, Delhi.
