THE GREAT MAGADH CAPITAL-PATNA

LAL SALAAM

After seeing the Historically and archeologically rich Bodhgaya, Rajgrih and Nalanda, I decided to get into urban Bihar. Around 4th century BC,Ajatshatru had made Pataliputra his capital. He shifted from Rajrih, maybe because of the proximity to the gigantic Ganga and also to be closer to Vaishali, which he wanted to conquer. 

GANGA THE MIGHTY RIVER

Pataliputra then, and Patna now is a big city, quite congested and has some charm of its own. It has got Colonial charm, as well as moffusil rustic charm. The cycle rickshaws are quite comfortable, but slightly high for my liking. 

It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited place in the world. It has been the Capital of Magadh since around 400 BC. In 300 BC during the rule of the Mauryas its population was 4,00,000. Quite a large population for those times! Pataliputra was ruled by the following dynasties.

1. Haryanka Empire- Bimbisar's dynasty-684 BC -413 BC. Bimbisar, Ajatshatru were of this dynasty.

2. Shishunaga Empire -413 BC -345 BC.

3. Nanda Empire- 424 BC -321 BC. This clan was not Kshatriya. Alexander had attacked India in 326 BC. He did not cross the Beas.

4. Maurya Empire -322 BC -185 BC.  It is said that this clan was not Kshatriya but Chandragupta  Maurya was the son of a dasi.  Chandragupta Maurya, Bindusara, Ashoka the Great were the rulers. Our relations with Greece were established. Ashoka ruled over almost the entire Bharatvarsha with the exception of parts of South India. Chanakya belonged to this era and also all the Asoka Stambhs and about 80,000 stupas were constructed all over the country. Buddhism flourished and was spread to South East Asia. He gave us our stone edicts with History written on it.

5. Sunga Empire 185 BC-75 BC. Patanjali's Mahabhashya was composed during their rule. This dynasty patronized Indian Culture and it is thought that they also persecuted followers of Buddhism, and revival of Hinduism began in their rule.

6. Gupta Empire -320 AD -600 AD. These rulers were not Kshatriya but were from Vaish community.  The known Rulers were Chandra Gupta, Samudra Gupta, Chandragupta II.This is the era that was called the Golden Age of India. because of the prosperity of the times when Art, Music, Literature, Science, Mathematics, Astronomy, prospered. This was the age that gave us Kalidas, Aryabhat, Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma, Vatsyayana.

SOME WHERE HERE WAS THE PALACE OF ASOKA

How great the place was can only be imagined by us now. It was the place where two great Religions flourished, Buddhism and Jainism. Guru Gobind Singh the 10th Guru of the Sikh religion was also born in Patna. The famous University of Nalanda was located close by.

The modern city of Patna is situated on the southern bank of the Ganges. The river Sone, Gandak and Punpun also converge on the Ganga near Patna.

THE PILLAR AT KUMRAHAR

On this journey of mine in   Magadh, I started by visiting Kumrahar.  This is the place where the ancient Pataliputra ruins were. Today there is a huge garden and a small museum in the area, but the remains of the buildings of the Nand Empire and The Maurya Empire are very few. 

THE SUPINE PILLAR

If I remember correctly, I had visited this place about 50 years ago. I distinctly remember that then there were some pillars and the ruins of a wall, belonging to the Mauryan Empire in this place. This time I saw that the Pillars had been removed to the Museum and there was just one pillar supine on the grass. It left me feeling sad. 

The ruins of the mighty Empire which was perhaps the most important phase of our Indian History was totally displaced. There were some ruins belonging to the 4th and 5th century AD. This was the Hospital cum Monastery of Dhanvantri. Seals of the Arogyashala in Brahmi Lipi were found here and are kept in the Museum. One can read written on the seal "Sri Arogyavihara Bhikshusamghasya"

When ruins are in place, one's imagination can run  riot with visualizing all those high and mighty people walking on those corridors and the hustle bustle of a living city.

