BUDDHIST TREASURE TROVE IN CHAMPARAN BIHAR
(All the images are subject to IPR)
Besides Bodh Gaya , Rajgir, Nalanda and Vaishali, Champaran particularly West Champaran has been considered to be an important place having treasures of Buddhist era.
According to Buddhist's Scripture, when Gautam Buddha left his home alongwith his companion (sarthi) Chandak he changed his attire at this place only and cut his hair and became a bhikshu.
Tharus of West Champaran consider themselves descendants of Gautam Buddha and claim that Sahodara Sthan in Tharuhat is the birth place of Yashodhara, wife of Gautam Buddha.
Tharus of West Champaran consider themselves descendants of Gautam Buddha and claim that Sahodara Sthan in Tharuhat is the birth place of Yashodhara, wife of Gautam Buddha.
Bhikhna Thori
It is believed that this place might have been a place of importance in ancient times. Even today Bhikhna Thori is a well known tourist destination cradled in Shivalik range of Himalayas and considered important for its monuments. There is a route to Tibet 8 km North of Rampurva in West Champaran via Thori in Nepal. According to Prof (Dr) Balram Mishra, a great scholar of Champaran, Bodh Bhikshu used to enter into India or to Nepal via this place and stayed there, that is why this place in ancient times called "Bhikshu Sthavir" which later on became Bhikhna Thori.
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| Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha with his Tharu Tribe Friend Dharmraj Khatait in Bhikhna Thori of West Champaran Bihar Image (C) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
Rampurva
Two Ashokan Pillars have been dug out in Rampurva village which is 8 km of Gaunaha railway station close to the border of Nepal. The village is on the banks of river Hadboda. Both the Pillars are now in lying position under RCC shed. One of them was inscribed and was surmounted by a Lion while the other was uninscribed and carried a Bull Capital. Bull Capital is at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi and Lion Capital at National Museum Kolkata.
| Courtesy:wikimapia.org |
During Buddhist era it was an important route which started from Srivatsa and connected Kapilvastu and passed through, Bhikhna Thori, Rampurva, Lauria, Nandangarh, Bettiah, Lauria Areraj, Kesaria, Patliputra (Patna), Rajgir and reached Bodh Gaya.
Lauriya Nandangarh
Lauriya Nandangarh is a town located 28 km northwest of Bettiah, the headquarters of West Champaran district of Bihar. Lauriya derived its name from a pillar (Laur) of Mauryan emperor Ashoka, which is located here. Nandangarh is the name of a mound, situated 2 km to the south-west of the Ashoka Pillar. According to many historians, as many as forty pillars were constructed in Lauriya Nandangarh by Ashoka. In the present time, there is only one pillar at this site, which stands in its complete form.
LAURIYA
Less than half a kilometer from the village Lauriya & 2 KM from the Nandangarh mound stands the well-known pillar of Ashoka. It is a single block of polished sandstone over 32 feet (10 m) high. The top is bell shaped with a circular abacus ornamented with Brahmi geese supporting the statue of a lion.
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| Photo(c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
The pillar is inscribed with the edicts of Ashoka in clear and beautifully cut characters. The lion has been chipped in the mouth and the column bears the mark of time just below the top which has itself been slightly dislodged. Signs of vandalism over the years are clearly visible.
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NANDANGARH
Lauriya Nandangarh is also a location for about 20 archaeological mounds arranged in three rows. The excavation of Nandangarh, an 82-feet high mound, yielded the remains of a huge Stupa, which had a circumference of about 1500 ft near the base.
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The discovery of this Stupa has brought to light number of stone beads, terracotta figures, punch marked cast coins, which prove that it was constructed during 2nd century AD. It is believed that the Stupa enshrines the ashes of Lord Buddha.
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| One of the 20 Mounds other than Nandangarh near Lauria Photo (c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
KESARIA STUPA ( EAST CHAMPARAN , BIHAR)
Kesariya is a town in Bihar, India in the district of East Champaran, near Rampur Khajuria on NH28 on the eastern bank of River Gandak (Narayani). It is the site of a stupa built by the King Ashoka. It is one of, if not the largest stupa in India. The Buddha once stayed in Kesariya (then called "Kesaputta"). On that occasion, he preached the Kesaputtiya Suttas which include the Kalama Sutta. The inhabitants of Kesariya were the Kosalans and the Kalamas.
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| Photo (c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
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| Photo (c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
Kesaria claims the tallest and the largest Buddhist Stupa in the world. The stupa was discovered in 1998 during an excavation by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The stupa dates to between 200 AD and 750 AD and may have been associated with the 4th century ruler, Raja Chakravarti.
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| Photo (c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
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| Photo (c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
At 104 feet, Kesaria Stupa is one foot taller than the Borobodur Stupa in Java. It is also taller than the second largest stupa at Ghorakatora in the Nalanda district. The National Informatics Centre of East Champaran (Motihari) suggests the Kesaria Stupa was 123 feet tall before the 1934 earthquake in Bihar. According to a report by the A.S.I., the Kesaria Stupa was originally 150 feet in height. The height of Sanchi Stupa a world heritage site is 77.50 feet.
In ancient times Kesariya was under the rule of the Mauryas and the Lichchhavis. Recent discovery ( during excavations for canals) of gold coins embossed with the seal of the Emperor Kanishka of the Kushan dynasty, confirms the ancient heritage of Kesariya. The Chinese traveller Fa-Hien had come to Kesariya, in the course of his visit to India during the Gupta Period. Later, impressed by Kesariya's geographic location and its cultural activities, another Chinese traveller, Huen-Sang also visited this place. In the accounts of his travels, he has mentioned at length about Kesariya.
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