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Trails of Magadh
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https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/57984-trails-magadh-4.html)
Amazing pics akbaree. Very nice travelogue with great details.
You should be hosting travelogues on TV clap:
I mean it :) Hope you believe me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by muralisk
(Post 1328300)
Amazing pics akbaree. Very nice travelogue with great details. |
Thanks Murali.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hrag
(Post 1328335)
You should be hosting travelogues on TV clap:
I mean it :) Hope you believe me. |
Hrishi, appreciation feels good. Thanks for the claps.
And I like your suggestion. Believe me, I would like to believe you. Now, only if the all the TV audiences were you...
We now leave for Pawapuri. Pawapuri is another 20 kilometers from Nalanda. Pawapuri is where Mahavira attained Nirvana. After Mahavira’s cremation, there was a huge demand among His devotees for His ashes. They took away whatever they can lay their hands on. This created a huge pit at that place. Today the pit has been converted into a lake and there stands a temple in the middle of the lake.
Nothing much to say here, only to be felt. I haven’t been to a more peaceful place.
The place that marks Mahavira’s Nirvana
We then leave for Rajgir, reaching our hotel at 6:30pm.
I had promised the priest of the Jain temple that I would come to the Naulakha temple in the evening. The priest is actually looking for more alms. No one can help these folks with their greed.
The Naulakha temple is where the Jain dharamsala is. The Jain pilgrims coming to Rajgir to visit the 26 temples on the 5 hills generally stay in this dharamsala. The temple has been recently constructed; actually moved from another location.
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Munisuvratswami’s idol is beautiful
This idol is ancient and was found on the Vaibhargiri hill, but is now housed in the temple
Don't miss the glass hall beneath the main temple premise.
It has been extremely busy day: an early morning bath at Brahma Kund, Trek to Vaibhargiri, Nalanda, Pawapuri, and Naulakha temple. I hit the bed with lot of content and peace. Tomorrow we leave for Vaisali… To be continued…
Amazing travelogue Akbaree ! It is a virtual trip to Magadh.
Mesmerizing photos. I wonder how did you manage to post so many photos. I had to refresh the page several times to load all the photos ! Some of the pictures on this page remind me of ruins of Hampi.
I voted for a 5 star rating and this thread really deserves it.
Great effort Akbaree :thumbs up
Quote:
Originally Posted by BomBatt
(Post 1330375)
Amazing travelogue Akbaree ! It is a virtual trip to Magadh.
Mesmerizing photos. I wonder how did you manage to post so many photos. I had to refresh the page several times to load all the photos ! Some of the pictures on this page remind me of ruins of Hampi.
Great effort Akbaree :thumbs up |
Thanks so much and I am happy that some of you are actually liking the travelogue.
I had clicked almost 10 GB of pictures in just 7 days during this trip. And I don't have the skills to shoot in the RAW mode. I have made a concious effort not to load thread with unnecessary photographs as well as to reduce the size of each file to around 100kb. I look forward to all suggestions if you folks have felt that there were unnecessary photographs.
There are very few people like you on board who study the place rather than just visit.
I had read something about Nalanda and Bhagawan Gautam Buddha during school days and forgot everything about it till reading this travelogue.
Its really learning experience by reading this travelogue .
Now, i had more knowledge about the same.
Thanks Akbaree.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD
(Post 1331017)
There are very few people like you on board who study the place rather than just visit.
I had read something about Nalanda and Bhagawan Gautam Buddha during school days and forgot everything about it till reading this travelogue.
Its really learning experience by reading this travelogue .
Now, i had more knowledge about the same.
Thanks Akbaree. |
Some places are actually worth knowing as you visit them. Magadh could be one of the best examples.
Thanks for you kind words and my apologies if you feel this travelogue rivals a school textbook.
Quote:
Originally Posted by akbaree
(Post 1332228)
my apologies if you feel this travelogue rivals a school textbook. |
my apologies if you feel that my words made you think that it rivals school textbook.please:
i am waiting for further post.
i think, this is the travelogue which i read for some knowledge and not for just T p.:thumbs up
Quote:
Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD
(Post 1332311)
i am waiting for further post. |
Here I go...
Vaishali is around 180 kilometers from Rajgir. We have to go via Patna (55 kilometers north west of Patna). From Patna we continued on NH83 till Hajipur where we took a left turn towards Lalganj. From Hajipur, it’s a state road till Vaishali. The road is fairly decent and almost the entire stretch has mango groves on both the sides. Unfortunately we were a bit early to enjoy ripe mangoes.