THE MUSEUM

After the disappointment of Kumrahar I went to the Patna Museum. The Museum building is majestic. I must say the British had this art of making imposing buildings which could make one want to enter the place and absorb all the beauty and knowledge of a time gone by. The Jadu Ghar, Ajaib Ghar or Museum is a red colored building spread out amidst a huge well maintained garden.  

DIDARGANJ YAKSHI

Entry to the first hall of the museum, made me stop and look  mesmerized at the extremely beautiful Didarganj Yakshi belonging to the 3rd Century BC. She is a work of beauty and art. 

YAKSHI FROM THE BACK

Yakshi's pretty nose got broken in one of her international trips. Yet she looks perfect. Her smile is no less enigmatic than the smile of Mona Lisa. She is  beautiful from every angle. The workmanship is very detailed and crafted very intricately.She is 64 inches tall, and is carved out of a single piece of stone.

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE YAKSHI

There were many more statues and Historical objects kept in the Museum. I liked the Buddha with a moustache.

BUDDHA WITH MOUSTACHE

Yet what made me sit quietly and peacefully was the room where the relics of Gautama the Buddha are kept. The room is not open to all. One has to buy a ticket of Rs. 100 to visit this room which is kept under lock and key with strict security.

THE PRECIOUS CASKET

The relics are kept in a small casket and consist of ashes of the Buddha, a stone bead, a broken glass bead, copper punch mark coin and a small leaf of gold. 

INSIDE THE CASKET

The relics are kept in controlled temperature. I loved being in that room all by myself with the relics of the greatest teacher of all times. It was the closest I could get to the Great teacher who lived more than 2500 years ago.

Having experienced  this, I did not want to see anything else in Patna. Yet we did go past the Golghar, which is a granary and has a unique shape, and also the Martyrs memorial.

GURU GOBIND SINGH'S BIRTHPALCE

Next morning we visited Patna Sahib the Gurudwara built over the place where the 10th Guru of the Sikh religion, Guru Gobind Singh was born.

Patna today does not convey to us that this is the place which is responsible for the ancient great works of Literature, art, Religion, education, knowledge. This was the place which gave India its name "Sone ki Chidiya". This was the most important land where so many eminent people lived, ruled and expanded their empires. All our past glory, History belonged to this place.

MAGADH?????

Magadh had so many Empires, there was so much bloodshed, each Ruler became more powerful than the other.  Magadh also broke the mould of the Caste system to some extent, as Rulers did not necessarily belong to the Kshatriya or warring caste. Asoka ruled the entire length and breadth of the country from Khorasan, Afghanistan to present day Bangladesh and Assam, and from North to North Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. He had three capitals, Pataliputra, Ujjain and Takshashila.  He became the biggest follower of Buddha who had preached Peace. Buddha had said that "we must train ourselves to attain peace". In Pali it is said, "Daiham sikkhata sanitya." He said peace can be attained by our own self. We are responsible for our own thoughts and our own thoughts shape our destiny.

QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE.

THE PATH LEADING TO KNOWLEDGE

 If I  had to describe a University, I would  draw my answer from its ancient designation of a "Studium Generale", or “School of Universal Learning.” This description implies the assemblage of strangers from all parts of the world in one spot  with teachers and students for every department of knowledge.  

We Indians have always been very proud and vocal about our heritage, our parampara, our knowledge, our ancient glory, wisdom, development of art, science, niti and advancement in astronomy, maths, dance and music. Where did we learn it and where did we teach it? 

This question took me to our great centers of learning of which the most well  known  are Takshashila, Nalanda and Vikramshila. Takshashila, now in Pakistan was the oldest. A few  famous teachers of Takshashila were Chanakya, Vishnu Sharma who wrote the Pancha Tantra, Charaka the Physician, Panini the Grammar Exponent and Jeevaka, the Physician of the Buddha. A famous alumni was Chandragupta Maurya, grand father of Asoka the Great. Takshashila was in existence since eighth century BCE, and continued to attract students from around the old world until the destruction of the University in the 5th century by the Huns.Students came here from Babylon, Greece, Syria, Arabia, Phoenicia, China, Magadha, Kashi and Koshala. In spite of the long and arduous journey they had to undergo,  the excellence of the learned teachers  brought students from all over. The teachers were recognized as authorities in their respective subjects.There were about 68 different streams of discipline here. There were about 10500 students studying here.This University's primary concern was not with elementary, but higher education. Generally, a student entered Takshashila at the age of sixteen. 

