Rajgir-Nalanda-Gaya Diaries

A travelogue for someone touring Rajgir, Nalanda and Gaya

“You have to know the past to understand the present.” — Carl Sagan

Travel has been one of the key-terminologies in my b-/vlogs because of my natural affinity to want to tour places and document my travel. One such case was my travel to Bihar’s region of Rajgir-Nalanda-Gaya in the month of August, 2023. It was my second homecoming to India, while studying Physics at the TU-Berlin in my Bachelor degree years and I decided to visit the region with my family, as a form of little historic detour. I’ve heard a lot about the ancient University ruins of Nalanda and the Mahabodhi Temple where Gautama Buddha achieved his enlightenment. The blog explains a bit about what I learned from that trip. The pictures used, are mine until mentioned otherwise.

It took us around 5–6 hours to reach Bakhtiarpur Railway Station from Howrah Station on the eve of 10th August, 2023. It was early morning, and then we caught a taxi-hike to Rajgir (around 50 km). The word Rajgir comes from the old-Sanskrit name Rajgriha or the “royal abode” and has been the capital of the Magadha Empire (6th — 4th century BCE) for centuries. It was at the centre of the propagation of Buddhism and Jainism for many years. We reached by mid-morning at our hotel and did not go for any trip that day due to a bit of ill-health of mine.

On the contrary, here is a map showing all the spots which we planned to visit on our trip:

A Google Maps view of Bakhtiarpur (in black) and the trio of Nalanda-Rajgir-Gaya (in red). The distance between Bakhtiarpur and Rajgir is around 50 kilometres.

On the next day, we planned on a short hill-trip to the Vishwa Shanti Stupa (literally translating to “World Peace Stupa”) atop the hill of Ratnagiri. Typical ‘totos’ (electric autorickshaws) can only take tourists up to a point, while horse-driven Tonga carts can take further but charge naturally much more, due to upkeep costs. Costs of two-way journey with reserved seats would go up to 1200–1700 Indian Rupees (13,20 € — 18,70€ , according to exchange rates checked last on 12th August, 2023). It is a stupa built by the Buddha Sangha of Japan. A walkable route to the Stupa is available but going up some kilometres on feet up a hill was a bit too much for us (since we did not have our lunch by then), so we chose the aerial chairlift.

The horse-driven ‘Tonga’ carts take tourists up to the important spots in Rajgir, including the entrance to the aerial chairlift until the Vishwa Shanti Stupa. However, the state of the horses are pretty deplorable, as they charge hefty amounts of money, but hardly take care of the good being of the animals involved.

The Aerial Chairlift operates on all days except Thursdays. One-way ride takes around 7,5–8 minutes and it takes tourists to an elevation of 2200 feet. The stupa is all alive with the chantings of “na-mu-myo-h-nga-kyo” amidst the beating of big drums. On four sides, the golden statues of the Buddha depict his four actions: birth, enlightenment, teaching and nirvana (passing away). While coming down from the top of the hill, we visited a couple of spots too. A spot was the Maniyar Math — a cylindrical block shrine dedicated to the worship of the presiding deity of Rajgir — Mani Nag. It is an amazing example of art of Gupta period (320–550 AD). This place was built in the memory of Naga Salibhadra. It is said that he got his treasure buried in this well. In the excavation by renowned British archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham, many statues were found at the depth of 19 feet. Historians believe that these statues were of the period from 1st — 6th Century AD. Pali Scripture, “Sanyukta Nikay” has it described as ‘Manimaal-Chaitya’, where Lord Buddha had a dialogue with Manibhadra Yaksha.

Me in front of the Maniyar Math: There is no entrance fee in entering the temple, which one has to enter without shoes. However, the so-called pundits in the area would coax tourists for money anyway. The building is a wonderful example of architecture from the Gupta era.

About a kilometer from Maniyar Math, one can visit the Bimbisar Jail, a historical area spanning for around 60 square metres, enclosed by stone walls, about 2 metres thick, with circular bastions at the corners. The structure has been identified by archaeologists with the prison in which Bimbisara’s (reigned in Magadha Empire between 544 BCE — 492 BCE) son Ajatasatru held his father captive. As per Buddhism, due to influence by Dustabandu Divadatt (a Buddhist monk), Bimbisara was assassinated by his son in c. 493 BCE, who then succeeded him to the throne.

On the next day, we decided going for the ruins of Nalanda and the spots nearby. We booked a car from our hotel and the journey between Rajgir and Nalanda took between 20–30 minutes with the car. Upon reaching at the city of Nalanda, we chose first to visit the ancient University ruins. The Nalanda University ruins collectively is an UNESCO World-Heritage Site since 2016. It was the first residential univeristy built at around 450 BCE under the leadership of King Kamaragupta I, and maintained between 5th and 6th Centuries CE during the “Golden Age of India”. It had hostels, temples, classrooms, etc. built over three different dynasties — 4th, 6th and 9th Centuries CE.