Like Barabar hills, I haven’t read much about Vaishali. Vaishali was added to itinerary only after arriving at Bodh Gaya and after talking to the tourism office. The kingdom of Vaishali was never part of Magadh. Actually one of the reasons that Ajatshatru moved his capital from Rajgir to Patliputra was to better face the challenge posed by frequent pitched battles with the Licchavis. Vaishali finds mention in Ramayan as capital of King Vishal.
Mahavira was born in Vaishali and Buddha frequented Vaishali. Some texts suggest that Vaishali has also seen confrontation between the followers of Mahavira and Buddha in those times. Buddha is believed to have welcomed a lot of Mahavira’s followers into his philosophy while giving his last sermon and announcing his mahaparinirvana here. Buddha had then left for Kushisnagar where he attained mahaparinirvana. Vaishali also hosted the 2nd great Buddhist council (after the 1st one that was held at Saptaparni caves in Rajgir).
But the most interesting fact about Vaishali is that historians (based on ancient texts and archaeological findings) suggest that couple of centuries before Buddha and Mahavira, the Mahajanapada of Vajjis (of which Licchavis were part of) have created world's first democracy with an elected assembly of representatives. Vaishali was the capital of this Mahajanapad and Sanskrit was the official language.
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We arrived at Vaishali at around lunch time. We had plans for an overnight stay here and leaving for Patna next day early morning. But the government hotel (that was inaugurated by Rabri Devi) lies in shambles.
There’s no restaurant but the folks at the hotel were very cordial and got lunch arranged for us. We took an hour’s rest while waiting for lunch.
The lake as seen from the our room’s balcony
This lake is also known as “Abhishek Pushkarni” (Coronation Tank). The water of the lake was considered sacred and the oath taking ceremony for the elected representatives of Vajjis/Licchavis used to happen at this lake.
After the lunch, we visited the museum. The museum at Vaishali also has some marvelous finds and should be on your must visit list if you happen to visit Vaishali.
As we walk towards the museum which is just 100 meters from the hotel…
As you can see that Sir Alexander Cunningham’s name figure prominently here as well.
After the museum we walk down to the Relic Stupa.
After the cremation of Buddha, it is believed that there were 8 contenders for His relics and so the relics were divided into 8 parts. One of the them happen to be the Licchavis. They built a small mud stupa in Vaishali to honor the relics. The stupa was later expanded by the kings and dynasties that followed.
That’s the relic stupa for us. An earthern pot believed to containing part of Buddha’s ashes has been recovered from this relic stupa. That earthern pot is presently housed in Patna Museum.
Mango trees are everywhere.
The relic stupa... the earther pot was discovered right at the center.
We then walk back to our hotel as we will need the car to travel to rest of the places in Vaishali. It appeared lonely to be visiting these places without a guide and just then our hotel manager offered to be our guide. As we discovered later, he turns out to be a great person.
The first place we visited was Kolhua which is around 2 kilometers from the hotel.
A beautiful stupa.
This stupa has been constructed over the corporeal remains of Ananda. Ananda was part of the core disciple team of Buddha. He is believed to be a memory whiz and after the mahaparinirvana of Buddha helped immensely in codification of His teachings as he remembered everything.
Ashoka’s pillar: Ashoka built this pillar to honor the place where Buddha gave his last sermon. This is the very place where Buddha gave his last sermon. And the Lion’s head is pointing in the direction in which Buddha left after giving his last sermon.
This is the only Ashokan pillar that has no damages whatsoever.
If you noticed there is a bus full of Thai tourists. And to my surprise a beautiful girl walks up to us and asks my aunt if she would mind a photograph with her. Of course my aunt obliged. At 73 years I envy my aunt’s charm. I am not sure if I will even live that long.
This water tank is one of the 8 legends in Buddhists text and is believed to have been dug by monkeys.
All put together.
There are two monasteries as well.
One of them is swastika shaped. It was build for nuns. That reminds me of Amrapali - the illustrious royal courtesan of Vaishali. According to some legends Amrapali was the first women arahant. Her unwavering devotion to Buddha, have Buddha change his mind and allow women arahants in to Dharma and Sangha. Our hotel manager is quite unhappy that the birth place of Amrapali (identified some couple of kilometers away) has seen no attention from government).
Just next to Swastika shaped monastery is Kutagarshala. Buddha used to stay in Kutagarshala while at Vaishali. It would have been expanded into a monastery in later periods.
The Thai group was having a long prayer meeting at the stupa.
To be continued…
Spellbinding stuff!
( A five star rating has been dispatched)
I am wordless. Never knew there was so much history to be seen and experienced in Bihar.
One word "Amazing " :).Have never seen such Pictures of BIHAR !
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