Balwant Sanghera
LINK COLUMNIST
Bihar has a very rich historicalheritage. It has deep historicalconnection with some of themajor religions of the world.Buddhism and Jainism wereborn in the Gaya-Rajgir area.Sikhism’s last guru, GuruGobind Singh ji was born inPatna. In addition to that, GuruNanak Dev ji and Guru TegBahdur ji stayed in this areabriefly. Moreover, one ofworld’s oldest universities-Nalanda was located here.We planned our visit to Patna insuch a way that would enable usto visit these historical landmarks.Consequently, my wifeand some friends set aside onefull day for this purpose. We leftby car early in the morning at 7AM. The traffic tie ups andother road congestions consumeda lot of travel time.Finally, around 10:30 AM wemade it to Bodh Gaya. This isthe place where Siddharathreceived enlightenment under apeepal tree. The present tree isabout 125 years old and is thefourth reincarnation of the originalpeepal tree. King Ashoka,who converted to Buddhismafter the battle of Kalinga, wasBuddhism’s greatest promoter.His legacy is visible all aroundthis place. Unfortunately, aMuslim invader-Alaudin Khiljinotonly destroyed the monumentshere but also many otherhistoric sites. Our guide told usthe British did an excellent jobin restoring this site. The monumentto Buddha is splendid. Soare the other symbols ofBuddhism including Ashoka’sstupas and other artifacts. Alarge number of devotees fromdifferent parts of the worldwere engrossed in meditation onthe spacious grounds surroundingBuddha’s Temple.From Bodh Gaya, it was ontoRajgir (Abode of the kings).Rajgir used to be the capital ofthe ancient Maghadh state. Ithas a complex of temples andmonasteries. Located in a valley,Rajgir is a very scenic place.Lord Buddha spent many yearshere and delivered his first sermonsaround Rajgir. The teachingsof Buddha were alsopenned here. It was the venuefor the first Buddhist Council.Rajgir also has some very beautifulHindu and Jain temples. Itis a health and winter resort withwarm water ponds with medicinalvalue. The Japanese havebuilt Vishav Shanti Stupa andmonasteries on a nearby hill.This place also has a small gurdwarain the memory of GuruNanak Dev ji who passedthrough it on his travels.About 15 kilometers fromRajgir are the ruins of thefamous Nalanda University. Itsorigin is reported to be aroundBuddha’s time. However, archeologicalexcavations date itsfoundation to the fifth centuryA.D. The university flourishedfrom the 5th to the 12th centurywhen Khilji destroyed andburnt it down.Nalanda was an internationalresidential university. It housed10,000 students and 2,000teachers from every corner ofthe world. A walk through therestored parts of the universitytakes one back in time. Itoffered courses in scriptures ofBuddhism, Vedas, Logic,Grammar and Medicine etc.The university’s vast campus isreported to be around 50 squarekilometers. Only one tenth ofits area has been excavated andrestored so far by the archeologydepartment of India. In this regard, the discovery of adiary of Hien Tsang, therenowned Chinese traveller hasbeen very helpful. Hien Tsang isreported to be a student andthen at teacher at Nalanda fortwelve years. His diary is reportedto contain extensive detailsabout the university infrastructureand programs etc.The visit to these historicplaces was like a dream cometrue. It makes one feel proud ofthe enormity, greatness and thepriceless heritage that India hasto offer not only to its own citizensbut also to the rest of theworld.Link columnist , retired SchoolPsychologist and Community ActivistBalwant Sanghera is currently visitingIndia.
