introduction:
PATNA the provincial capital of Bihar dates back
in the Indian history when the town was called
Patliputra and later on it was also called Kusumpura.
The city was visited by Lord Buddha in the 6th
century B.C. Patliputra, in the time of Ashoka
became the centre from where messengers of peace
and international understanding were sent to all
over India and beyond. The glories of the city
revived with the rise of the Gupta Empire in the
early 4th century A.D. and Chandragupta I, who
was the first emperor of the Gupta dynasty, had
his capital here. Fahian, Chinese pilgrim, who
visited this city in early 5th century A.D, has
left a very rich description of the place.
Nalanda :
Nalanda is one of the places distinguished as
having been blessed by the presence of the Buddha,
it later became particularly renowned as the site
of the great monastic university of the same name,
which was to become the crown jewel of the development
of Buddhism in India. The name may derive from
one of Shakyamuni's former births, when hewas
a king whose capital was here. Nalanda was one
of his epithets meaning "insatiable in giving."
Golghar :
Golghar or the round house, the huge granary was
built in 1786 by Captain John Garstin, at the
behest of the then administrator, Warren Hastings.
Bihar experienced severe draught that resulted
in acute famine in the year 1770. Alarmed by the
situation faced by the people, this massive granary
was constructed for the British army. The enormous
structure is 29 m high and is 3.6 m wide at the
base.
Bodhgaya :
Located in the state of Bihar, Bodhgaya along
with Sarnath and Kushinagar are the most sacred
places for the Buddhists around the country. It
is here in Bodhgaya that Buddha is supposed to
have attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree.
The tree from the original sapling still stands
in the temple premises The magnificent Mahabodhi
temple stands adjacent to this bodhi tree. The
temple stands on the site of the ancient temple
erected by Ashoka in the
3rd century BC. The inscriptions here describe
the visits of pilgrims from Sri Lanka, Myanmar
and China between 7th and 10th century AD.