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.