When Alexander attacked India in the 4th Century BC, he took back with him a number of scholars from here. Is it therefore surprising that a lot of myths, and stories are quite similar in Greece, Syria and India?

Vikramshila is the lesser known University, which is located in Bihar near Bhagalpur. It came into existence after the Nalanda University was at its decline.

SARIPUTTA'S STUPA AT NALANDA

Nalanda is known to almost all of us. It is in Bihar, close to Rajgrih and Patna. This University existed from 5th Century AD to 1197 AD. In the first 300 years it flourished with liberal cultural traditions but from 9th century onwards the decline set in as Tantricism became more pronounced.  Yijing( 673- 695AD) a Chinese Buddhist scholar says that when he was at Nalanda there were 300 rooms and 8 colleges, and matters of discussion and administration required an assembly and consensus by all at the assembly as also of the resident monks, who were not at the Assembly. 

THE ENTRANCE IS BEHIND ME

My journey on the path traversed by The Great Buddha took me from  Rajgrih to Nalanda. The gate to this center of learning, education and   wisdom was quite small. But as soon as I went inside, it was like entering a different world, where there was no noise, no sound, nothing but bricks, and ruins which spoke of the amazing brilliance of this place. It was as if I had entered from a tunnel into an amazing space filled with light . 

ROOMS

There were ruins of monasteries after monasteries on one side, and then there were temples and then there were stupas.

Admissions to institutes of learning has always been tough. Ask the parents of a toddler today, and they will tell you that the toddler goes to a prep school so that subsequently the child gets admitted to a good school. So from time immemorial admissions to institutes of learning has been tough. Is it any wonder then that getting admission to the Nalanda University was really tough? Do you know, according to folklore  who asked the first questions for the admission interview? It was the dwarpal or the Doorman. So much wisdom oozed out from the place that even the gatekeeper could interview a new student to judge if the student was capable of studying at Nalanda. Religion, logic, metaphysics and a lot more disciplines were taught here. Students came from Korea, Japan,Iran, Indonesia and China, besides of course Magadh, Kosala and Kashi.

TWO BEDS & A BOOK SHELF

I allowed my imagination to fly as I entered the Monastery.Each Monastery is a complete unit by itself. There are rooms with a built in bed and a shelf for keeping books. Two students would share a room. There is a kitchen, a well, and a place for the teacher to sit and give his discourse. There is a drainage system, where the drain becomes deeper as it goes towards the pit.

TEACHING SPACE

I imagined a class going on where the students were eager to learn. There would be no forced learning, it was your own desire to learn. Fees were not charged. The rulers of the area made it mandatory for some villages to provide the University with funds to carry on with the teaching unhindered, so education was state sponsored.

Our famous tourists and scholars from China, the great Hieun Tsang and Fa Hein have written great accounts of the University.

THE GIANT WILD GOOSE PAGODA AT XIAN, CHINA

Hieun Tsang travelled to India in the seventh century AD to study at Nalanda. He took back a lot of books with him and in Xian in China, the Tang dynasty King gave him land to build a Library in 652 AD, which for some strange reason is called "The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda". I saw this pagoda which one cannot enter now, but the surroundings are maintained very beautifully.

THE MOUNDS & THE RUINS

Nalanda had a very huge campus. Even today the surrounding villages are  built over  mounds, which if  dug will reveal more monasteries and Temples.

The Library at Nalanda University was very famous and had a huge collection of books.

BURNT BRICKS

In the 13th century when the Khaljis set out to destroy everything which was not about their religion, they burnt this whole university down. It is said that the Library burnt for three whole months. Even today after almost  900 years, one can see some burnt brick walls, and feel sad about this misjudged act of arson.

A BENCH & SERENITY

The gardens and lawns around the ruins are maintained immaculately. One can sit under a tree and feel the monks moving about, and  hear the discussions, the theories and the debates going on. The air over here must be wise, the trees must be swishing thoughts when the wind blows, the walls if only they could communicate would tell us more tales than one.

