| Bihar Sights |
| Bodhgaya At Bodhgaya the Buddha attained enlightenment. The tree that had sheltered him came to be known as the Bodhi tree and the place Bodhgaya. The Mahabodhi Temple became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002. Today Bodhgaya is an important place of pilgrimage and has a number of monasteries established by Buddhists from Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka etc. Patna Patna, once called Patliputra, is the capital of Bihar. At 2500 years old it is among the world's oldest capital cities with unbroken history of many centuries as the imperial metropolis of the Mauryas and Guptas imperial dynasties. The modern city of Patna lies on the southern bank of the Ganges. Nalanda A great centre of Buddhist learning, Nalanda came into prominence around the 5th century BC and was a flourishing university town with over ten thousand scholars and an extensive library. It was a great centre for Buddhist learning. Some parts of Nalanda university were constructed by the great Mauryan emperor Ashoka the Great Rajgir Rajgir,103 kms from Patna, was the ancient capital of Magadha Empire. Lord Buddha often visited the monastery here to meditate and preach. Rajgir is also a place sacred to the Jains, Since Lord Mahavira spent many years here. Vaishali Vaishali was one of the earliest republics in the world (6th century BC). It was here that Buddha preached his last sermon. Vaishali, birthplace of Lord Mahavira is also Sacred to Jains. Kesaria This Stupa is in fact one of the many stupas marking remarkable events in the life of Buddha. Kesaria has a lofty brick mound capped by a solid brick tower of considerable size. The mound is a ruin with a diameter of 20 m at its base. General Cunningham dated this monument from 200-700 AD and held that it was built upon the ruins of a much older and larger Stupa. It is the highest Stupa found in the country with a height of about 31 m from the base. Pawapuri In Pawapuri, or Apapuri, 38 kilometres from Rajgir and 90 kilometres from Patna, all sins end for a devout Jain. Lord Mahavira, the final tirthankar and founder of Jainism, died at this place. |
| Andhra |
| Sita Kund (Munger) A village about 6 Kms east of the town of Munger contains a hot spring known as the Sita Kund spring, which is so called after the well known episode of Ramayan. Ram, after rescuing his wife Sita from the demon king Ravan, suspected that she could not have maintained her honour intact, and Sita, to prove her chastity, agreed to enter a blazing fire. She came out of the fiery ordeal unscathed, and imparted to the pool in which she bathed, the heat she had absorbed from the fire. Motihari (East Champaran) Motihari was to the first laboratory of Gandhian experiment in Satyagraha and it would not be incorrect to say that it has been the spring board for India¡¯s independence. The technique followed by Gandhiji in Champaran was what attained later on the name of Satyagraha. |