My parents and me in front of the Hostel-Living Quarters of students near the entrance of the University ruins at Nalanda. Each room had a door, which has now been under several layers of concrete sedimentation over generations which is evident when one visits the spot.

The present passageway as seen, was built nicely only at the third renovation stage in 9th Century CE, but was actually just a gap between the two hostel blocks in the University campus.

Nalanda was described in Chinese traveller Hiueng Tsang’s (original name: Cheng Yi) memoirs as a “Mahavihara”. Mahavihara (Mahāvihāra) is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a great vihara (centre of learning or Buddhist monastery) and is used to describe a monastic complex of viharas. Tsang studied and taught at the ancient university of Nalanda too.

Scholars like Aryabhatta, Dharmapala, Shilabhadra and Yijing amongst others are related to the proceedings of the ancient university.

Ruins of the primary temple complex in the University ruins complex.

The University was ransacked to the ground by the Central Asian king Muhammand Bhakhtiyar Khilji in around 1200 CE. When one looks at the walls of the rooms at Monastery №1 as a typical example, one would notice three distinct layers of bricks separated by concrete slabs which are definitive signs of triple renovation at three different dynasties, while burned or charred brick layers are reminiscent of the plunder done by Khilji.

On the left: the charred scars on the north-east walls of the Monastery №1 reminiscent of the vandalism done by the Muslim ruler Khilji. On the right: the two distinct segregation plates showing the oldest (5th Century) remains of the University and the second and third-generational renovation attempts on the University above it.

It was excavated from the ground primarily by the renowned British archaeologist — Alexander Cunningham with the help of other famous archaeologists like David Spooner, Hiranand Shastri, Palak Shah and Amalananda Ghosh amongst others between 1914 and 1937 and again between 1974 and 1982.

Hostel rooms of students from Monastery №3 on the north-east side of the ruins.

Temple №12 of the Nalanda University ruins: The Temple is thought to be built in two phases of construction (5th and 6th centuries CE). The exterior of the earlier temple is decorated with pilasters, ornamental mouldings and niches for containing stucco images. It is built on a raised platform facing east.

Just beside the ruins, lies an extensively detailed Nalanda Museum, maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). One can go there, just by crossing the road and going through a long path of parks and maintained tree-lines. The tickets to go inside cost 40 Indian Rupees for locals and 300 Indian Rupees for foreigners, just like the visit to the Nalanda ruins.

After visiting the Nalanda University ruins, we visited the Hieung Tsang Memorial or the Xuan Zang Memorial located approximately 1,5 km away from the ruins. This Hall is in memory of Chinese scholar and traveller Hiuen Tsang (Xuan Zang), who also was a student of Nalanda University as well as taught there for years. The memorial’s ticket costs 40 Indian Rupees too for entry.

Me in front of the Xuan Zang memorial. After former Indian prime minister and premium freedom fighter: Jawaharlal Nehru received the relics of Xuanzang (Hieung Tsang) from the Dalai Lama, he constructed the memorial in the Chinese traveler-scholar’s contributions to understanding history of the region.

It was in January 1957 that India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, on behalf of the government of India, received the relics of Xuanzang along with his biography and an endowment for the construction of a hall in his memory from His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama of Tibet. The initiative was aimed at enhancing the cultural relationship between India and China. The construction work started in 1960 and was completed in 1984. Further constructions are still happening, when we visited the spot.

The inside of the Xuan Zang Memorial is filled with ornate zinc-base paintings on the walls and ceilings. The Memorial also apparently contains a slab of “Buddha’s footprints” — the construction of which, was personally supervised by Hieung Tsang and laced with Buddhist Sutras (chants). It was discovered in the year 1999.

Chinese inscription on the gateway to the memorial reading “Xuan Zang”.

We took a small detour from the Memorial to visit a spot lying just 15 km away — Pawapuri. It was just a 30 min drive from that place and contains a very holy site for the Jains (Jainism) — the Jal Mandir (literally translates to “Water Temple”). The town “Pawapuri” derives its name from “Apapapuri” which means “a town free of sins”.

The Jalmandir at Pawapuri is apparently considered by many, where Lord Mahavira attained ‘nirvana’ and left Earth, only leaving footprints on rock slabs, which are supposedly preserved in this temple.

According to the information laid out by the Foundation Trustee of the temple on stone at the entrance of the temple, this temple is apparently the place where Lord Mahavira — the 24th and last Tirthankar of Jainism attained “Nirvana” (salvation) in 527 BCE leaving only a supposed footprint on a rock that is preserved here. Some historians also believe it is where Lord Mahavira was cremated.

The temple is situated at the centre of a pond where lotus flowers, primarily of the colour — bright red, grow. Legends say, that when Lord Mahavira was cremated here, his followers considered the soil so holy, that they started taking loads of them back home, leaving a huge land depression around the temple.