Nalanda is where the stupa of Buddha's Shishya Sariputta exists.

SEEK & YOU WILL RECEIVE

Nalanda is where perhaps knowledge  spread, got wings and then got burnt down, ending our quest for learning, free thinking, radicle thoughts, where it was all about learning for betterment and improvement of the self. There were no certificates awarded, there were no jobs guaranteed, there was no money at the end of the knowledge gates.  It was emancipation, enlightenment, and development of the self.

 Learning was at its best, the thirst and quest for knowledge was the essence of existence. 

Could there be anything better than this insatiable hunger for knowledge?

ROOMS WITH PLACE FOR LAMP

As the Wise Buddha said, "Atta deep bhava", or in wisdom be a lamp unto yourself. He also said, "Do not blindly believe what others say, even if it is said by the Buddha. See for yourself what brings contentment, clarity and peace, that is the path for you to follow".

Knowledge, freedom from blind faith and eventual enlightenment can only be achieved when we open our minds, question, discuss and then get convinced.  Quest for knowledge can only be quenched by questioning. 

RAJGRIH to RAJGIR- CAPITAL OF MAGADH EMPIRE.

THE BUDDHA AT SWARNA BHANDAR

 India has been a land through which great rivers flowed. These rivers originated from the Himalayas and brought prosperity to the land through which they travelled. Great settlements came around these rivers, over time a system evolved,  and customs and traditions started getting formulated.

JIVIKA'S MONASTERY

In the 6th century BC, about 2700 years ago, there were some parts of India which were very prosperous. These were located on the foothills of the Himalayas, near the banks of the river Ganga and its tributaries. There were about 16 Janapadas at that time of which the great Magadh Empire had its capital at Rajgrih and was ruled then by Bimbisara, The Kosala Kingdom was at Shrawasti, and it was ruled by Prasenjit, The Shakyas ruled in Kapilvastu and its King was Shuddhodhan, the Licchavis ruled in Vaishali, the Mallas ruled in Kushinagar, Koliyas ruled in Ramagrama,. These were all small states where a ganarajya or janapada  existed, with a King who was advised by  eminent advisors.

The Magadh Empire was said to be a very powerful Empire and  during a much earlier era, this place is said to have been ruled by Jarasandha, who was the father- in- law of Kansa of Mathura.

Our hero, Prince Sidhhartha at the age of 29, left his palace at Kapilvastu( located in Nepal and also north UP-Piprahwa) and went towards the South seeking knowledge.

He arrived at Rajgrih and became the disciple of Alara Kalam and  Udaka Ramputta  and learnt yogic meditation from them. Bimbisar the King asked Siddharta to stay at Rajgrih, but the seeker of knowledge moved on further South and after six years attained enlightenment  at Gaya. He then proceeded to Sarnath and preached his first sermon to five disciples, after which he proceeded to Rajgrih to locate his first gurus, but  found that both Alara Kalam and Udaka Ramputta had since died.

Bimbisar  accepted the teachings of Buddha, became a Buddhist and requested Buddha  to stay at Rajgrih.

VENUVAN TODAY

The Venuvan or Bamboo Grove was given to the Buddha for his stay as well as for the stay of his followers. Buddha met two of his ardent followers Sariputta  and Moggalayan at Rajgrih, 

Buddha was a person with a mission, who wanted to spread his teachings far and wide and so he did not stay at one place for too long. During his lifetime he stayed in Rajgrih altogether for twelve years. In those days the Teacher would stay put in one place during the four months of the  rainy season, and that stay was called the "varshavaas".

Rajgrih is a beautiful place and like Rome, is surrounded by seven hills. There was peace, plenty and prosperity in this area. First came Buddha and then it is said,Mahavira too spent 14 years at Rajgrih.

SHANKH LIPI

As we entered Rajgrih in the 21st century, we found the familiar blue board of the Archeological Survey of India(ASI) on the Highway. 

ARE THESE CHARIOT WHEEL GROOVES?

There was a small enclosure, where we found grooves on the stone. which were like tyre tracks of a vehicle. We were told that these were the grooves caused by the speed of the rath of Krishna, when he came to wage war with Jarasandha during Mahabharata time. In fact Krishna fought with Jarasandha 17 times and in the 18th attack he left the war grounds, that in fact is the reason why Krishna  is also called Ranchhod. There was also some writing on the stone in a script which is called the Shankh lipi. This writing has not yet been deciphered, therefore we could not make out what had been written there.

BIMBISAR'S JAIL

Our journey then took us back to the 6th century BC, and we saw the walls of the jail of Bimbisar.  Ajatshatru the son of Bimbisar wanted to expand his kingdom, and so he imprisoned his father, wrested power from him  and went forth in his quest for expansion and relocated his capital to Pataliputra. From this jail  Bimbisar could look up and see Buddha climbing the hill and preaching to his disciples at Gridhrakoot hill. 

GRIDHRAKUTA HILL FROM WHERE BUDDHA PREACHED

There are steps which takes one up to this spot, where Buddha sat, meditated and preached. A little towards the West of this spot is the Shanti Stupa made by the Japanese.  

CHAIR LIFT & BAMBOO GROVES

There is a Chair lift ropeway which takes us up to the Stupa. The climb is steep, the view is beautiful and one is reminded of the movie "Johny Mera Naam" where Dev Anand and Hema Malini travel by the chair lift , and sing a song,"Oh mere raja, khafa na hona, der se aayi, majboori thi phir bhi maine wada to nibhaya!

THE JAPANESE SHANTI STUPA

The ride on the chair lift costs Rs. 60/- and is worth it, the stupa is grand and there is a temple of the Buddha at the top. 

An identical stupa in white with statues of Buddha on the four sides is at the  Millenium Indraprastha Park in East Delhi, and I have also seen an identical one in the Battersea Park at London.

SWARNA BHANDAR OF BIMBISAR

There is an interesting cave at Rajgrih. It is called the "Swarn Bhandar" of Bimbisara. 

THE DOOR TO SWARN BHANDAR

The outline of a door is carved on the rock and there is some writing in Shankh lipi, which is said to be the mantra to open the door. This cave is supposed to contain treasures of Bimbisar's empire.

CARVINGS OF THE BUDDHA'S STATUE

There are nice carvings of the Buddha on the walls, but they were defaced by the Khaljis when they attacked the University of Nalanda as well as Rajgrih, in the 13th CenturyAD. Our earliest international tourists, devotees and learners were Fa Hian and Hiuen Tsang who came from China in the 5th and 7th Century AD respectively. Both  of them have written extensively about Rajgrih in their books.

The First Buddhist Council(sangiti) was held in the Saptaparni cave, near the Swarn Bhandar  soon after the death of Buddha, under the leadership of Maha Kassapa, along with Upali & Anand. Rules and tenets of Buddhism(vinaya & dhamma) were formulated in this Council and written down for the first time. It is said that the famous physician Jivika also lived in Rajgrih. He had treated Buddha when Buddha was attacked by his cousin Devdutt. There was a Jivaka-mara-vana monastery here.

HILLS

Rajgrih which has a stupa made by Ajatshatru, and a few other places to see, beside the hot sulphur springs, is now a very small town. It is sad to see that the cradle of the great Magadh Empire has now become just a small tourist town, where tongas are the main mode of transport. 

A TONGA.

It is of course a very pleasant ride on the tonga from one site to another, as the hooves of the horse make a rhythmic trot, the tongawalla narrates his tale about Rajgrih, the majesty of the hills surrounding Rajgrih are visible, and the thought that Buddha spent so many varshavaas months here teaching, preaching and enlightening the people of this land, envelopes you. The feeling sinks in and one gets transported into a time which existed thousands of years ago. The hills, the bamboo groves, the ruins are mute spectators of time having taken its toll. Buddha looked at those hills and enjoyed the fresh air, as I do now!