There is no admission fee for entering the temple complex. However, generous donations to the Jain Trustee are welcome to the Temple.

On the next day, we embarked on a journey to visit the Rajgir Wildlife Safari complex, 3,5 km from our hotel. It is a natural complex maintained by Bihar Tourism and Bihar Forest Department, in co-operation with the other Governmental departments. We had booked a ticket for each person for 750 Indian Rupees (8,25 € — when last checked on 13th August, 2023) solely for the wildlife safari trip, 2 days in advance online on their website. This is not an advertising attempt, but in case someone reading this article wants to book it advance, the link is here.

The new Rajgir Jungle Safari complex, which was still undergoing construction in parts, when we visited it. New ticket counters were being opened, canteen was already there but not enough facilities are there, for all the people.

Inside the complex, there is a canteen but not enough seats for people. There are bus (shuttle) system for people to tour the enclosures and only a limited amount of people are allowed on a given shuttle at one time.

A shuttle-system with mini-buses was used to transport tourists to the various enclosures. We went with the shuttle no. 9 on our trip. The mini-buses have large side-windows which are apparently soundproof, as told by the guide. Meanwhile, a guide is also provided with every ride, along with the usual driver of the vehicle.

We had a tour of the deer, bear, leopard, tiger and lion enclosures. The facilities were pretty good, but the local people were a bit weird — they were literally shouting to the bus guide, to spank horn on the tiger when it was sleeping because they wanted a sort of “circus show” in front, not knowing that they are in their natural habitat, and we are simply going there for a visit. General public have a long way to come by, personally I feel — with all due respect. There is also a natural museum and 180 degrees 3-D theatre showing educational documentaries on marine life.

A tiger with white fur in the tiger enclosure. According to the guide, it was rather a tigress and not a tiger, who was having her evening nap.

On the way back to the hotel at Rajgir, we also visited the ancient Rajgriha (Rajgir) Cyclopean Walls. These were the outer walls of Rajgir, while it was the capital of the Magadha Empire and they were meant for fortification from exterior aggression. These were in total 40 km long and were built between 600 to 400 BCE to protect the city from outside invasions, as mentioned earlier.

A view of the Cyclopean Walls of Rajgriha: they were built between 600–400 BCE as outer city fortifications for the capital of the Magadha Empire and stretched almost 40 km at its peak.

On the next day, it was time to move onto the next big city: Bodh Gaya. It is around 70 km from Rajgir, and we had to book a car with around 1500 INR for a one-way trip (as our return-trip train was to come to Gaya Station). It took around 2 hours of journey-time.

We stayed in Bodh Gaya for 2 days, with the first being normally to visit the smaller historic sites around the city and the last day being primarily for the UNESCO World Heritage Site — Mahabodhi Temple.

The first day trip featured the twin monasteries of Bhutan and Vietnam, as well as the Japanese Shinto temple, the Tibetan Monastery and the Karma Temple.

The Buddha idol at the Buddhist Monastery of Bhutan or the Great Bhutan Monastery at Bodhgaya.

We also went to a 80 ft. tall Buddha statue called The Great Buddha Statue. Built in 1989 under the leadership of His Holyness The Dalai Lama (14th), it was the biggest Buddha statue in India at that time. It took 7 years to complete the statue, with 12,000 stonemasons.

The Great Buddha Statue, which is a 80 ft. tall statue of the enlightened Lord Buddha.

During the Bodh Gaya Bombings of 2013, a bomb was supossedly also found in the statue, but was defused later.

On the last day, we visited the Mahabodhi Temple. This is supposedly where Gautama Buddha achieved enlightenment. The first temple was built by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century B.C., and the present temple dates from the 5th or 6th centuries. It is one of the earliest Buddhist temples built entirely in brick, still standing in India, from the late Gupta period. It is an UNESCO-World Heritage Site.

Since cameras weren’t allowed inside, I had to take a picture of the great temple of Mahabodhi, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, built around the holy Mahabodhi tree, where Lord Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment.

Phones were not allowed inside, so couldn’t take pictures with phone inside — it was all on the outside.

The next day, we took a tuk tuk to travel from our hotel to the Gaya Railway station, to take our train back to Howrah Station with the Purva Eastern-Railway Locomotive.

The following sources have been cited for the historical informations:

1. Wikipedia — the free encyclopedia articles on Rajgir, Nalanda, Nalanda University, Hieung Tsang, Bimbisara, Gautam Buddha and Bodh Gaya.
2. The New York Times article on the 2013 Bodh Gaya Bomb Blasts.
3. Rajgir — a Latest Guide Book with Pictures & Map [no publication date or author found, no online articles, it was bought by me at the Bimbisara Jail complex for 80 Indian Rupees]
4. Encyclopedia Britannica article on Magadha Empire.
5. The front information panel on marble at the Pawapur Jalmandir (Lord Mahavira’s Nirvana spot) — link to the image of the info panel at the Internet Archive, here.

Until next time ! :)