SURROUNDED BY HILLS

The mornings are beautiful, the place is peaceful, the air is pure, bamboo groves are a plenty, Rajgrih has become Rajgir and much time has elapsed since Ajatshatru moved on to Pataliputra  to spread the Magadh empire and make it one of the most powerful empires of Indian History. Perhaps Rajgrih was too peaceful and calm, and could not contain the ambitions of a restless young King.  

Buddha who convinced people through reason and persuasion has said that there are 3 Universal Truths of which the first is "Aniccha" or impermanence, which means that the world is constantly changing, nothing is permanent, life itself is mortal. 

BODHGAYA.

FRONT PORTION OF TEMPLE MADE BY ASOKA.

Siddhartha, Gautama THE Buddha (563 BC - 483 BC) has always been a historical figure who fascinated me since I was a small girl. I read about him in my History book and was quite intrigued to know that he was kept away from the sight of old age, illness and death, as they were reasons for sorrow and  it had been predicted that he would leave the splendors of the palace if he experienced  sorrow.  It was similar to the story of  Sleeping Beauty, a fairy tale read by me around the same time. A bad fairy had cursed that  the princess would be pricked by a spindle and would fall asleep for a 100 years, so spinning wheels were banned in the kingdom by  the King.

THE GARDEN AT BODHGAYA TEMPLE

My love for Fairy tales made me visualize the story of Siddhartha also as a fairy tale until I realized that Siddhartha actually existed in real life. It was a real story and not a tale at all.

Living in Bihar in my childhood, I had visited Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Nalanda and Patna a couple of times.

THE BUDDHA AT THE MAIN TEMPLE

I knew the places, yet recently when an opportunity came my way I quickly planned a trip down the path traversed by Siddhartha Gautam. Our journeys were separated by more than 2500 years. I was excited beyond words. I desired to go to all the places visited by Prince Siddhartha and by Buddha after attaining enlightenment.

I planned my trip by convenience and not as per the route of The Buddha.

BODHGAYA TEMPLE

My journey started from Bodhgaya. The place where Siddhartha became THE Buddha.

Gaya as almost everyone knows is a very religious place or a teerth sthal for Hindus. This town is situated on the banks of the river Phalgu. The old and more beautiful name of the river is Niranjana.

VISHNUPAD TEMPLE AT GAYA

Gaya as we understand in Hindi means"gone."Gaya is the place for salvation of all Hindus. The last rites of a person are performed by his family to enable him to get salvation or freedom from the eternal cycle of life and death. It is understood that when the last rites or Shradh is conducted in Gaya, the soul rests in peace forever. Shradh at Gaya is said to absolve all the sins of all the ancestors of the person performing the Shradh. According to the Ramayana, Ram accompanied by Sita had also gone to Gaya to perform Shradh of his ancestors.

BODHGAYA ACROSS NIRANJANA RIVER FROM SUJATA'S STUPA

It therefore was quite interesting to realize  that Siddhartha freed himself from the bondages of life at Gaya, close to the banks of the River Phalgu then called Niranjana. He absolved himself from all the various desires and feelings that a person has which can lead him into temptation. He took on the mantle of a teacher whose only mission in life was to teach people the right way to live.

They say he got enlightened, he got gyan, he became the Buddha, sitting under the Peepal tree.

I don't think it is as simple as that. His enlightenment evolved. It was realization, it was a process that took its own time

THE PHALGU & PILGRIMS PERFORMING SHRADH

After leaving Kapilvastu, the city where the Shakyas headed by Shudhodhan his father ruled, Siddhartha wandered from place to place for six years. His first teachers were Alara Kalam, and Udaka Ramputta who taught him yogic meditation. They lived in Rajgrih, which was the capital of Magadh and was ruled by King Bimbisar. Having learnt what they taught him, he moved onwards on his quest. He  joined a group of five ascetics led by Kaundinya and tried to find enlightenment through deprivation of worldly goods, and practicing self mortification. He tried penance, he starved himself, existed on roots and did all the things possible to torture his body to attain knowledge and salvation.

THE TREE 

One day as he sat under the Peepal tree meditating for almost 49 days, a lady named Sujata who lived in  Village Senani near Uruvela( Old name of Gaya) across the river Niranjana came to offer Kheer to the Vriksh Devata. Siddhartha who had been fasting, ate the offered Kheer and then they say enlightenment dawned upon him. He  realized that extreme asceticism did not work. He discovered the Middle path, which is called the "Ashtanga Marg" or the eight fold path. The five other ascetics had meanwhile left him as they thought that Siddhartha had abandoned his search and had become undisciplined, because he partook of the kheer. 

SUJATA'S STUPA AT SENANI

Siddhartha discovered a path of moderation away from extreme self indulgence or self mortification. After becoming enlightened,Buddha looked for the five ascetics who had left him. They were in Sarnath near Kashi (Varanasi). He found them, shared his thoughts with them and that was the place where his first Sermon took place and those five became his first disciples.

STONE RAILING

My journey to Bodhgaya took me straight to the Temple where the Bodhi Vriksh(tree) is located. The original tree was destroyed long ago but the present one planted at the same spot is a sapling of the original tree. A sapling of the original tree was sent to Srilanka(then called Tamraparni)in 288 BCE by Emperor Asoka( 304-232 BCE), and so now what we have in more places than one are all saplings from the tree at Srilanka. 

METAL RAILING

The tree is enclosed by a metal railing and is kept safe. 

Emperor Asoka had built a stone railing all around the tree. That  railing is now preserved in the Archeological Museum at Bodhgaya. A replica has since been erected around the tree.

 

SITTING SPACE

All around the temple and the tree the courtyard is cemented and there is a marble parapet all around. One can sit down comfortably and allow peace to descend upon us.

What I felt under the shade of this huge magnificent tree cannot be really described by me.  There were a lot of people, and yet there was no noise, no dust, no dirt, no disturbance. Everyone was sitting in peace. I didn't want to get up from there. It was a surreal feeling. It had a very soothing and calming effect. I felt the centuries disappear and all the commotion, confusion, pollution, stress of my daily life seemed like a thing of some imaginary world. Peace, compassion, calm, and a feeling of kindness, camaraderie and co existence enveloped everyone. There was no jostling or pushing, everyone had enough space under the all encompassing tree.

80' STATUE

After leaving the temple we visited the tallest sitting Buddha statue( 80') and some other Buddha temples constructed by other countries in the neighbourhood. But the feeling that I got at the original site could not be replicated anywhere else.I also visited the Museum where I could see the original Asoka railings. 

ASOKA'S RAILING

Bodhgaya is easily reachable. There is an airport at Gaya and the major trains going towards Kolkata or Ranchi also stop at Gaya. One is not allowed to take mobile phones inside the Temple. There are lockers outside the temple where one can deposit the phones and any other possession that one does not want to carry inside. There are no charges for this and are secure, as the locker key is given to us. For taking the video camera inside one has to pay Rs. 250. 

THE ENTRANCE TO THE TEMPLE

The next day we were to leave for Rajgir. I couldn't  leave without taking another look at the Bodhi tree. What I saw was a visual treat. There were about 200 Srilankan pilgrims at the temple. They had decorated the entire boundary of the Temple with the Buddhist five colored flag. They were now in the process of adorning the walls with marigold garlands. All the 200 people were in white clothes and walked quietly around the temple in a procession. They then sat down and meditated quietly.

It was a very peaceful & beautiful sight of total devotion.

Sitting under the tree I also dwelt on a lot of thoughts. Buddha advised us to follow the Middle path where  everything is in moderation. "The Ashtang Marg" briefly is Right belief, right thought, right speech, right action,right livelihood,right effort, right mindfulness, right meditation. 

I felt that in the real world we give importance to so many feelings which are really very un-important in hind sight. We allow anger, hurt, stress, guilt, rat race, competition, envy to rule our lives. Does it really get us anywhere? Perhaps following the eight fold path shown by Buddha would be a path which would make life simpler and happier. Sounds very simple, doesn't it? But then Buddhism was never meant to be a religion. The Teacher only taught us the correct way of living.

"WITH FIRM RESOLVE, GUARD YOUR OWN MIND"-BUDDHA.